Obesity in Children

By Emily Goltz

Hi everyone! Today, I will be talking about obesity in children. I learned about this subject while I was in my kinesiology class last semester with Dr. Pontifax. Personally, I think it is a big factor in the world today and can easily be explained and talked about but is very hard to control and reduce in our society.

There are three main theories to why people become obese. It has to do with your genetics, the environment around you and your behavior with family and friends. First off, most genetic theories have a 25% chance of the possibility of becoming obese.The Thrifty Gene Theory explains that some individuals are protected against starvation through more efficient fat storage and lower metabolic rates. Therefore, fatter individuals are more likely to survive if there were to be a scarcity in food. Saying this, there is a big difference between starving and dieting. With dieting, you are usually cutting out certain food groups or reducing the amount of food intake. With starving, the lack of food makes it so that your body breaks down muscle instead of fat. Another way genetics is a factor of obesity is people have different levels of adipose cells which are fat cells. They rare also known as a hormone known as Leptin. Leptin regulates your food intake and your metabolism. In obese individuals, there is usually a higher level of circulating leptin. The higher amount of fat cells found in the body means there is a usually more weight found on the person as well.

Many times, you inherit the traits your parents introduce you to. If one of your parents is obese, there is a 50% chance you will be as well. If both of your parents are obese, there is a 80% chance of being obese. Parents are the ones who feed you and teach you the importance of nutrients and healthy living. They are the ones that introduce you to their comfort foods which them become your comfort foods. If you grow up in a poorer family, the chances of becoming obese increase. Many times, parents can't afford foods rich in nutrients and that are healthy so they have to resort into purchasing foods that will get the family through the week and have a higher chance of being malnutritions. Usually, there are three times as many supermarkets in wealthy neighborhoods. Another reason is that in some schools and neighborhoods, there are no after-school sports available to children. There is also the possibility of an unsafe neighborhood where it isn't safe to let children play outside without an adult supervision.

With behavioral contributions, there are two theories that go along with it. Food consumption and physical activity are the two biggest factors. In the past few years alone, the amount of cheap fast food places have increased dramatically. Families have found it easier to eat out rather than cook the meals. With eating out, many times you can feed a whole family for a low amount of money with large portions. Children eat twice the amount calories today than they should be. The percentage of healthy food being consumed by children to teenagers has decreased. For a drink, children now go for the soda that is high in calories and sugar. Physical activity has also decreased dramatically. Most of the time, the only physical activity a child will get is in school only a couple of times a week. More schools have started increasing the amount of physical activity required in the school week but most children do not participate in after-school activities.

References:
"Introduction into Kinesiology" Dr. Pontifax. KIN 173, Module 2.4 Energy Balance.