`Mac and cheese`, little exercise boost obesity rate
GG2.NET NEWS [23/10/2006]
HUGE plates of macaroni and cheese, and being driven to school rather than walking are just two of the factors scientists cited in Massachusetts yesterday to explain why so many US children are overweight.
At least one-quarter of the 800 studies presented at the annual conference in Boston of the North American Society for the Study of Obesity focused on pediatric obesity.
The intense attention by scientists underscored the alarming phenomenon, which affects some 12.5 million children and adolescents in the US.
Scientists pointed to numerous factors that contribute to 32.7 per cent of boys under 10 and 27.8 per cent of girls being overweight: massive portions at meals, the “energy density” - calories per gram - of food eaten, children being drive rather than walking to school, and ethnic group, among others.
They noted that as they grow into the 10-14 years adolescent period, girls catch up with boys, with roughly 30 per cent of both sexes being overweight.
And, they said, an adolescent with one overweight parent was 79 per cent likely to themselves remain overweight when they reached adulthood.
One study noted the higher levels of obesity among African-American, Hispanic-American and Native American children, compared to Caucasians.
Jennifer Orlet Fisher of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas pointed to large meal portions for preschool children in low-income Hispanic and black families that led to early obesity.
Garnering particular focus was the calorie-laden pasta classic of American children, “mac and cheese”.
Questions focused on the value of various portion sizes and whether or not the dish had butter.
But they concluded that kids of any group would scarf down whatever size portion of mac and cheese they were served, and that the amount consumed did not change even if one plate was richer than another.
Another study focused on the effect of children not walking to school on their weight, even surveying parents` reasons for not allowing them to walk.
A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that even if the distance from home to school was less than one kilometer (0.6 miles), parents said they wanted to drive their children because of bad weather (44 per cent), anxiety (36 per cent), fear their child will be kidnapped (35 per cent), and traffic (29 per cent).
A study by Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson of the Brown University School of Medicine offered evidence for the first time for the popular phrase “Freshman 15” describing the number of pounds (or seven kilograms) that students in university were said to add in their first year.
She found that student life in the US involves an increase in drinking alcohol in groups and a decline in exercise as students spend late hours studying. This led to an average increase of 13 pounds (six kilograms) in two years.
childhood obesity