Discussions on the impact of genes, behavior, and environment on you, your family, and our society.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Prevention Obestiy 911
TAG of the Week:
Obesity is now a public health emergeny.
Read this week's reading on obesity, life-course perspective, and these two news link.
In your comment: briefly propose an intervention using the life-course theory to decrease obesity.
Comments on this
Obesity Is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years
Life course perspective intervention for obesity would be very effective because we know that obesity is due to many environmental, genetic, as well as behavioral factors and that there is recent evidence that shows that prenatal diet and early life are crucial in the development of obesity. It is important that research studies obesity development over years of life. Based on the research, an intervention that aims to improve maternal diets and emphasize healthy eating during pregnancy and lactation would be effective in reducing excessive weight gain of mothers and consumption of too many fatty acids, which have been shown to increase the rates of obesity in children. I think OBGYN doctors need to ask pregnant mothers what they are eating and monitor their weight gain. Mothers gaining too much weight or eating improperly should be referred to a dietitian. In addition, the evidence also shows that obesity is established in early life and that those who are obese in kindergarden are much more likely to be obese in eighth grade. This means intervention efforts need to be implemented as early as kindergarden. I propose that healthy eating habits should be taught in schools, exercise encouraged, and primary care physicians and pediatricians need to be monitoring the weight of children and making sure parents know and introduce healthy eating habits in the home from a very young age. This ensures the continuation of healthy eating habits throughout the child's life.
I agree that life course perspective intervention would be a good course of action for the reduction of the obesity epidemic. Because research shows that the factors that influence obesity can be found as early as in pregnancy and are instrumental to causation of obesity as early as the first few years of life, a course of action that includes changing these contributors throughout the life span would be most beneficial. I was actually really surprised about the effect pregnant moms' diets have on their children being obese later in life. I know that obese moms are more likely to beget obese children, based on genetics as well as perpetuated lifestyle factors and choices. However, it was still jarring to me to find out that the diets of mothers who are not even obese can effect the outcomes of their children. As we learned earlier in the semester, through the use of genomics, it makes sense that the diets of past generations can have impacts on the health of future generations, but this phenomenon is different from even that. This makes me wonder about the mechanisms that cause this phenomenon to actually happen. Is the genome actually being changed in the almost fully developed child in the third trimester from the mother's diet, or are the mother's actions rewiring the child's brain in this time? Is the mother who eats a high-fat diet during pregnancy but is not obese also at risk for becoming obese after pregnancy with the same changes happening in her brain?
I think that diseases and conditions that have a genetic component as well as a lifestyle component, such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, are very interesting. You cannot change your genes, but you can change your lifestyle. In terms of obesity in children, it is extremely important to educate parents about how these processes in the body work, and what they can do to combat them. A problem with this though, is it can cost a lot of money, and involve major lifestyle changes such as a complete change in diet and everyday activities such as TV watching. I think that the second article about mothers’ diets during pregnancy affecting their offspring’s’ weight very interesting as well. You can’t change your genes, but, according to this preliminary research in mice, mothers have an influence over their child’s obesity battle before they are even born. Prevention is the best solution to many public health problems, and obesity is one of them. More research is needed in this topic as it pertains to humans, but it is a fascinating subject.
I think interventions built on the life-course theory are necessary and can have a huge impact on the obesity issue in this country. The issue that we deal with when it comes to public health interventions in the US is the lack of funding. Only 3% of the country's healthcare expenditures go to prevention making it crucial to create and implement interventions that will lead to effective improvements to the health and wellness of communities.
If the problem of obesity starts at an early age and fetal stage of life due to environmental and lifestyle factors for both the mother and child, regardless of the roles genes play, interventions should target these sensitive stages of life. One possible intervention is starting mandated nutritional programs for expecting mothers or free nutrition consulting for expecting mothers.
I think the problem with interventions targeted at kindergarten children or school based programs is, not only that the obesity problems starts earlier according to this study, but that often, children have very little control over what they eat. Parents control what children eat. They cook for them, pack their lunch, schedule their day. Interventions should target parents in order to make an effective lifestyle change in children. Guides and resources for healthy lifestyles must be readily available to parents. For example, healthy cooking recipes, activities involving physical movement, and advice from experts should be made available to parents whether it's from an online resource, or easy-to-read pamphlet guides handed to parents by their children's pediatrician during their checkups. By getting pediatricians involved in the process, parents can use them as a resource for questions and, by having the pamphlets given at every appointment, the information on the pamphlets can be age targeted.
The life-course theory could be very useful in creating interventions to decrease the rate of obesity. Since there are many factors that can lead to or cause obesity, ranging from genetic mutations to behavioral influences, it is important to take a holistic approach to combating obesity.
Since many people who are going to become obese do so at a young age, usually by age 5, it is important to address this issue early in life. While some have stressed the importance of pregnant mothers eating healthy and not being overweight or obese, I feel that if an obese woman becomes pregnant, it is unlikely that she will be able to significantly change her eating habits and lose weight during her pregnancy. Since “obese mothers beget obese children,” we need to fix this issue before a woman becomes pregnant. This is why nutrition counseling for pregnant mothers is not enough. We need to fix this issue before pregnancy.
To do so, we need to address the issue of a lack of education about healthy diets and exercise habits and the high costs of many healthy foods, foremost. We need to make the healthy choice the easy choice, and thus make fruits and vegetables cheaper and more appealing than fast food. We need to change the culture of eating processed, high-fat and high-calorie foods. In addition, focusing obesity interventions on high risk groups, such as those of low socioeconomic status, we could decrease the rate of childhood obesity.
