Background
Obesity is a condition that involves extra fat being stored in the body, mainly because individuals eat more calories than they burn. A child is considered obese if their body mass index (BMI) is in the 95th percentile or higher. BMI measurements depend on an individual's height and weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1), 14.7 million children were affected by obesity between 2017 and 2020.
Conditions Associated with Childhood Obesity
Precocious Puberty- A condition where children develop secondary sex characteristics, such as voice changes, breast development, pubic hair development, etc., at an early age. Obesity has been shown to cause these changes at an earlier age in children (2).
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus- A condition where either sugar does not respond to insulin, or there is damage to cells of the pancreas that makes it difficult for it to release insulin. Both of these effects cause sugar to remain in the blood, allowing for amounts of high sugar to accumulate in the blood (also known as hyperglycemia). Insulin’s job is to move sugar from the blood and into the cells to create energy.
Metabolic Syndrome- This condition is characterized by:
Large waist circumference
Hypertension
Abnormal fasting plasma glucose/ insulin resistance
Dyslipidemia
Dyslipidemia- This condition involves having abnormal amounts of fat in the blood, which is problematic because it increases a child’s risk for heart disease.
Hypertension- AKA high blood pressure, has many symptoms, such as dizziness, sweating, and chest pain.
5 Ways to Reduce Risk of Obesity in Children
1. More Water, No Sugary Drinks
Drinking sugary drinks can result in drinking more calories because it is less filling (3).
Here’s a quick video (4) from NYC Health about the effect of sugar on the body in children.
Health benefits of water:
-Helps regulate body temperature
-Helps balance fluid and electrolytes in the body
-Help get rid of toxins in the body
-Helps with metabolism
-Improve digestion
2. Increase Physical Activity, Decrease Screen Time
Increased screen time has been connected with less physical activity, which increases the chances of developing obesity. Eating and watching television together can increase the consumption of fatty foods (3). Media sources such as radio and television can be influential because they can increase the risk of obesity through advertisements of products such as chips, cookies, sodas, etc.
Health Organization Physical Activity Recommendations (5)
1-2 years old:
- 180 minutes using a variety of types of physical activity, at any intensity including moderate-to-vigorous intensity.
3-4 years old
- 180 minutes using a variety of types of physical activity, at least 60 minutes is moderate-to-vigorous intensity, spread throughout the day.
5-17 years old
- 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous intensity workout, mainly aerobic, across the week.
- Include moderate-vigorous intensity that strengthens muscle and bone 3 days a week.
3. Remember Portion Sizes
Larger portion sizes of foods high in fat and simple carbohydrates (white rice, white pasta, white tortillas, rice noodles, etc.) can lead to obesity.
Recommended Portion Sizes- From healthychildren.org (6)
4. Eat MORE Fresh Fruits and Vegetables and LESS Junk Foods
Junk foods (i.e. cookies, candy, chips, soda, etc.) contain a lot of saturated fats, trans fats, sugars, simple carbohydrates,
sodium, etc. all of which contribute to obesity.
Some Benefits of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables:
- Reduces the risk of getting chronic diseases such as coronary heart
disease, cancer, and diabetes.
- Has less fat.
- Contains a lot less calories compared to fast foods.
- Contains more nutrients.
- Easier for the body to break down.
- Less inflammatory.
5. Be Their Role Model
Children tend to model the behaviors of their caregivers, so if a caregiver has unhealthy eating habits, then there is a strong chance of their child developing unhealthy eating habits also. However, studies mention being mindful about being too strict on children’s food choices because it can increase the child’s desire for unhealthy foods.
Challenges Impacting Change
The physical environment can make it difficult for children to participate in daily physical activity. For example, low-income neighborhoods generally have higher rates of violence and fewer parks, making it difficult to go outside and exercise. The physical environment also impacts the ability to receive resources that help reduce obesity. Low-income neighborhoods usually have a higher presence of fast food restaurants and low-quality education, promoting obesity. The focus on low-income neighborhoods should be reducing the number of fast food restaurants and liquor stores, and increasing the amount of grocery stores to improve access to fresher foods.
Providing quality education can also help reduce the risk of childhood obesity by teaching children positive eating habits and what foods are considered healthy.
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Childhood Obesity Facts. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Shi, L., Jiang, Z., Zhang, L. (2022). Childhood obesity and central precocious puberty. Front Endocrinol. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9716129/
Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A.K., Sofi, N.Y., Kumar, R., Bhadoria, A.S. (2015). Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 4(2). 187-192. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4408699/
NYCHealth. (2015, June 8). Skinny Kids: Children and Sugary Drinks [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqPflCBfhD8&list=PLz5aMT8ziHx-PrNsNjlLGHP-FygqD-QM2
World Health Organization. (2022). Physical activity. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity#:~:text=should%20do%20at%20least%20an,least%203%20days%20a%20week.
Healthychildren.org. (2015). Portion and Serving Sizes. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Portions-and-Serving-Sizes.aspx
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