A new UCLA study reveals the immediate consequences of childhood obesity and finds that obese youngsters are at far greater risk than had been supposed.
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Compared to kids who are not overweight, obese children are at nearly twice the risk of having three or more reported medical, mental or developmental conditions, the UCLA researchers found.?Overweight children had a 1.3 times higher risk.
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Neal Halfon, MD, MPH
"This study paints a comprehensive picture of childhood obesity, and we were surprised to see just how many conditions were associated with childhood obesity," said lead author Dr. Neal Halfon, a professor of pediatrics, public health and public policy at UCLA.
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"The findings should serve as a wake-up call to physicians, parents and teachers, who should be better informed of the risk for other health conditions associated with childhood obesity so that they can target interventions that can result in better health outcomes."
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Overall, the researchers found, obese children were more likely than those who were classified as not overweight to have reported poorer health; more disability; a greater tendency toward emotional and behavioral problems; higher rates of grade repetition, missed school days and other school problems; ADHD; conduct disorder; depression; learning disabilities; developmental delays; bone, joint and muscle problems; asthma; allergies; headaches; and ear infections.
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The UCLA researchers speculate that the ongoing shift in chronic childhood conditions is likely related to decades of underappreciated changes in the social and physical environments in which children live, learn and play.
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They propose that obesity-prevention efforts should target these social and environmental influences and that kids should be screened and managed for the co-morbid conditions.
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"Obesity might be causing the co-morbidity, or perhaps the co-morbidity is causing obesity ? or both might be caused by some other unmeasured third factor," Halfon said. "For example, exposure to toxic stress might change the neuroregulatory processes that affect impulse control seen in ADHD, as well as leptin sensitivity, which can contribute to weight gain. An understanding of the association of obesity with other co-morbidities may provide important information about causal pathways to obesity and more effective ways to prevent it."
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Reference:
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Academic Pediatrics, 2013; 13 (1): 6 DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2012.10.007
?Associations Between Obesity and Comorbid Mental Health,?Developmental, and Physical Health Conditions in a Nationally Representative Sample of US Children Aged 10 to 17?
Neal?Halfon, MD, MPH, Kandyce?Larson, PhD, Wendy?Slusser, MD, MS
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Source: http://pilladvised.com/2013/01/obese-kids-immediate-health-risks/
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