My week has been absolutely crazy! Decided to write for a few more vegan food companies, so I’ve been almost frantically writing this whole week… This is actually the 5th article I’ve written in the past 6 days :p. I also had my first midterm on Thursday; hopefully I did as well as I think I did. Two more next week and then it’s reading week for me! I also managed to get home for the weekend, down south in Ontario, before the worst of the snow came. I got home Thursday night and was happy to hear that Friday was a snow day anyway. Good to be home with my family! I feel a bit guilty about this, but due to my current craziness I`m starting to feel a wee bit overwhelmed. As a result, I`ll have to cut my posts down to just one this week and I`ll try my best to have two for you guys next week! Thanks for your patience 
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Here`s a picture taken of me by my friend Dan
The rates of childhood obesity, a major prediction for future health problems including adult obesity, heart disease, diabetes, joint problems and many psychological disorders, is on the rise. We’re getting heavier as a nation. In 2007, about 10% of toddlers, under the age of two, were considered obese. An estimated twenty-two million children under the age of 5 were overweight and among school aged children, reportedly about 23% of boys and 21% of girls were overweight.Is our obesity epidemic due to improved living conditions? Less disease? Or maybe better food? This article will discuss the sad truth of the current world wide catastrophe that is childhood obesity.
There has been a dramatic rise in childhood obesity since the 1990s. Why is this trend happening? The answer is not a simple one and is shaped by a number of different factors. Food consumption and lack of exercise are huge, but other factors are also present, including genetics, prenatal conditions and culture.In obese children, their risks for growing into an obese adult are nearly 90%! Girls will be at a higher risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which is characterized by irregular periods. Children will be at an increased risk of both hyperandrogenism (often seen in the form of acne), early onset insulin resistance, sleep apnea, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertension, etc. These children will likely have lower self esteem and higher rates of depression, which is enhanced by peer teasing. Eating disorder risks will also increase, especially in children who’ve made many attempts to lose weight. Childhood obesity is a serious problem in developed countries that must be adequately addressed.
Weight control is regulated as early as fetal life in utero. Factors such as the mothers health and weight, as well as her nutrition throughout and after pregnancy contribute to the metabolic status of the baby. About 20% of women are obese prior to pregnancy, which results in an increased risk for fetal growth abnormalities, complications and fetal death. In both rodent and clinical studies, pregnancy and early life environments significantly contribute to later weight related outcomes for the offspring. Specifically, infants who are born to mothers with diabetes during pregnancy are at a higher risk of being born with impaired glucose tolerance or growing up to be diabetic or obese. Considering the prevalence in obesity, maternal obesity may be contributing to a vicious cycle. Good health and nutrition during pregnancy are vital for a healthy child.
After utero, calorie intake in early years will predisposition children to different BMIs and glucose control. Breast feeding is considered protective and a potential weight regulator but unfortunately, on a global scale, only about 34.6% of infants up to 6 months are exclusively breast fed. Early introductions of food also put children at an increased risk for becoming overweight. Infants are often fed more, particularly sweet foods (which have a calming effect), in order to soothe; this results in an increased prevalence of emotional eating and lack of portion control in later years.Children with higher fruit and vegetable availability and consumption are more likely to have healthy weights. Unfortunately, according to survey data in 2008, about 37% of infants 6-9 months and 28% of 9-12 months old didn’t even have one serving on a given day. Our internal regulations for portion and sugar control can be easily overcome by, usually well-meaning, feeding practices. Furthermore, due to a hellish economy, many of us can’t even afford healthy foods. Less energy and more nutrient dense foods are more expensive than energy dense, unhealthy foods. Obviously, when funds are short, unhealthy foods are the logical choice because you can’t survive on just (low-calorie) carrots.
Environmental factors also play a role in childhood obesity. These factors include home, community and school environments. At home, parenting is important; home stress, negativity, and family eating habits are crucial for the development of given eating and lifestyle habits. Kids learn from the examples that their parents set for them. Is it okay to sit around all day? Is it okay to pound back a tub of ice cream? Early responsiveness to both hunger and satiety cues are important to prevent future over-eating habits. Since school-aged children spend the bulk of their time in school; nutrition education and activity are also important components of our education that influence childhood weight regulations.