I do believe healthy eating is something that should be encouraged during pregnancy. However, we must also keep in mind that for many women their appetite and ability to keep down foods is impacted when pregnant, resulting in many of them developing otherwise strange eating habits and preferences. Nevertheless, I think that the core cause of obesity in these young children can be attributed to how they were fed when infants. The first study fails to take into account whether or not these "fat kindergarteners" were bottle or breast fed. Bottle-fed babies tend to be over fed, which may be a potential confounding factor that they are overlooking in the first study. If this is a contributing factor to the overwhelming prevalence of obesity in young school children, the solution is educating parents of healthy eating. Although I do think the previously suggested compulsory nutrition program does sound helpful, maybe there should be a program that solely targets children born at a large weight because they are more likely to become obese at a younger age. By implementing the compulsory nutrition program for parents of larger (and therefore more at risk for obesity) infants, we can create focused programs that may be more financially feasible considering the small portion of our current healthcare budget appropriated for preventative efforts.
I was surprised to find such a strong association between mom's diet and the likelihood of the child becoming obese. I knew that obesity was genetic, but the fact that maternal diet alone could have such strong implication is shocking. I think the most essential and important intervention is to make people aware of this. These studies need more media attention, and doctors should inform all female patients in childbearing age. I think most people know what they should, and shouldn't be eating, and the effect it will have on them, yet they still don't change anything. However, if they knew the affect it would have children they would be much more like to do something. Many woman try their entire lives to quit smoking, but aren't successful until they are pregnant, and have extra motivation.
Secondly, many woman cannot afford to eat costly fruits and vegetables, especially if they are out of season or live in certain areas. The cheaper foods are generally unhealthy, or low in nutritional content. So maybe as part of the welfare program, like food stamps, or as part of a publicly funded health care program like medicaid, there should be a special program and grocery stores for pregnant woman, that provide healthy food for free or at a subsidized cost.
Finally, I agree with Michele that we need to address the bigger overall problem, which is the obesity epidemic. Obviously both schools and health institutions need to increase educational nutrition programs. I also believe schools should have daily PE classes for students not participating in sports.
The quotation at the end of the second article truly resonates, "Genes, at this point, are not modifiable, whereas diet and pregnancy weight gain are." It is not new information that what you eat influences your body and your children. It seems rather selfish for a mother to ruin their child's (in the womb) health, which depends heavily upon the mother's actions. It was found years ago that drinking alcohol during pregnancy led to fetal alcohol syndrome, which debilitates the child. It seems intuitive that a mother's actions truly affects the health of their child. If one are pregnant, you need to keep your children in mind while you eat, because you are essentially feeding yourself and your child in the womb. If one is determined to keep your children away from high-fat foods, it does not make sense to eat high-fat foods while you're pregnant. People cannot change their genes, and their predisposition to obesity, but people are able to control what they eat, and what to avoid to prevent triggering the genetic predisposition. It seems almost depressing that once a child is a bit overweight or is obese while they are at the sensitive period of their childhood, they can no longer stray from imminently becoming or staying obese.
These two articles were quite interesting and informative. I had read a number of articles related to obesity in its earliest years," however, I didn't realize that kindergarten was such a breaking point in obesity. It seems that children seem to stay obese if they are still overweight by kindergarten, and "if you can make it to kindergarten without the weight, your chances are immensely better" [of not being overweight]. This was quite eye-opening. However, if a child is to maintain a healthy weight to kindergarten, doesn't mean a healthy lifestyle should start during kindergarten; it must be started way before. I think it's up to the parents to be educated properly and feeding their children properly and up to them to lead their child in the right direction regarding food, diet, and exercise. And in order for this to happen, I agree with what a few students have agreed upon, and that is early intervention with OB/GYNs or pediatricians. It would be a good idea for these OB/GYNs or pediatricians to have their place accompanied with some sort of diet/nutritional plan. This should include a healthy plan not only for the expectant child, but also for what the mother's diet should be like as well. For those already obese or mothers who are already obese and pregnant, I think in the end, it really comes down to making the right decisions. Make healthy lifestyle choices, eat the right kinds of food, keep things in moderation, and at least do the minimum amount of exercise. Though I see see how nutrition and genomics can go hand-in-hand, I'm afraid people will just blame being overweight due to their genes and go on with their poor lifestyle choices. In some cases, it's just a matter of self control.
Both articles have further solidified for me just how important it is to recognize and try to resolve the obesity epidemic. I believe that because obesity has so many underlying roots, like genetics, lifestyle, social and environmental factors, among others, it needs to be dealt with from many different angles. One important angle to use would be the life course perspective.
Using the life course perspective with obesity could be extremely effective to start with moms, and specifically their eating habits during the third trimester. It's important that their clinicians and OB/GYNs stress the importance of healthy eating habits for their babies futures. However, I do agree with Kendra when she says that this is more of an overall lifestyle change. Many of those at high-risk don't have a doctor, or don't see one regularly, thereby they would not receive extra counseling or advise on their nutrition, since they aren't receiving any at all. Public health measures are needed to educate and make aware those who are at high-risk.
As with many other public health problems, I feel as though obesity also ties in with SES and race. Obesity is entangled in a web of many different social determinants, and in order to fully make change we need to get through every root and every determinant, to make an effort to better improve our health system in general.
While I think educating children at an early age about healthy nutrition, I feel as though it is more effective to target expectant mothers. Many expectant mothers attend childbirth classes leading up to labor. These classes could include time in the schedule to discuss nutrition for both the mother and child. For women who can't afford childbirth classes, there should be more emphasis placed on discussions surrounding nutrition during doctor's visits. Many times the mother and doctor discuss the baby without really discussing the mother. If doctors were encouraged to discuss the mother's health and nutrition she could really learn a lot. Doctors could also print pamphlets and reading material so the mothers could read about nutrition on their own time.
