Latest news with #childhoodobesity
Medscape
5 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Prenatal Exposure, Maternal Factors Drive Childhood BMI
Maternal factors, including high maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), high weight gain during pregnancy, and smoking, were associated with an atypically high BMI trajectory in children, based on data from nearly 9500 children. Childhood obesity remains a major risk factor for chronic health complications throughout life, and identifying modifiable early-life factors may help guide interventions and prevention, wrote Chang Liu, PhD, a psychologist at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, and colleagues. 'This study allowed us to identify children following unhealthy growth trajectories as early as age 3.5 years and identify the point where BMI starts to show rapid changes such as adiposity rebound, creating crucial opportunities for intervention before obesity becomes established,' Liu said in an interview. In a study published in JAMA Network Open , the researchers analyzed data from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohort from January 1997 to June 2024. The final study population included 9483 children (approximately half were boys) from 23 longitudinal pediatric cohorts in the United States and Puerto Rico born between 1997 and 2019. The primary outcome was childhood BMI. The researchers categorized the children into two BMI trajectories, typical and atypical, using a novel model based on BMI shifts over time. Children with a typical trajectory (8477 children; 89.4%) showed linear BMI decreases to 6 years of age, followed by linear increases from age 6 to 9 years. Children with an atypical trajectory (10 children; 6%) showed early stable BMI from age 1 to 3.5 years, followed by rapid linear increases from 3.5 to 9 years. The researchers assessed prenatal exposures to smoking, alcohol, and stress (depression or anxiety) as well as maternal characteristics of prepregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and child characteristics of preterm birth, birth weight, and breastfeeding. The analysis used a multiphase latent growth mixture model to identify qualitative shifts in BMI during childhood that have not been addressed in previous studies, the researchers noted. At 9 years of age, the atypical group had a mean BMI of 26.2, higher than the 99th percentile. Prenatal smoking, high prepregnancy BMI, high gestational weight gain, and high birth weight were significantly associated with the atypical trajectory. The findings were limited by several factors, including the clinical utility of the researchers' multiphase model, which the researchers described as 'more computationally intensive than traditional methods of identifying abnormal childhood growth patterns.' Other limitations included the use of BMI values that may show variations in levels of adiposity based on age and sex, the lack of control for some social determinants of health, and incomplete data on BMI during school age and some perinatal exposures, the researchers wrote. Implications and Research Gaps Despite these limitations, the study identified factors that increase the risk for childhood obesity, and addressing these factors could help redirect unhealthy BMI trajectories, the researchers concluded. 'Without intervention, children exhibiting high BMI trajectories during childhood are more likely to develop overweight or obesity as adolescents and adults and are at higher risk for a range of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases throughout their lifetimes,' Liu told Medscape Medical News . Although examination of developmental pathways that lead to unhealthy vs healthy BMIs is crucial to identify modifiable early life factors, 'the challenge has been that most previous research couldn't pinpoint exactly when children's growth patterns start going off track,' Liu said. Opportunities for clinicians include helping women of reproductive age achieve healthy weight and smoking cessation before pregnancy, supporting appropriate gestational weight gain during pregnancy, and closely monitoring children who show early signs of non-declining BMI patterns, especially those with identified risk factors, Liu said. Further studies are needed to examine the biological mechanisms linking these early-life factors to different childhood BMI trajectories, Liu told Medscape Medical News . 'Additionally, research is needed to understand how social and environmental factors contribute to the racial and ethnic disparities we observed in growth patterns,' she said. 