How do we resolve this disaster? Better education that starts before conception! Mothers need to understand the influence of their health, weight and sugar consumption on their baby. Mothers need to understand what healthy even entails to, which is hard to gather in this day and age I know. Parents need to understand the influence of giving children food, especially sweet foods, to cope with emotions or as a reward. When a child enters school, they should be more adequately taught about the importance of nutrition and exercise.Healthy foods need to be more accessible to both parents and children; both in schools and grocery stores. Our school systems and governments are failing us. Hell, even our doctors, the people that many of us trust with our lives, are failing us. And whats worse? It’s at the cost of the children that we love the most. The obesity epidemic is a perpetuating cycle that should and CAN be stopped!
And that marks the end of my post, hopefully I’ve painted a pretty clear picture of the implications of childhood obesity. Got a comment about this problem? Post a comment and let me know what you think!
Jen
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As a child of the 90s, there was a much different culture compared to today’s I find.
Firstly, McDonald’s and fast food places like that was typically at most a once a month thing in my family, not everyday, not every week. Had to eat my greens (loved them especially spinach, I blame Popeye cartoons) and fruits and virtually every meal was cooked from fresh foods. The only thing that would have been pre-processed was canned soup.
Secondly, walking. First day of Kindergarten? Had to walk to school (mind you it was only a few blocks away but still). Mum pointed me in the general direction and off I went. Walked every day, sun, rain, snow. Usually raced my friend from school, him on bike, me on foot (quite a few ties I’m proud to say). The only time I remember being driven to school in my first two years of school was one hail filled day on the way home, was like being pelted by large marbles. Throughout elementary school and high school, I mostly walked, biked or skateboarded to school and back. Heck, during high school, walking was just as fast as the bus, and saved a few $ too.
Exercise was virtually an everyday thing. Not just walking, but had Phys. Ed. everyday at school, and I stayed outside playing soccer, football, hockey, etc. until it was dinner or dark. Weekends, I was outside digging up the yard for mum, hauling stuff around for dad, and then I got to go out and bike with my buds.
Sure we had a lot of tv, nintendos, candy and soda pop. But we had moderation. And we loved outside.
And there was trust. When we left the house, it was easily assumed we’d be back hours later. No cellphone check-ins, no having to be driven down the block, no fears of going missing and what not.
And we were allowed to get hurt. Climbing trees, playing on jungle gyms, tackle football, tire swings. In today’s world of hover parents, lawsuits and paranoia, while safety is important, yes, but at the cost of fun, learning and exploration. As a kid, it was weird if you didn’t break a bone or lose a tooth on the playground. And wasn’t it a Toronto school that banned baseballs, footballs and soccer balls because they were afraid some kid was going to get hit in the head and have a parent come crying? When we got hit, we got up and we kept going.
I know I’m starting to sound like an old man, “back in our days, we were tougher, blah blah blah”, but it’s true. Of course, every generation looks back to their childhood as the best era of growing up, but the sedentary lifestyle of today’s kids, with videogames, computers, cellphones and tablets (my 2 year old niece has her own), combined with processed foods high in saturated fats, salt and lacking nutrition, as well as the continued underfunding of Phys. Ed in schools and after-school programs, I shake my head.
Has childhood really changed that much in two decades?
The complexity of the issue is really interesting. Kudo’s for the thought provoking piece.
This is a really important topic. I was an obese child. I agree that access to proper nutrition is essential. Nutrition isn’t talked about enough, I had to teach myself about nutrition because it was something important to me.
Childhood obesity is a topic near and dear to my heart! I was that obese child, many times eating McDonald’s for dinner because it was quick and easy; or microwave meals after school for “snack.” Knowing what it was like to be obese and being a much fitter and healthier person today makes me want to get out and educate kids about health and fitness. I’m still looking for that right organization or agency to volunteer through. What I really want to do requires a personal fitness trainer certification, which is not something I can put energy into at this moment, but something for the future!
Fab pic.. And a great way to burn calories.. And if you haven’t climbed, go out doors and the views can be breathtaking! Honest!
Reblogged this on EcoCouple and commented:
A great article examining the root of childhood obesity and it’s implication for future generations.
What a great post! Fortunately my children are both normal weight. We eat veggies and sit together at our meals. We homeschooled both (7 and 13) until recently. Now my son goes to school and I am always amazed at the amount of overweight, even obese children. I wonder why it seems to be more girls than boys. I would have to agree a lot with Wil K. your first commenter. We walked more, played more, helped more. My kids don’t get to walk the few blocks to their friend’s homes because we are scared. I spent often the day in the woods behind our home at my daughter’s age and even younger.
