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Studies on Obesity in Children

Jun 14, 2011 | By Fiona Bayly
Studies on Obesity in Children
Photo Credit D. Anschutz/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Childhood obesity is becoming a prevalent concern among health officials, parents, educators and children themselves. Studies show that physical health and social development are affected by being overweight, as children become conscious of and uncomfortable with their physical size and declining health. At a time when adolescents already must cope with significant physical development and social change, obesity has been shown to usher in severe consequences in terms of decreased community activity, poor physiological health and chronic disease, and low self-esteem that may or may not usher in depression.

Nationwide Concern

In May 2008, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published a report stating that between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents in the U.S. are obese, thanks to unhealthy diets, lack of exercise and a slew of complex, interlacing factors such as genetics, habits, peer pressure, socioeconomic status and cultural norms. The concern over obesity is nationwide; a survey commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health revealed that more than half of all American voters support governmental investment in programs to combat childhood obesity.

Obese Teenagers and Heart Disease

Scientific studies support the goal of reducing obesity. In 2006, a German research team led by Andreas Alexander Meyer, M.D., a pediatric heart specialist at the University of Rostock Children's Hospital, enrolled 96 obese boys and girls ages 11 to 18 in an adolescent heart-health study. The team found that these obese teens already had atherosclerosis, or hardened arteries, a risk factor for heart disease. The team also found, encouragingly, that the teens' atherosclerosis could be reversed through a course of thrice-weekly exercise that gradually increased in intensity over six months. The teens' weight fell, blood pressure and cholesterol levels improved, and arterial flexibility and volume increased.

Decreased Quality of LIfe

The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine specifically addresses one study that focused on quality-of-life issues for children grouped per body mass index, or BMI. Published in 2003, the study, titled "Decreased Quality of Life Associated With Obesity in School-aged Children," required the 371 participants, all from the same community and 17.5 percent of whom were overweight, to complete the Psychosocial Health Summary, a survey measuring not only the child's confidence, self-esteem and physical functioning, but effects on their parent's outlook as well. The obese children scored lower than the normal-weight or underweight children, in every single aspect of the survey.

Progress and Implications

One recent study hints at declining obesity rates for Caucasian, Asian and Hispanic adolescents in the fifth, seventh and ninth grades. Kristine Madsen, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco; Patricia Crawford, Dr.PH., a registered dietitian, of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at University of California, Berkeley; and Ashley Weedn, M.D., co-authored a study published in "Pediatrics" in September 2010 issue, which found that the body mass index declined for adolescents of either sex throughout California between 2005 and 2008. However, American Indian and African American girls' BMI continued rising. The study's co-authors conclude that the disparity between the children's progress signals an ongoing need for obesity-related action, for the entire U.S.

References

Article reviewed by Christine Brncik Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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