An intervention using the life-course theory would greatly decrease obesity. The first component is to have a focus on education. Monitoring both maternal diet/health as well as the child’s diet/health as the mother’s diet can affect the child’s risk of developing obesity, as we also saw in the Ghost in Your Gene video. Perhaps expecting mothers can take a nutrition/dieting class to understand the effects of the food they eat on both themselves and their children, with easy to follow nutrition guides/pamphlets, and healthier alternatives to not so healthy food choices. Schools should also have nutrition classes for children to understand the importance of proper nutrition and the effects it has on their health.
A second component for the intervention is exercise promotion. Being predisposed to obesity will always stay in your DNA, however, changing your lifestyle to exercising and being more active can prevent obesity. Schools should have better PE programs for all students, or perhaps a fitness education class on the importance of exercise.
One of the articles mention a study that found that 12.5% of children starting kindergarten were already obese. As a result, the target population for this intervention will be mothers who have recently given birth because they are the primary caretakers and will most likely be the ones deciding what their newborns eat. Primary care physicians should provide nutritional advice to mothers starting from when the baby is just born. Once the baby can start eating real foods, other than baby food and milk, the physicians should meet with the mothers again to discuss meal plans. Mothers who are overweight or obese should be reccommended to a nutritionist, where they can learn about nutrition and weight management for them and their babies. In addition, the nutritionist should provide mothers with a sample meal plan that is both affordable and culturally appropriate. Another possibility is the addition of cooking workshops that take place once a month to show mothers how to cook healthy meals and correct portion sizes.
I believe that this intervention will be useful because it will teach both the mothers and the children healthy eating habits that can be sustained over the lifetime. According to the life-course theory, individuals are at risk of diseases and other health conditions even before they are born. As a result, children who have healthy eating habits at an early age will continue these habits. In the future, these children will grow up to become healthy adults and have children of their own. These children will then be less likely to become obese because their parents started healthy habits since birth.
Upon learning of a pregnancy, healthy lifestyle and eating habits must be instituted. This can start with a woman's first obstetrician visit. Topics such as diet and exercise should be discussed and the life-course connection regarding obesity and genetics needs to be introduced. If the woman is currently obese it should be highly recommended that a nutritionist is involved in planning meals and giving advice throughout her pregnancy. This will not only help the mother keep a healthy weight after the pregnancy but also helps the child avoid becoming obese early on and further when they grow up.
According to Kolata's article, obesity is predicted by age 5, which tells us early intervention in pre-schools is a priority. Restricting certain high fat snacks and beverages can be part of the solution and by introducing more fruits and vegetables to "snack time". From a socioeconomic prospective, not every family has the means and access to maintain a diet that will lead a child to healthy habits. Children's tastes can be influenced easier at an early age before too many sweets and high fat foods become the preference.
I believe these interventions can be helpful in preventing obesity in early childhood leading to a healthy adulthood.
I am a huge proponent of the life course perspective. I believe that implementing healthy lifestyle choices, such as nutritious eating habits, can make a huge impact on health outcomes (in this case obesity) in later stages of life. If obesity can be predicted a as early as 5 years old, I think that education interventions at or before this age could make a huge difference in decreasing the obesity trend. Like many of my classmates have already highlighted, even just educating women about the correlation between their eating habits during pregnancy and their child's risk of becoming obese could have huge, positive implications.
However, for a life course model to be successful, both mothers and children of all socioeconomic status need to have equal access to education, healthy food sources, safe places to exercise, etc. Without changes in the current system, I do not believe that the life course model could be successful.
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. More and more children are becoming obese and developing health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Unfortunately for them, it is usually not really their fault at all. Children born to obese parents are more likely to struggle with their weight and be obese. A major change is needed to stop the cycle of obesity. Children that are at a greater risk of obesity due to genetics need to be monitored more closely and their parents need to make extra efforts to keep them healthy. Nutrition classes and more regimented physical education should absolutely be mandatory in elementary schools at a young age, so that children are comfortable with the concept of healthy living from the beginning.
As startling as this information is, after what we've learned in class, I don't find it all that surprising. The environment plays a crucial role in deciding our fate, so saying that a woman's eating habits while she's pregnant or a child's weight early in life is an indicator of obesity later in life doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me. Armed with this new information, health care professionals may be even more successful in preventing obesity, as they can educate pregnant women and new mothers on proper nutrition for women and their young children.
That being said, the intervention I propose centers primarily around education. By educating pregnant women on the importance of eating healthy, public health officials could possibly slow the growing problem of obesity. I suggest holding classes or seminars for expectant or new mothers. These classes would go over the importance of eating a good diet, what kinds of foods to eat, and how the women could take steps to help their children be healthy not just in the near future, but later in their lives, as well. I feel as though the most important thing is spreading the word about the connection between a mother's diet and obesity in the child. Women may be a little reluctant to make a lifestyle change for their own sake, but they would probably be much more likely change their habits if they knew their lifestyle could impact their children in such a negative way. An educational intervention would be the best method to get this information to the public.
