Root Cause of Obesity - article from the Star newspaper April 23.2011

APART from the premature acquisition of adult diseases like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer, childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem, depression and psycho-social problems in adulthood.

The battle against childhood obesity must be fought on all fronts that engage parents, communities and involve resources from the public and private sector.

In the United States, Congress has described childhood obesity as the worst health crisis and slammed a tax on sugary drinks to combat it, and schools have banned junk food from vending machines and even chocolate milk from the canteens.

When we were students we used to come back from school pre-TV days, throw our school bags in a corner and whizz outdoors for games.

But what do we see nowadays? Students have become sedentary, throw themselves in front of the TV or play video games on their computers.

Surprising as it may seem, research has shown that obesity in children has its roots well-programmed into them even before they are born.

Mothers must quit smoking if pregnant. Smoking mothers produce underweight babies and ironically these babies go on overdrive soon after and end up as obese children.

It has been established that breastfeeding cuts the risk of obesity in children by 35%.
There is significantly higher plasma concentration of insulin in infants who have been bottle-fed compared to infants who have been breast-fed and these higher concentrations propagate fat deposits and contribute to obesity.

What this implies is that we must improve the health of expectant mothers instead of simply attempting to solve the problem of overweight children.

A study conducted by scientists in Britain, New Zealand and Singapore showed that what a mother ate during pregnancy “could change the function of her child’s DNA through a process called epigenetic change. Babies with a high degree of epigenetic change were more likely to develop a metabolism that lays down more fat and become obese”.

The study also discovered that the effect was not linked to either the mother or the baby’s weight at birth, suggesting that a slim woman could deliver a small baby who may go on to become obese because of changes triggered by diet in the womb.

Some parents force their infants to eat. Children must be given free leeway to eat according to their appetite.

Parents must provide a balanced diet with ample fibre limiting to 30% or less derived calories from fat. (ample fibre recommended is at least 25gm of soluble and insoluble fibres per day)

They may substitute skimmed milk for whole milk at the age of two and must not offer sweets as a reward for finishing a meal.

Meals should not be pre-prepared and emphasis must be on leafy green vegetables reinforced with fruit. (5 serving of multi deep coloured fruits and vegetables recommended)

Our parents must take the cue from Michelle Obama who has launched a campaign nationwide called “Let’s Move” stressing the importance of physical activity for all children, limiting hours of TV viewing and computer games.

Pharmaceutical weight reducing drugs and surgery should, generally speaking, be avoided in the management of childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity in our country is an alarming epidemic and, if not checked, our children will (the the 1st generation of adults who will) die at a younger age than us.

Summary:

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