'Future work should test whether interventions targeting these modifiable factors during critical developmental periods can successfully help children maintain healthier growth trajectories,' Liu added. Expanding Awareness of Obesity Risk Early identification of risk for pediatric obesity can be crucial to minimizing disease morbidity and mortality, said Charles Hannum, MD, a general pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, in an interview. The current study not only confirms previously known risks but also adds new information to help pediatricians identify young children who would benefit from a more nuanced approach to growth monitoring and who may also benefit from a more robust prevention strategy for obesity, he said. The data also show how maternal factors and the pregnancy environment influence child health, said Hannum. 'Lastly, this study is from a large, diverse population group, making the study conclusions more generalizable to the population of the United States,' he said. Although some of the study findings were known, such as the association between childhood obesity and prenatal smoking, the current study adds the dimension of how that risk connects to the child's growth trend over time, said Hannum. 'The growth trend is often how pediatricians monitor this risk anecdotally,' he said. The associations between BMI trajectory and modifiable risks are not unexpected, but they help support the assumptions clinicians often make about obesity risk and can inform more focused and individually tailored prevention strategies, he noted. The data can help support both public health initiatives and clinical practice at the individual level, Hannum told Medscape Medical News . For pediatricians, the findings support starting obesity prevention strategies early and monitoring children who have an at-risk BMI trajectory more frequently, he noted. When children do not follow a trajectory of decreased BMI from early to late toddlerhood, even if a BMI is normal, 'we now have evidence that they have an increased risk for developing obesity, and this knowledge may help to prevent some cases of pediatric obesity,' Hannum said. Add More Variables in Further Research The current study's limitations include missing and incomplete data and possible challenges when applying the trajectories to broad, diverse populations, given the complex contributors to pediatric obesity, Hannum told Medscape Medical News . More clarity is also needed on when and how to prioritize prevention strategies in the setting of additional obesity risk factors, Hannum added.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plan for mobile take away outside shop described as "unacceptable"
PLANS for a new takeaway near two primary schools have been refused after planners described the proposals as 'unacceptable.' A planning application to make several changes to the Local Supermarket site at the corner of Saffron Drive and Allerton Road were submitted to Bradford Council earlier this year. Among the proposals were to install a mobile take away unit in the shop's car park and expand the building to create a hot food café and dining area. A new extraction flue would also be added to the extension. But the plans have now been refused by Bradford Council, with officers saying the flue would 'create an unacceptable amount of odour.' And they also argued that the take away would be too close to primary schools – going against the Council's hot food take away policy set up to reduce childhood obesity by limiting access to take aways nears schools, play areas and parks. The application had been submitted by M Salawat. Refusing the plans, planning officers said: 'The Council's adopted Hot Food Takeaways Planning Document prohibits the siting of hot food takeaways where they would fall within 400m of the boundary of an existing primary or secondary school, youth centred facility or a recreation ground or park boundary. 'This site sits within 400m of several such facilities (including Allerton Primary School and Ley Top Primary School) and as a consequence the formation of a takeaway in this location is unacceptable.' They also argued that the flue that would be installed in the new hot food area in the shop extension was too short. There are homes next to the shop, and flats above it, and planners said the new flue would not be able to disperse cooking odours away from these properties. Planners said: 'The new flue to the roof of the single storey side extension would have a noticeable impact on the amenity of neighbouring occupants by way of the noise, vibrations and smells that would emanate from the proposed flue. 'It will create an unacceptable amount of odour by not discharging at a height sufficient to disperse odours adequately.' Highways officers also pointed out that the car park on the site had not been finished to the standards approved in a previous planning application for the shop. They said: 'The car park is unfinished and has not been surfaced and marked out as per the previously approved planning applications.'
