BabyOpus

1) Eating Habits

Childhood obesity results from poor eating habits. In a study of 99 children, between 11 and 16 years, professional dietitians put the children on a regulated diet program for a nine month period, leading to an average weight loss of 66 pounds. However, during the two year follow-up, dieticians discovered that intake of daily calories had increased by 391 calories, leading to weight gain in the subjects. Soft drink consumption may also be an unhealthy eating/drinking leading to childhood obesity. In a study of 548 children during a 19 month period, researchers examined the correlation of soft drink consumption to childhood obesity. They discovered children were 1.6 times more likely to be obese for every soft drink consumed each day.

Daily consumption of fast food and junk food has dominated over healthy food choices. Researchers provided a lunchtime survey for a one year period to 1681 children, ages five to 12 years old. They discovered that although 68% of the children did have fruit in their lunchboxes, 90% of the children had junk food in their lunch boxes.

In another study an FFFRU (Frequency of Fast Food Restaurant Use) survey was given to 4,746 students, in grades seven through 12, and researchers discovered that 75% of students had eaten at a fast food restaurant in the past week. Eating out on a regular basis has resulted in child weight gain. Researchers studied the dietary records of 101 healthy girls, from ages 8–19 years over a one year period and a four to 10 year follow up. They discovered that girls who ate quick service food two or more times a week had a BMI z score (provides comparative measure of body fat accustomed for age) of 0.82, compared to those who ate it less than twice a week, with a BMI z score of 0.2–0.28.

Childrens’ food choices are also influenced by family meals. Researchers provided a household eating questionnaire to 18,177 children, ranging in ages 11–21, and discovered that four out of five parents let their children make their own food decisions. They also discovered that compared to adolescents who ate three or fewer meals per week, those who ate four to five family meals per week were 19% less likely to report poor consumption of vegetables, 22% less likely to report poor consumption of fruits, and 19% less likely to report poor consumption of dairy foods. Adolescents who ate six to seven family meals per week, compared to those who ate three or fewer family meals per week, were 38% less likely to report poor consumption of vegetables, 31% less likely to report poor consumption of fruits, and 27% less likely to report poor consumption of dairy foods.

Neglecting to eat certain meals completely can also create weight gain. Children who fail to eat breakfast could face potential weight gain. Researchers provided a breakfast questionnaire to 14,000 children over a three year period and discovered that 7.35% more children who never ate breakfast were overweight, compared to overweight children who ate breakfast every day.

2) Lack Of Physical Activity

Physical inactivity of children has also shown to be a serious cause, and children who fail to engage in regular physical activity are at greater risk of obesity. Researchers studied the physical activity of 133 children over a three week period using an accelerometer to measure each child’s level of physical activity. They discovered the obese children were 35% less active on school days and 65% less active on weekends compared to non-obese children.

Physical inactivity as a child could result in physical inactivity as an adult. In a fitness survey of 6,000 adults, researchers discovered that 25% of those who were considered active at ages 14 to 19 were also active adults, compared to 2% of those who were inactive at ages 14 to 19, who were now said to be active adults. Staying physically inactive leaves unused energy in the body, most of which is stored as fat. Researchers studied 16 men over a 14 day period and fed them 50% more of their energy required every day through fats and carbohydrates. They discovered that carbohydrate overfeeding produced 75–85% excess energy being stored as body fat and fat overfeeding produced 90–95% storage of excess energy as body fat.

Many children fail to exercise because they are spending time doing stationary activities. TV and other technology may be large factors of physically inactive children. Researchers provided a technology questionnaire to 4,561 children, ages 14, 16, and 18. They discovered children were 21.5% more likely to be overweight when watching 4+ hours of TV per day, 4.5% more likely to be overweight when using a computer one or more hours per day, and unaffected by potential weight gain from playing video games.

Technological activities are not the only household influences of childhood obesity. Low-income households can affect a child’s tendency to gain weight. Over a three week period researchers studied the relationship of socioeconomic status (SES) to body composition in 194 children, ages 11–12. They measured weight, waist girth, stretch stature, skinfolds, physical activity, TV viewing, and SES; researchers discovered clear SES inclines to upper class children compared to the lower class children.