I am not sure the economy is to blame for America’s poor dietary habits. That’s simplifying things an awful lot. For one thing even when the economy was great people still ate crap because veggies always cost 2-3 as much as junk food. Thank the government for farm subsidies. Children are not likely to learn good food habits if it doesn’t exist at home. My kids haven’t ever had a hotpocket, toaster pastrie, ding-dong, twinkie or anything else like that crap. It doesn’t enter my home. But that is because I have learned about these things and I can AFFORD fresh fruit, vegetables, and because I am blessed to HAVE the TIME to bake for them and cook.
Until the government brings out a program that rewards people for growing vegetables and fruit and eating them, the obesity issue will continue to err… grow. That wasn’t meant to be a pun. Really. But the insurance and big pharma companies are rolling in dough and the wealth is spreading to the senators keeping them in the fat. OK. It’s getting pathological now, so I’ll curb myself.
later
There shouldn’t be a need for the government to reward gardeners (though as one, it sure would be nice!) for growing organic fruits and vegs, but I highly believe that it should be an important aspect in everyone’s life, from young to old.
Historically, “Victory Gardens” were a large aspect of the war effort during WWI and II, promoting morale and reducing reliance on the public food system. And yet, post-war, they sadly disappeared for the most part as mass-production and instant access to supermarkets became the new trend. Why not encourage Vict-gardens on the war against obesity?
I find it very funny that people complain about the lack of quality produce when with a little hard work and dirt under the nails, produce is as easy as stepping out your front or backdoor. The strawberries I grow every year may not be as big as the ones you get shipped from Cali or Mexico, but they are a thousand times sweeter, and organic. If only I was allowed to further dig up the yard for them…
In urban areas, there ought to be more effort put into community gardens. I see so much wasted potential in parks and green space. Sure, a blank, grassy hillside is nice and all, but imagine it filled with plump, sweet strawberries? Imagine walking downtown, and seeing planters filled with carrots? Imagine seniors, the homeless, the unemployed, and whoever else with a spare half hour in their day doing a little weeding and watering? I always found it funny that nearly every house in Canada has a Maple tree in its yard, and as symbolic as it is, wouldn’t apple, pear and other fruit trees have much more benefit than just aesthetics?
Don’t have a yard or the space? You can be just as creative with a window box or sunny balcony. Many herbs and veggies like radishes are easily grown in containers. Radishes take but a few weeks to mature from seed to plate.
I firmly believe that gardening ought to be as big a part of the public school curriculum as Phys. Ed. should be. Digging with a shovel, carrying a full watering can, or turning compost over with a fork is as much exercise as a gym workout, but with edible rewards and much more satisfaction. Teaching children to be able to rely on themselves and their soil rather than the supermarket is a vital life skill. As the adage goes, “Give a man a fish…”
Of course, with the notion of communally accessible gardens has a risk factor of tampering, vandalism and other nefarious notions, but once again, it’s a trust exercise. But with more people contributing, more people relying on it, there is just that much more trust and pride, and people will work hard to ensure the safety and prosperity of such gardens.
To me, gardening is a very important aspect to the health revolution.
By government rewarding organic vegetable growing I rather meant on the scale at which government subsidizes corn and potato growers. These corporate giants amass hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars while small vegetable farms see next to nothing. If government REALLY took such an interest in their citizens health a bag of chips and an extra large coke wouldn’t be cheaper than a tub of hummus and some veggies. But it’s big money for congress members. Senators, representatives, etc all cater to the money. And there is big money in farm subsidies, big pharma, health insurance industry etc.
Very interesting, Informative read. Thank you!!
I didn’t seen anything about high fructose corn syrup which is put into many of our foods. In the 1950s there was zero consumption per person because it hadn’t been invented yet. Today, there is over 50 pounds per person per year consumed. Our food sources are contaminated and it is difficult to avoid bad ingredients. Whole foods take time to cook and we are over scheduled and over burdened by our wants/needs/desires/impulses.
We are not merely our genes. The expression of genetic information can be modified by external factors and our destiny is not decided at conception. We do have more control over our lives, but it takes work.
BTW, national standards for physical education are dropped and kids are put into before school and after school programs where running wild isn’t exactly appreciated. Parents are afraid to let their children out of doors for fear of harm befalling them. All this lessened movement along with the increased sugar and fat consumption leads to more calories in/less calories out which is the method for weight gain.
Very interesting article. You brought up a lot of interesting points. I may have to reblog this one soon.
This was an interesting post! I was an overweight child, but not obese. I don’t remember there being many other kids who were chubby like me while I was growing up. I stood out like a sore thumb, which sure didn’t help me make friends. You do see more overweight kiddos these days, and not only this, but even obese kids. This really is a problem! Thank you for this post and bringing the importance of this issue to my attention.