These news articles show more information about the obesity epidemic in the United States and sheds more light on adolescent obesity that is very important to realize. I was shocked when I read that more children who are obese or overweight by 5 will most likely be overweight/obese as adults. This research shows the need for interventions not just to pediatricians and OBGYN's, but also to parents. Mothers who find out they are pregnant need to immediately change their diets so that they are eating nutritious foods for their baby. And after they have the baby, parents need to make sure that their child is eating nutritious foods at home. This is difficult for families who live in poverty and do not have the resources to feed their children good meals. So, I think an intervention to provide food assistance in impoverished areas to help parents of newborns and toddlers as well as pregnant women would be helpful. Also, making sure that schools have the money to provide nutritious and healthy foods once the child is in school will help curb the obesity epidemic. The life course perspective shows that a healthy lifestyle including nutritious food and access to physical education is necessary for children to become healthy adults. The articles show that there is a vast need for these interventions in pregnant women and children under 5, but there is also a need for more programs to help after the age of 5 as well for those children who are overweight to help them live a healthier lifestyle to hopefully combat their chances of staying overweight or obese in the future. The interventions would need to be given through OBGYN's to pregnant women and through pediatricians/communities to parents of at risk children. These interventions are necessary everywhere in the US but starting them in impoverished communities would be a great start.
Both articles show us that both your genes and your environment play a role in your overall health. It seems to me that the best place to start targeting obesity would be with pregnant mothers. There are dozens of different rules that a woman is told to follow when she is pregnant, from limiting caffeine intake to taking vitamin supplements to support the baby's growth. Doctors should include recommendations for healthy eating in order to promote a healthy baby. Pregnant women should have nutritional information available to help them understand that decisions that they make both during and after pregnancy can have a lifetime effect on their children. With this information available, parents will be better equipped to deal with any genetic predispositions to obesity. Armed with the knowledge that a child who is overweight in kindergarten is likely to stay that way, will allow parents to take an active role in providing a healthy diet and exercise opportunities (riding a bike as opposed to watching television) for their children.
Obesity is an epidemic that has been present in the United States for far too long. The US experiences higher rates of obesity as compared to any other country in the world. This is an issue that certainly needs to be addressed. The life course perspective with obesity is definitely a method that I think could bring about greater awareness of how to prevent obesity, especially for pregnant women in their third trimesters. The life course perspective combined with education will be widely beneficial, in my opinion. It is important to illustrate the epigenetic factors that influence the development of obesity in individuals. Nutritional education and counseling may also be efficient methods of ensuring that consequences of poor nutritional health can impact one's child while pregnant. As part of the nutritional counseling,
The life-course perspective could be a very useful tool in combatting obesity in the US. As the life-course article states, in order to reduce racial-ethnic disparities in birth outcomes, we need interventions that target the sensitive periods of development, but that are also sustained across the lifespan. I would propose an annual school-based intervention targeted at the parents of the students; in this way, it will cover the sensitive periods of early childhood and puberty, while also providing continued education and support to both the students and the parents. I believe that it should be targeted at the parents instead of the children themselves because I see them as having the most influence over their children's lifestyle behavior, especially in their early age. Additionally, studies have continuously shown that children's lifestyle habits that they carry into adulthood develop based on their parents. If this intervention can motivate the parents to change their negative behaviors, they can then influence their children to follow suit. More specifically, this intervention should be education based, but in a more interactive way. I imagine something attuned to an annual seminar that both teaches parents about healthy eating and physical activity, while also providing them with tangible tools of improving these aspects of their and their children's lives. Of course, there would need to be some sort of added incentive to get attain a high turn out at these seminars.
From these articles it's evident how important understanding the life course perspective for obesity is for people. I wasn't as surprised of how much your mothers' genetics plays a part in your weight. My mom can eat a lot and still be skinny, and I'm the same so I know the role of genetics in weight gain.
I agree with everyone else who have said that intervention should start with OB/GYNs who should educate expectant mothers about the life course perspective for obesity and the importance of eating nutritious food during pregnancy. They should be also educated about keeping stress free during pregnancy. These advice should then be passed down to the children when they are born.
While there are mandatory physical education in schools already, I believe that there needs to be more done by the parents in encouraging them to play outside more when they are younger. Joining or creating physical activities with them should be done also. Intervention should start with pregnant women and continue for the child when they are born.
Based on the life coruse perspective, intervention for obesity should occur prenatally. Expectant mothers, especially those who are predisposed to obesity, should be educated on proper diet during pregnancy. She should also be educated on providing proper diet and physical activity once her children are born. Despite the presence of physical education in schools, the curriculum should be tailored more to encourage more "fun" activities, with the goal of having obese children voluntarily lose weight. Nutrition and wellness courses should be included in the curriculum as well, exploring topics like healthy diets and physical activity.
It is evident that some form of health intervention must be implemented if Americans wish to end the increasing trend of obesity. One intervention that I would implement would be offering informational and educational nutrition counseling to newly pregnant women to stress the importance of healthy eating on their future child's life. Since this would technically be a "preventative care" intervention, under the new Affordable Care Act it should be covered by health insurance companies. Through this life-course approach, a longitudinal study could be done to follow the women and children who choose to utilize this program and those who do not. The results could then be compared to determine if this intervention has beneficial outcomes. It is clear that women's dietary choices during pregnancy, specifically during their third trimester is imperative to understanding the weight of their children over their life time. Moreover, healthy choices should be carried out until the child is ready to make their own choices regarding food; today, studies show that french fries are the vegetable consumed most by babies and small children, an obvious issue in American society. Lastly, we discussed the biological derivatives behind cravings in pregnant women; there are no biological reasons that women have these cravings and often women do not need to increase their caloric consumption as early in their pregnancy or as greatly as they do throughout their term. These are all factors that should be addressed since women may not be aware of these biological facts.
I believe that the life course perspective for any disease including obesity is beneficial. The article brings up a familiar concept that we learned earlier in the semester. We learned that ancestral exposures significantly affects future generations. This information ties into the fact that exposures that women face over the course of their lives may have an effect on their children. Therefore, I believe that there should be great efforts to educate women earlier especially women who plan to have children. This is important because we now know that genetics has a huge role in the etiology of disease. For instance, we learned today that mutations of beta-adrenergic receptors often lead to patients being overweight and diabetic.
