Children who are obese often become adults who are obese. Eating habits, along with your general level of physical activity, are patterns set in childhood. Your family and environment play an important role in developing your palate and food preferences that put you at risk for obesity. Children's choices of foods are dictated by what adults give them. Moreover, although genes may be a factor in determining who is susceptible to obesity, they don't override the everyday choices parents and schools make when it comes to feeding children. By setting the stage early with healthy eating habits, obesity rates and related health problems can be impacted.
Childhood Obesity
The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity says one in every three children, or 31.7 percent of children ages 2 to 19, is overweight or obese. Determining children's risk for obesity is measured through BMI percentiles, which take into account age, gender and height. Children whose BMI is between the 85th and 94th percentile are considered overweight, and at the 95th or greater percentile, children are considered obese. According to CDC researchers publishing in the "Journal of the American Medical Association," nearly 10 percent of infants studied had BMIs in the 95th percentile. Nearly 12 percent of children up to age 19 were in the 97th percentile. Close to 17 percent were in the 95th percentile, and 31.7 percent were in the 85th percentile or greater.
A Healthy Start
Family culture, social norms and food access at child care facilities and schools help shape children's eating habits. They can predispose children for eating a healthy diet or all but ensure that children will have too much access to unhealthy foods, which pack on extra calories and put on body fat. In the past few decades American eating habits have changed dramatically. Mostly due to time constraints, more families are eating fast-food meals and cooking dinner far less often. Sodas and sugary drinks are now mainstays in the American diet, as are more packaged foods. The White house Task Force says 13 percent of all calories consumed by teens comes from sweetened beverages like sodas, which have been linked to obesity risk in the "Journal of Clinical Investigation". Moreover, research shows that when parents model healthy eating behavior, their children are likely to follow suit. So establishing good eating habits among children can ensure that they maintain them over time, decreasing the spread of obesity.
Community Environment and Children's Eating Habits
Obesity risk is heightened among older children who have more ability to choose and eat the foods they want. When they've been hard-wired with preference for unhealthy, high-calorie foods, families may have a tougher time controlling their weight. Research published in the "Journal of Urban Health" says that people who live near fast-food restaurants and don't have cars have higher BMIs than those who can drive farther for healthier food choices. In addition, researchers associated with the National Bureau of Economic Research found that among ninth-graders, having a fast-food restaurant within one-tenth of a mile of their school was linked to a 5.2 percent increase in the incidence of childhood obesity rates in that area.
Adult Implications of Childhood Obesity
An article in the journal "Pediatrics" says that childhood BMI is closely associated with adult BMI. In fact, children ages 6 to 8 who were obese were 10 times more likely to be obese adults. In addition, weight-related health problems are being seen in younger children and their incidence among adults is greater because of habits stemming from childhood. One-third of all children born in 2000 are expected to develop diabetes at some point during their lifetimes, says the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, a trend fueled heavily by eating choices and growing rates of obesity. In addition, obesity in childhood is an important risk factor for heart disease in adulthood. The task force says children may have a shorter lifespan than their parents because of obesity-related health problems. Childhood obesity is also a matter of national security. More than 25 percent of youth and young adults can be disqualified for military service because they weigh too much. Public health officials also say that because being fat as a child is highly stigmatized, it can lead to depression and disorders like binge-eating, which further exacerbate the obesity problem.
References
- White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity: Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation
- CDC: Prevalence of Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, Trends 1963-1965 Through 2007-2008
- Journal of the American Medical Association: Prevalence of High Body Mass Index in U.S. Children and Adolescents, 2007-2008
- Journal of Urban Health: Body Mass Index, Neighborhood Fast Food and Restaurant Concentration, and Car Ownership
- The Future of Children: The Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Eating, and Obesity in Childhood
- Journal of Health Communication: Parents as Health Promoters: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective on the Prevention of Childhood Obesity
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