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
American Breakfast Cereals Are Becoming Less Healthy, Study Finds
Breakfast cereals, a heavily marketed, highly processed mainstay of the American diet, especially among children, are becoming less healthy, filled with increasing amounts of sugar, fat and sodium, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study also found that cereals' protein and fiber content — nutrients essential for a healthy diet — have been in decline. The findings, based on an analysis of 1,200 new or reformulated cereal products introduced in the United States between 2010 and 2023, are likely to add fuel to the ongoing debate about the relationship between processed food, mounting childhood obesity and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases. The debate has gained greater prominence in the months since health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began using the federal bully pulpit to excoriate ultra-processed foods as part of his 'Make America Healthy Again' campaign. Mr. Kennedy, who has declared that 'sugar is poison,' last month announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would work to remove some artificial dyes from the U.S. food supply, citing concerns about their impact on children's health. Shuoli Zhao, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky and a co-author of the new study, said the findings were especially notable given evolving consumer awareness about the links between excess consumption of sugar, salt and saturated fat and chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and cancer. 'What's most surprising to me is that the healthy claims made on the front of these products and the nutritional facts on the back are actually going in the opposite direction,' he said. The analysis, based on data gathered by the marketing consultancy Mintel, did not identify brand names, nor did it capture information on purchasing and consumption habits. The vast majority of the 1,200 products it analyzed were relaunches of existing cereals, including so-called reformulations that alter a product's taste or nutritional content, Professor Zhao said. The study found that the total fat content per serving of newly launched breakfast cereals increased nearly 34 percent between 2010 and 2023, and sodium content climbed by 32 percent. Sugar content in the newly introduced products rose by nearly 11 percent, according to the analysis. So-called ready-to-eat cereals are the most commonly consumed food product among children aged 5 to 12, according to Department of Agriculture data, and nearly a third of all American children eat cereal each morning. In contrast, only 15 percent of children have fruit with their breakfast, and just 10 percent consume eggs, according to the data. Kellogg Company, General Mills and Post Holdings, the three largest makers of breakfast cereals in the United States, did not respond to requests for comment. Peter Lurie, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group that was not involved in the study, said he was surprised to learn that large food companies have not made a more concerted effort to reduce the sugar, salt and fat content of their breakfast cereals. 'It's extraordinary that, at a time when Americans are becoming more health conscious, a product often marketed as offering a healthy start to one's day is actually getting less healthy,' he said. Although the category is not inherently unhealthy, many nutritionists take a jaundiced view of American breakfast cereals given the sky-high sugar content of some products, like Lucky Charms and Cap'n Crunch. Dr. Josephine Connolly-Schoonen, executive director of the nutrition division at Stony Brook Medicine, said the findings of the study highlighted the dilemma many parents face when navigating supermarket aisles. 'It reinforces my belief that the food marketplace is very confusing, and that's not by accident,' said Dr. Connolly-Schoonen, who was not involved with the study. 'The food industry engineers the confusion.' Her breakfast recommendations to parents include overnight oats, fruit, eggs, peanut butter and whole grain breads. 'We need to continue to try to break through the noise and give very strong messages about what is healthy, and that includes whole foods; foods that look like they did when they were alive,' she said. Some of the cynicism voiced by nutrition experts stems from the fact that many food companies offer healthier versions of the same cereal brands in Canada and in Europe. More recently, the sugar and sodium content of breakfast cereals served in American schools has also been declining, a result of federal legislation passed in 2010 that set new nutrition standards for the meals, which sustain 14 million students each day. Stricter limits on sugar content go into effect this summer, and the standards tighten even further in 2027, according to the School Nutrition Association. Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokeswoman for the association, said she hoped food companies would begin voluntarily offering those healthier school-based products to the general public. 'If we're encouraging kids to eat healthier at school,' she said, 'then we want them to be eating healthier at home too.'