I agree with everyone else that OBGYN's should step up and inform their patients about risks and complications. I believe an educational intervention is needed because many women/people do not know that certain decisions or exposures can cause problems for their baby. The usual proposed solutions for obesity is to get people to eat healthy which sounds simple. However, this ideal is not feasible for most families because healthy food options are usually too expensive. Therefore, legislative policies need to be placed to provide adequate access to healthy food.
To tackle the obesity epidemic in the United States, I think it is important to create an intervention that addresses two key areas using the life-course approach: 1) the mother's diet and eating habits during pregnancy, and 2) weight regulation in children prior to their turning 5 years of age.
Addressing the first key point, when a woman becomes pregnant, her doctor should consult with her regarding healthy eating habits and the positive impact such actions could have on her child's future weight. Furthermore, programs that encourage healthy eating and nutrition, such as WIC, should be expanded, so that lower income families can have access to healthy food sources.
Addressing the second key point, once a child is born, it is important to ensure that his or her weight is maintained at a healthy level. A proposed intervention for this involves regular weight follow-up and consistent nutrition education prior to the age of 5 for all children. One way of doing this is through annual doctor visits. Doctors should keep track of the child's weight and provide nutrition education to parents so that their children are fed healthily. In an ideal world, however, such a program would be implemented in pre-schools. At pre-schools, teachers could teach students about healthy eating and lifestyle habits, as well as more consistently keep track of a child's weight. Unfortunately, the key limitation here is that preschools are expensive and the United States does not have a universal preschool requirement. In any case, it is key to ensure that children are not obese prior to turning 5, as studies have shown that children who are obese at that age tend to be obese in future years.
I agree with everyone above about how the life-course perspective is necessary. Obesity is an issue that stems from a variety of factors and is a life-long battle for many people. It is not a quick decision; it is a lifestyle decision that must be maintained throughout a person’s life. I agree with many people as well about the important of stemming an intervention off of education. I, even as a person with a sufficient education in public health, didn’t realize that impact that a mother’s maternal diet can have on the duration of a child’s life. As one of the articles state, “Exercise and a healthy diet can often reduce, but not completely overcome, the effects of genes.” I always thought that the parents influence on obesity was more focused on lifestyle, so the education of the impact on genes and the difficulty to overcome those needs to be stressed to mothers. Where I disagree, is that there needs to be much more than education to truly make a change. A lot of these issues stem from disparities in income, location, ethnicities, etc. where just giving education doesn’t address the issues firsthand. One student mentioned earlier a mandatory course during the 9 months of pregnancy. I agree with this, as many mothers’ I’m sure don’t realize their impact. But in order to make it something people actually attend, I think it needs to be a fun, activity centered program so women have an incentive to attend. For example, through an OBGYN, a healthy cooking workshop where woman can talk to other pregnant mothers and learn how to cook healthy, quick meal options could be a great resource for woman. Each course should be designed specifically for the groups of woman present. Therefore, the specifically designed class could target the main reasons why the mother may not be able to eat healthy. In addition, I think another intervention that addresses accessibility of resources is critical. An intervention that I believe implementing would help would be to create a delivery system of healthy food or meals for women who can’t because of time, income, etc. Providing this during pregnancy could be a sliding-scale payment system to that way it can be accessible to everyone. Stressing this option could allow mothers to feel it is in their reach to create this healthy lifestyle for themselves. I also think that the “norms” of eating while pregnant need to be changed. I believe that many mothers have the mindset that women are hormonal and it’s okay to crave high-fat types of food. People use the excuse that they are “eating for two.” However, many women should realize that there isn’t really an excuse for this-it is a social norm that has been created that public health officials should work to change. If the norm was to eat healthy during pregnancy because your children’s risk of obesity during their lifetime depends of it, many more women would choose that option. People need to remember this is not a temporary change-it should be a lifelong lifestyle decision.
Public health interventions for obesity need to start taking place earlier in a child's life - perhaps even before the child is born. As both of these articles point out, obesity risk is very much determined by the time a child reaches the age of five. Public health interventions need to be done earlier and more intensely. I suggest creating two different campaigns that would utilize television commercials, billboards, public transit advertising, magazine ads, etc.
The first should be focused on maternal health during pregnancy. The campaign should focus on the importance of eating healthily during pregnancy while being realistic about the effect weight gain during pregnancy has on that child's weight later on in his/her life. I don't think many women realize the connection between too much weight gain during pregnancy and obesity for their child. If the correlation was made into common knowledge by advertising that over 40 pounds of weight gain during pregnancy drastically increases a child's chances of becoming obese, women would have a clear idea of how much food/weight gain is unhealthy during pregnancy.
The second should focus on diet and exercise in the very early stages of the child's life. This campaign should focus heavily on statistics because statistics are powerful when it comes to health. The campaign should be geared towards healthier eating. But just to be clear this campaign is for infants and toddlers, because like I mentioned before, much of a child's lifetime weight is determined by kindergarten. If the family has healthy lifestyle habits established by the time the child is in kindergarten, those habits will likely continue as the child grows.
The early years of a child's life is when he/she can be most susceptible to health problems that can persist onto adulthood. Obesity is a disease that does not always get the attention it needs when a child has shown physical symptoms being overweight. It is the assumption that a child can lose all that weight as he/she grows up that limits parents and health care professionals from providing necessary preventions.
