Effective strategies urgently needed to stop progression of childhood obesity epidemic

Currently more than 10% of preschoolers in the U.S. are obese and effective strategies that target pregnancy, infancy, and toddlers are urgently needed to stop the progression of the childhood obesity epidemic, as proposed in an article in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free online ahead of print on the Childhood Obesity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

Evidence increasingly suggests that the risk for childhood obesity begins before and during pregnancy via maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain. It is likely that obese preschoolers will continue to be obese later in childhood and they may begin to exhibit adverse effects of obesity as early as 3 years of age.

Based on their review of the evidence from basic science, prevention, and systems research, the authors propose a systems approach to preventing childhood obesity that begins in pregnancy, continues through early life, and combines behavior change interventions with the implementation of environmental changes in communities.

Philip Nader, MD, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA), and colleagues from University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha, NE), University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA), The Brookings Institution (Washington, DC), and Northwestern University (Chicago, IL), discuss their early life systems-oriented obesity prevention strategy in the article "Next Steps in Obesity Prevention: Altering Early Life Systems To Support Healthy Parents, Infants, and Toddlers."

"A great many forces conspire to produce epidemic obesity, in children and adults alike. Indeed, almost everything that makes modern living 'modern' is obesigenic. It will take an equal, or greater, opposing force to turn this tide and Dr. Nader and colleagues characterize this force artfully and convincingly. They show how we can - and should - apply a systems approach to obesity prevention and control that spans the lifespan and begins even before birth (so-called 'primordial prevention'). This is not just a very important article that we are delighted to publish - it is a clarion call, and blueprint, for effective action," says David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity, and Director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center.

Source:

Childhood Obesity

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Fermented kimchi may help combat obesity by regulating gut microbiota