Seven Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity
An estimated 10 percent of children -- or at least 155 million youngsters worldwide -- suffer from being overweight or obese.
The susceptibility to gain weight begins early (even in the womb), which is why a child can develop habits by the tender age of 3 ensuring they are likely to suffer from weight problems, noted a study of more than 9,000 children whose growth had been monitored since birth.
Thus, in an effort to curb the prevalence of childhood obesity, researchers devised a check-list to warn parents of the early signs of obesity in their children. The seven factors include:
Early size
Early body fat
High birth weight
Having obese parents
Quick growth from ages 1-2
Watching more than eight hours of TV a week
Getting less than 10.5 hours of sleep at night
In addition, children who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of succumbing to type 2 diabetes and of developing heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer later in life.
And while early growth risk factors were shown to contribute to childhood obesity, a number of lifestyle factors were also found to play a role. Thus, researchers believe a key to preventing childhood obesity is to modify lifestyle and environmental factors very early on.
British Medical Journal May 20, 2005 (Free Full-Text Article)
Reuters May 20, 2005
The primary cause of obesity in children is either due to overeating, inadequate exercise or eating disorder. Children tend to mimic their parents, so it pays to be a good role model If you don't want your children eating french fries, don't eat them yourself. Another way to maintain weight is to reduce inactivity. The best way to do that would be to limit television viewing to 1 to 2 hours per day.