Genetic factors do affect obesity, but environmental factors are also as significant. Since it may take a while for doctors and scientists to tackle the genetic aspect of obesity, attention should be given to nutrition, an essential influence that we often neglect. From a public health perspective, an possible intervention program in kindergartens and daycare centers is one that focuses on educating the caretakers or teachers on nutrition values in meals and the importance of exercising. At home, parents should be able to receive similar information so that they can provide their children with appropriate meal plans. Another intervention program may be one that suggests ideal meals and daily exercises as guidelines for parents or caretakers to help children maintain a healthy weight. It is important to establish healthy habits in children from a young age, since it can significantly improve their health outcomes as they grow up and are exposed to even more environmental factors that may increase the risks of being obese.
There is no question that good health begins in the womb. In addition to obesity, other negatives outcomes that arise later in life such as stroke, heart disease, and (as we have learned) even diabetes are linked to the fetus's quality of life in the mother's womb. The transfer of chemicals into the placenta plays a huge role in the baby's outcomes in life. But another major factor, is obviously genetic predisposition. In combatting obesity, in future generations we need several prevention policies and interventions. A series of interventions would be necessary to combat obesity since it is indeed a disease of polygenetic nature.
Developing a step-by-step lifespan plan would be the best method for those predisposed to obesity as well as those who aren't:
1. Initiating OBGYN nutritional programs and exercise programs to keep pregnant women healthy 2. Encouraging exercise programs and nutritionally focused classes for children as young as kindergarten age 3. Restricting the sales (or increasing that taxes) on sugary, high saturated fat foods. 4. Having policies in place to create rewards programs for those participating in YMCAs and acquiring fresh produce (particularly in the local hay markets that are substantially cheaper than grocery stores) 5. Giving benefits to communities that have regular group "walks" or community "active programs"
These are general recommendations that could easily be implemented and that can significantly change the behaviors that may exacerbate the expression of the obesity gene. Further, the plans can prevent someone who lacks the predisposition of obesity from developing the disease over the course of their lifetime.
In my opinion, a large issue with obesity prevention is the fact that US healthcare does not dedicate nearly enough resources to prevention itself. After reading the articles for obesity, it is evident that obesity prevention needs to start in the womb and continue into early childhood. Imagine the healthy lives that could be created and the healthcare costs saved from just eating right, from mothers to young children and beyond. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure all could be reduced just from controlling obesity. However, there is no other way to do this than with programs early on to educate parents and young children. If pregnant mothers were taught how to eat right during pregnancy, the effects on their child if they don't, and parents taught how to provide their children with a nutritious diet, the rates of obesity could decline immensely. While it is great that our country is beginning to promote nutrition and exercise, a focus on obesity prevention earlier in life needs to come to the forefront and education is critical in doing so.
I believe that obesity, as suggested by both articles, is heavily influenced by one's parents and their dietary habits. The reason that intervention programs in schools have not been as effective as we would hope is because children will get a decent meal at the school, but could return home to a meal high in saturated fats and sugars. One good meal will not constitute the loss of weight if the rest of the food eaten during the day is unhealthy. If parents tend towards obesity themselves, and have poor dietary habits, naturally their children will look to them as an example. It is important to focus on adults first, then the changes in diet and lifestyle will trickle down into their children's lives as well. This is no easy feat, however; as some people simply do not want to change, cannot afford healthy foods, or cannot afford to get the help they need. There are already food assistance programs in the US, but they do not necessarily monitor the types of foods that people will purchase. I recommend regulating food assistance programs by setting strict guidelines on what types of foods may be purchased. I would also suggest offering nutrition services for little to no cost in community clinics for those who may not necessarily be able to afford these services normally. For those who have no financial burdens, I believe that a program by physicians could be established that will inform patients of the potential dangers of an unhealthy diet; not only to themselves, but to their children as well. The general public does not search for this information on their own, presumably, therefore it is important to provide it to them in any way possible.
I'm currently taking HS450 Noncommunicable diseases and learned that obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. So far what I learned from that class, the life-course perspective is a crucial evaluation tool to target causes of obesity and implement interventions where it can be most effective. However, the life-course perspective can be challenging to apply. Socioeconomic status is shown to be a determinant for obesity for those with lower socioeconomic status. Often, individuals under a low socioeconomic status cannot afford fruits and vegetables and opt for the unhealthier options and don't have the education or tools to live a healthy life style, such as their neighborhood infrastructure where there are no healthy grocery stores but only fast food restaurants, and no gyms (or people can't afford memberships) or a safe place to exercise. Overall, many factors within being of a low socioeconomic status can contribute to obesity. This affects children the most because parents are just continuing this unhealthy life-style and passing it onto their kids who are more likely to be obese growing up. Knowing what I know so far, my intervention to prevent this childhood obesity epidemic would be to implement more education regarding obesity and how to live a healthy lifestyle, especially within schools and in the doctor's office. Like one of the articles states, advice from the doctor isn't taken seriously or the doctor doesn't emphasize enough the importance of preventing obesity. A national education campaign needs to occur to educate the public and reeducate health care worker to strive to prevent obesity amongst the nation. As I have stated before, individuals may be educated about the dangers of being obese but may not have the means to counter it. Another intervention that can occur is to change the infrastructure of neighborhoods to assure access to healthy living. Examples include eliminating fast food restaurants and placing affordable grocery stores and gyms. My interventions would cost a lot of money and time, and would be difficult to implement due to the economy but it can offset the costs in the long-term from treating chronic diseases due to obesity.
After reading these articles, it seems that the best course of action is to start educating families when they become pregnant. I think exercise and dietary habits should be discussed by the doctor with the pregnant mother, helping her understand how her actions now can affect her child later. As Abbey mentioned, pregnant women are already told many guidelines to follow that help protect their child, and giving expecting mothers guidelines on how/what to eat would be beneficial. I agree with many of my classmates that life-course perspective seems like an essential tool in helping reduce rates of obesity, but I believe that our education system has to increase its contributions to keeping kids healthy. When I was in kindergarten, every month we would go to the school's kitchen and learn how to make a healthy afternoon snack; these are still snacks I eat to this day. I believe that making healthy choices fun for kids will help combat the bad habits many carry today, though obviously parents need to be willing to help their kids make healthy choices from a very young age.
