Childhood Obesity- Causes and Contributing Factors
For most young people being fat is not cool. Yet the number of overweight and obese children and teenagers in Australia continues to rise at an alarming rate. Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are just some of the health risks that overweight and obese children are vulnerable to. Other problems include low self-esteem, joint complaints, and sleep disruption due to snoring that can lead to tiredness and create behaviour and learning problems.
Biologically, overweight and obesity is simply caused by an eating more dietary energy than you expend. If we consume more energy than we use the excess energy will be stored in the body, primarily as body fat. Therefore, the only way to lose weight is to increase energy expenditure (physical activity) or reduce the amount of dietary energy being consumed.
Causes and contributing factors in the development of overweight and obesity
As the research into the childhood obesity crisis increases, so too do the number of proposed causes and contributing factors. The following is a compilation of just some of the interrelating factors that have been put forward by researchers and medical experts as to why the number of children and teenagers now considered to be overweight or obese is constantly increasing.
Sedentary lifestyles
On average TVs, DVDs, the internet and computer games keep children sedentary for up to 85% of the hours between 3:30 and 6:30pm on weekdays7, a time in the day that was traditionally used by children to play outdoors. More and more studies (as well as plain old common-sense) tell us that if children don’t burn up enough energy by doing regular physical activity they will increase their chances of becoming overweight21. Watching too much television, being driven instead of walking, not partaking in sport or regular exercise (either in the form of organized sport e.g. tennis coaching, netball, swimming training, or as incidental exercise, playing, walking etc) can all leave children vulnerable.
Malnutrition
When we think of malnutrition, we tend to think of starving children, however new thinking is pointing towards childhood obesity in fact being a form of malnutrition. The term malnutrition can be defined as ‘lack of proper nutrition resulting from deficiencies in the diet’. A recent study of Australian school children found that many obese children were, on average, 2cm shorter than their leaner classmates. The findings suggest that while these children are obviously consuming more than enough food, the types of food that they are commonly consuming do not contain the vital nutrients required for growth and development.
Ethnicity and socioeconomic status
Studies show that children from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern backgrounds had a higher relative weight than children from other backgrounds, while those of Asian ethnic origin were lighter in weight. In addition, children from families of lower socioeconomic status were found to be more overweight. More recent studies of NSW school children support these general findings.
City or country?
Several studies show that obesity rates are higher in rural areas – at least among adults. Distance from medical facilities, and from education or information sources, may be part of the reason. But there are also fewer options for eating out. Restaurants in remote or rural areas tend to have richer, heavier foods. Country areas are also less multicultural and are therefore less likely to have a wide variety of international cuisines which can lead to healthier eating.
Genetic predisposition
Children whose biological parents are overweight are more at risk of becoming overweight than those whose biological parents are of a normal weight. Studies of identical twins adopted at birth to different families confirm this, as more often than not, twins’ individual weight status are more indicative of their biological parents weight than that of their adoptive families. Nevertheless in circumstances, where the biological parents raise their own children eating styles and physical activity patterns are significant contributing factors to the risk of overweight and obesity.
Family environment
It goes without saying that a child or teenager’s family or home environment can significantly impact upon their weight status. Families who generally follow healthy eating guidelines and regular physical activity will impart many important life skills onto their children.
Interestingly, a mother’s own dieting behaviour has been shown to be associated with how well she will feed her children. A study of mothers of primary school age children in Britain revealed that mothers in general tend to feed their children in a less healthy way than they feed themselves. Specifically, they feed their children more sweet products, and more unhealthy breads and dairy products. However, whereas they reported being motivated more by practicality (e.g. availability, cost) and calories when choosing foods for themselves, they stated that health (nutritional value, long-term health) was more important when choosing food for their children. In relation to dieting mothers, it appeared that dieters were more self-prioritising than non-dieters in their differentiation between themselves and their children.
Low birth weight babies
Babies who grow slowly in the womb and are born small have a much higher risk of developing heart disease, late onset diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke later in life. The theory is that these conditions are the result of the organs and metabolic systems of fetuses having to adapt to being undernourished at a time when they are still developing their functions. This ability to adapt to hardship in the womb may have evolved so that unborn babies could survive even when their mothers faced lean times. Once born, such infants may have been well adapted to survive in a deprived environment. But in developed countries, with plenty of food and an inactive lifestyle, the results can be fatal.
Importance of breastfeeding
Exclusive breastfeeding for six months, after which solid foods are gradually introduced while breastfeeding is continued (ideally for the first 12 months of life) is thought to lessen the risk of infants experiencing weight problems later in life.
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