CBC
09-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Not just fitness and diet: New childhood obesity guidelines address stigma
1st set of guidelines for kids since 2007 ⭐️HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW⭐️ Health professionals who treat children living with obesity have a new set of guidelines to follow. These were released on April 14 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The guidelines haven't been updated since 2007. And it's the first time medical professionals have guidelines for children and youth patients (aged 18 and under) that are separate from adults. The guidelines were developed by medical doctors and obesity researchers over four years, in partnership with the nonprofit health charity Obesity Canada. They include evidence-based recommendations for things like nutrition, exercise, counselling, and in some cases, medication and surgery The paper also recommends that health-care professionals approach treatment collaboratively with a child and their family. It recommends combining different types of treatment. It also focuses on not using stigmatizing language and being aware of stigma and weight bias. Stigma is negative attitudes, beliefs or behaviours about a particular quality or person. 'These guidelines obviously are amazing and great and overdue and speak to the fact that obesity is a real medical condition,' said Sandra Elia, the chair of Obesity Matters, an advocacy group. What is childhood obesity? Obesity is a complex disease that involves abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Some of the health risks for children living with obesity are high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The guidelines approach obesity as a chronic disease, meaning it can last a long time or come back. 'It's not something that just goes away,' said Geoff Ball, the director of the Pediatric Centre for Weight and Health at the University of Alberta and one of the lead authors of the new guidelines. He said many kids who struggle with obesity growing up will also deal with it as adults. About 80 per cent of 12- to 18-year-olds living with obesity will carry the disease into adulthood, according to Obesity Canada. The new guidelines advise doctors to avoid stigmatizing language when speaking with patients about living with obesity. (Image credit: World Obesity Federation) Ball also stressed that the new recommendations are not just about shrinking body size. 'This is not just about body weight,' he said. 'This is about helping people with obesity be as healthy as they can be.' A patient could receive medical support that improves their health and still remain at the same weight, said Ball. New guidelines address stigma, biases The guidelines include a word that doesn't appear in previous guidelines: stigma. All three experts we spoke to said that many people assume obesity is a person's fault. It's not a 'moral failing' or the fault of the parents, said Ball. Those sorts of judgments are a form of bias and stigma that can have a negative impact on health, said Ball. This includes increasing the likelihood of anxiety, depression and deterring patients from accessing health care. WATCH — Mental health, mental illness and stigma explained The new guidelines tell health-care professionals to take into account 'social determinants of health,' which include housing and access to nutritious food. 'We usually tell people that they just need to eat less and move more and they can manage this, and it's just not that simple,' said Ian Patton, director of advocacy and public engagement at Obesity Canada. 'It's not just about what you eat or do,' said Ball. 'It's the environment that we live in that determines a lot of the choices that we make day-to-day.' Another way to tackle stigma is to address how doctors and health-care professionals are speaking to patients. The guidelines recommend using person-first language. Person-first language emphasizes the individual first and their disability or health condition second. Instead of calling a person 'obese,' a health-care provider should say a 'person living with obesity.' Guidelines are limited by available data Ball said there are some limits to the information. 'No guideline is perfect. We know that there are limitations in us as humans and also in data.' He said that there is not a lot of information about certain groups of people, including kids living in northern communities and kids from lower-income families. There is also a lack of evidence around the long-term effects of some medications, such as GLP-1 agonists like those known under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. Wegovy has been approved by Health Canada for some children aged 12 and up with obesity. Ozempic has not been approved for kids. Another issue is accessibility to treatments, said Ball. For example, there are very few clinics that provide weight loss surgery for pediatric patients in Canada, according to Ball. Depending on where people live, their health insurance and their income, some treatments may not be available or may be too expensive. 'Everyone should have the right to access services and be treated fairly and with respect,' said Ball. What should kids and families take away? Kids and their families can use these guidelines to help them have discussions with their doctor, said Patton. Clinical practice guidelines are usually meant for health-care professionals but Patton said these recommendations were purposely written in a way that non-professionals can understand. Elia said that before anything else, the approach should be to make sure a child doesn't feel judged. 'The first thing we need to start from is making sure that the child understands that they are good, they are worthy and they are unconditionally loved,' she said. She said that kids should avoid stepping on the scale and obsessing over their weight. If they do need to be weighed by their doctor, they don't need to know the number. Patton said everyone has a role to play. He said he hopes that society gets better about weight bias and stigma. 'I would hope that we stop commenting on people's bodies altogether. Fat jokes aren't cool.'