Life-course perspective is a great and essential tool to prevent obesity. In addition I know the best way to prevent obesity is to enforce good habits with eating and exercise during childhood before adolescence and early adult/ pregnancy but that is the ideal situation. Having at least 30 minutes physical activity during the school day for children is crucial and should be mandated and observed throughout all school in the US K-8 even in high schools. The taking away of recess time is ridiculous. You cannot simply feed children healthy foods and then have them sit in class all day. The trick here would be to balance proper nutritious foods with an adequate amount of physical activity. Pregnant moms should be thoroughly informed about what they should and should not eat. Also pregnant moms need to hydrate adequately and be advised on what moderate exercise alternatives are available to keep them and their child safe and healthy.
Interventions would be most effective if implemented around age 5 since obesity is more or less determined by then. However, what children consume in early childhood is almost entirely up to their parents. Therefore, an effective way to address the childhood obesity epidemic would be to teach parents that good nutrition and physical exercise can prevent obesity in childhood and adulthood. Some parents, when they see their child gaining weight, might think to themselves, "My child is young and has plenty of time to develop healthy habits and lose weight." I think it would be important to educate these parents, as well as parents who have a tendency to put on weight themselves and parents who have a family history of obesity. Taking the time to explain to these parents how childhood obesity is an indicator for obesity later in life would be an effective way to reduce the obesity rate in young children. Hopefully, with more knowledge about overall health and obesity, parents would approach feeding their children a bit differently. They might start preparing healthier snacks or taking time to play outside with their children. Additionally, they might keep certain foods away from their children. For example, a family friend of mine introduced her child to McDonald's Kids' Meals at age 3. At the time, the child was probably too young to care that she was eating McDonald's but as she grew older, she requested dinner from McDonald's multiple times a week. Her mother struggled to say no to her, and by second grade she was quite overweight and physically inactive. I think instilling good nutrition at home, keeping high-fat content foods out of the house, and encouraging outdoor exercise are easier said than done but if properly implemented, these methods would prevent childhood obesity and therefore obesity later in life.
Both articles on childhood obesity are supportive of the life-course theory - that a child's weight is predetermined by what their mother eats when pregnant and a child's diet during the first five years of their life. Studies have shown that environmental and social contexts have had a big impact on children's weight that persists with the child throughout their lifetime. This is an example of how a person's genes can be influenced by environmental factors.
Considering the link between diet in the womb/early childhood and persistent obesity in life, an intervention that would be effective in decreasing obesity in the population is promoting healthy eating for pregnant mothers, women of childbearing years and for children in the early years of their life. This education and promotion campaign would focus on the importance of eating fruits and vegetables - especially organic to limit the amount of pesticides the fetus is exposed to in the womb. Health care providers would be instrumental in educating all women of childbearing years and especially pregnant mothers about eating a healthy diet, emphasizing the results of studies that show obesity is linked to diet during pregnancy and the first five years of a child. It's important to target all women of childbearing years when promoting a healthy diet because a healthy diet before a women becomes pregnant can further ensure the health of her baby.
To cover the mothers and children who are most vulnerable and experience the biggest disparity, I think the WIC program for food packages should be reformed. Food packages should limit unhealthy food available through WIC benefits and promote healthy food and especially organic food for both the mother and baby's health.
Based on the two articles above, the diet of the mother and the diet of children at early ages affects the children's weight for the rest of their life. Therefore, I think a good intervention should start with educating young women who are on the verge of having children. I think the awareness should begin before women even enter pregnancy because diet and lifestyle changes are not ones that can occur overnight. These types of lifestyle changes often take a while to change and make into a new habit. Therefore, I think it is important to educate and raise awareness about how the eating habits of a mother during pregnancy can negatively or positively affect her child. In this way, women who are planning to have children in the near or long term future can begin to work on fixing and changing their eating habits so that when they are in pregnancy they know what is best not to eat and what they should eat for their child's health. Also with regards to the early childhood obesity issue, I believe a good intervention would be educating mothers about eating habits when their children are between newborns and kindergarten. I agree with the last statement in the second article in that geners are not necessarily modifiable but diet and lifestyle changes are. Therefore, the early childhood obesity intervention should focus on educating mothers about feeding their children healthy options between the ages of newborn to kindergarten so that they can start off at a healthy weight and keep consistently healthy for the rest of their life. The intervention in both situations should consist of educating and raising awareness for mothers because the children only eat what their parents feed them.
I believe that the life course perspective would be the best course of strategy for reducing obesity within susceptible communities. There are so many things other than genetics that affect a fetus like the environment, epigenetics, and diet.
I found it so interesting to learn that what pregnant mothers eat and how much weight they gain could potential effect the risk of obesity for this offspring. Considering this, I believe nutrogenomics should be used to educate expecting mothers about diet.
I think there are many populations that an intervention program could target. One path could be to start educating teens in high school so that they will understand the importance of diet during pregnancy when they become pregnant themselves. The most important niche to target however would be young married women or expecting mothers to teach them a correct died while they’re pregnant (and express the importance of the third trimester) and for when their child is born to feed the correct foods to the baby until kindergarten age. Compulsory nutrition programs could also be provided for this group but perhaps to mothers who have heavier children. Its important to target the mothers before the child gets to kindergarten because as Gina Kolata said in an article, children who reach kindergarten at over weight, has a higher change of being over weight for the rest of his or her life.
