Health habits, rather than hereditary factors, are the key cause of childhood obesity, according to a recent study.
In a school-based health program, checkups of 1,003 sixth-graders in Michigan revealed that obese children are more likely to consume a school-provided lunch instead of a packed lunch from home, as well as to spend two hours a day watching TV or playing video games.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center compiled the results, which ran in January in the American Heart Journal.
“For the extremely overweight child, genetic screening may be a consideration,” said study senior author Kim A. Eagle, MD, a cardiologist and a director of the U-M Cardiovascular Center. “For the rest, increasing physical activity, reducing recreational screen time and improving the nutritional value of school lunches offers great promise to begin a reversal of current childhood obesity trends.”
U-M researchers found that 58% of obese children had watched two hours of TV in the previous day, compared with 41% of non-obese children. And 45% of obese students always ate school lunch, compared with 34% of non-obese students.
In addition, significantly fewer obese kids exercised regularly, took physical education classes or participated in sports.
The researchers noted that new evidence has emerged showing leptin deficiency, a genetic mutation in the hormone that controls hunger, may cause a person to overeat.
However, said study first author Taylor Eagle, “if diets and physical activity were similar in obese and non-obese students, this would argue for a stronger genetic basis for obesity in children.”
Of the students, 15% were obese. But almost all reported unhealthy habits such as consuming regular soda, not eating fruits and vegetables and not exercising regularly.
“It’s clear that opportunities to improve health abound for the majority of our students, not just the 15 percent who are already obese,” says study co-author Elizabeth Jackson, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Cardiovascular Center.
In a school-based health program, checkups of 1,003 sixth-graders in Michigan revealed that obese children are more likely to consume a school-provided lunch instead of a packed lunch from home, as well as to spend two hours a day watching TV or playing video games.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center compiled the results, which ran in January in the American Heart Journal.
“For the extremely overweight child, genetic screening may be a consideration,” said study senior author Kim A. Eagle, MD, a cardiologist and a director of the U-M Cardiovascular Center. “For the rest, increasing physical activity, reducing recreational screen time and improving the nutritional value of school lunches offers great promise to begin a reversal of current childhood obesity trends.”
U-M researchers found that 58% of obese children had watched two hours of TV in the previous day, compared with 41% of non-obese children. And 45% of obese students always ate school lunch, compared with 34% of non-obese students.
In addition, significantly fewer obese kids exercised regularly, took physical education classes or participated in sports.
The researchers noted that new evidence has emerged showing leptin deficiency, a genetic mutation in the hormone that controls hunger, may cause a person to overeat.
However, said study first author Taylor Eagle, “if diets and physical activity were similar in obese and non-obese students, this would argue for a stronger genetic basis for obesity in children.”
Of the students, 15% were obese. But almost all reported unhealthy habits such as consuming regular soda, not eating fruits and vegetables and not exercising regularly.
“It’s clear that opportunities to improve health abound for the majority of our students, not just the 15 percent who are already obese,” says study co-author Elizabeth Jackson, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Cardiovascular Center.
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