Childhood Obesity is not Cute or Funny

By: Ronald Hixson

It is not uncommon for grandmothers to hug their grandchildren then make a comment about the child needing some “meat on the bones”. Children can be “healthy” without being overweight, and obese children often suffer from what some bullies say about them or names they are called. While there are stories of weight loss and control there are many stories of failure. Over a life span a child can grow to be obese adult and by then it is even more difficult to change life styles, but not impossible. Having a better understanding of weight gain patterns could provide useful insights into the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Parents who are still cooking with lard are ignoring health warning against lard and other cooking oils that are high in cholesterol. Eating a diet of fast foods, chips, sodas and candy adds to the fat content but does nothing for building a nutritional meal that the body needs in order to build a defense against the attacks on the autoimmune system. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health recommends that our daily fat intake of fat should be about 20 to 35 percent of our total calorie intake for optimal health. For example, if we consume 2,000 calories daily, only 400 to 700 of those calories should come from fat. When you eat fat, it should be unsaturated fats instead of saturated or trans fats (1). Eating before bed time at night can cause problems for children who often eat the “wrong foods” which are highly acidic or fatty foods which can cause heart burn, thus disrupting sleep. Studies of children with asthma who eat before going to sleep at night tend to have significantly more day and nighttime gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing and suffocation, than children who do not eat right before going to bed (2). Body weight is affected by diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and poor choices in life styles.

Obesity is a powerful, prevalent predictor of poor health all through the life span. In 2010, 475 million adults were obese and the number is estimated to grow to 1,115.8 million by 2030. Autoimmune diseases arise from an abnormal immune response of the body against substances and tissues that hurt and weaken the defense against diseases. According to recently published articles harmful health consequences are many, such as increase in the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, gallstones, colon and breast cancer, and the incidence of mental disorders such as low self-esteem and depression. Other websites state that chronic overweight conditions might create rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, pernicious anemia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Fat cells are being blamed for causing brain damage within the hippocampus and the limbic system (3). A few professional articles have reported that removing fat cells (changing diets, adding physical activity, and reducing substance abuse), has shown to be effective in reducing the damage to the brain. Overweight and obesity seldom “disappear” overnight, despite all the suggestions of some weight control programs.

These escalating trends foreshadow future increases in physical and mental health problems which, in turn, necessitate a better understanding of the causes and effects of treatments for obesity. In conclusion, some research articles that discuss the consequences are suggesting new treatments that might reverse the damage to the brain by obesity. Doing nothing to stop or prevent additional health problems is unwise and has serious consequences for the next generation. For more information, or for references, contact the author at ronaldhixson@yahoo.com

References

1. Orsama, Mattila, Ermes, van Gils, Wansink, Korhonen (2014). Weight rhythms: Weight increases during weekends and decreases during weekdays. Retrieved from http://karger.com/Article/FullText/356147
2. Mueller, K., Sacher, J., Arelin, K., Holiga, S., Kratzsch, J., Villringer, A., & Schroeter, M.L. (2012). Overweight and obesity are associated with neuronal injury in the human cerebellum and hippocampus in young adults: A combined MRI, serum marker and gene expression study. Translational Psychiatry, 2, Macmillan Publishers Limited. doi:10.1038/tp.2012.121.
3. Xu, L., Sun, X., Tang, M., & Chen, J.D. (2009). Involvement of the hippocampus and neuronal nitric oxide synapse in the gastric electrical stimulation therapy for obesity. OBES SURG, 19:475-483, doi 10.1007/s11695-008-9579-7.