I believe that one of the best interventions for the fight against obesity is to improve access to fruits and vegetables, fresher foods in general. Unfortunately malnourishment and obesity go hand and hand since obesity is a consequence of eating nutrient poor food and processed foods. In many communities opening a weekly farmers market especially during peak harvest seasons will not only bring fresher foods to these areas but also at a lower cost. Not only is fresh food scarce in some communities but it is also expensive. If the department of health developed a program that not only helped sponsored a farmers market in a community but it could also provide subsidization to allow even lower income families enjoy fresh food.
I think having a farmers market program will also educate individuals about cooking and the importance of eating healthy. The entire community could get involved by having local chefs prepare and demonstrate recipes using the local season food sold by local farms.
Health issues, such as obesity, is definitely a growing problem, especially in the United States. It's unfortunate that studies of obesity is only progressing now, when I feel it's already too late, as it becomes a more widespread epidemic. The findings of the two articles clearly reveal that developing obesity not only starts during childhood years, but even in the womb. Pregnant women, as well as fathers, should be able to undergo some type of free information seminar that stresses the point of eating habits directly correlates with the life of the child. Women should be eating healthy from the moment they find out they're pregnant because they're not just eating for themselves, but eating for their child as well. The situation kind of brings up the famous quote of "you are what you eat." Lifestyle choices are hard to make and don't happen overnight, but by making changes sooner rather than later, mother and child will be better off in the long run. The population needs to understand the importance of diet, healthy lifestyles, and physical activity and how these factors would greatly impact their life and the lives of their family. It may be too late for this generation to make a drastic change to their lifestyle, but if they at least make the effort to change, maybe the next generation will be better off in the future.
Like many others above me, I think expecting mothers should be required to meet with a nutritionist or dietician. Everybody knows that as a pregnant woman, you're eating for two; however, mothers often get cravings for odd and unhealthy and act on those cravings without realizing the potential harms of their actions. Giving dietary and exercise counseling to pregnant women would not only improve the health of the baby but would also hopefully foster better awareness of the mothers actions on her child before and after the child is born.
As an aside though, I do have to womder why so many children are obese these days. I remember as a kid that we were always chubby but it was expected and often true that we would grow out of it. I understand that eating habits have changed with the times but genetically, I don't think much has changed since we were kids maybe 10 years ago.
Expecting mothers have such a huge influence on their children's health before they are even born. I think women should be educated by their OBGYN on the effect of their eating habits and lifestyle choices have on their baby. Obesity has become such a huge problem in the United States and it all starts with the children. I like the idea that pregnant women should be required to meet with a dietician or nutritionist to talk about healthy lifestyle choices and eating habits to allow their children to live the healthiest lives that they can. Women also might be more likely to pay attention to their choices if they know they'll have to share those choices with their doctor later on. Children are put at a disadvantage by their parents who do not have healthy habits because they are almost predisposed to be being obese. Young children often don't have a choice of what they eat, because they eat what their parents feed them. Exercise habits and healthy eating habits are essential to preventing obesity throughout the lifetime and through generations.
After doing the readings, it seems that life course perspective programs could really help reduce the impact of obesity. Obesity is something that affects many people, but from what I have learned in other classes, it seems to also disproportionately affect lower income families more than higher income families. Knowing that the people most affected by obesity would be unable to afford/access advanced medical treatments, surgeries, or medication, the life course perspective seems like the best preventative method that would be available to the people most affected by obesity.
Having more education about the risk of childhood obesity extending to adolescence and adulthood available to parents of infants or even at OB/GYN visits prior to the child's birth. I think that have low cost healthy food available to families with young children in areas where low cost healthy food is not available. Having places like community centers or parts of clinics for families who are at greater risk of having children with obesity to support them and give them information to reduce their risk would be helpful to expecting parents and current parents throughout their children life. Continuing programs and following up with families throughout their children life would be important to making sure that children stay healthy and are able to reduce their risk of childhood obesity.
(I tried to post this morning but did not realize until now that my post did not save/submit when I saw the email, so sorry this is not as detailed as my original post and late!!)
Life-course perspective intervention theory to decrease obesity before kid’s head into older parts of life is a good way to prevent obesity. There have been experiments and studies that show that intervening during pregnancy and early childhood would prevent obesity. During early pregnancy there has been facts said actually eating sweets and bunch of snacks during pregnancy is actually bad for the kid. Instead of thinking eating the sweet is fine since your technically feeding two people you should think that you should eat twice as healthier. Even for early childhood help we should make sure the children eat healthier earlier to make sure we prevent obesity among people later on in life. I really wonder why schools and parents are not educating kids about healthy eating.
Life course perspective intervention for obesity would be very effective because we know that obesity is due to many environmental, genetic, as well as behavioral factors and that there is recent evidence that shows that prenatal diet and early life are crucial in the development of obesity. It is important that research studies obesity development over years of life. Based on the research, an intervention that aims to improve maternal diets and emphasize healthy eating during pregnancy and lactation would be effective in reducing excessive weight gain of mothers and consumption of too many fatty acids, which have been shown to increase the rates of obesity in children. I think OBGYN doctors need to ask pregnant mothers what they are eating and monitor their weight gain. Mothers gaining too much weight or eating improperly should be referred to a dietitian. In addition, the evidence also shows that obesity is established in early life and that those who are obese in kindergarden are much more likely to be obese in eighth grade. This means intervention efforts need to be implemented as early as kindergarden. I propose that healthy eating habits should be taught in schools, exercise encouraged, and primary care physicians and pediatricians need to be monitoring the weight of children and making sure parents know and introduce healthy eating habits in the home from a very young age. This ensures the continuation of healthy eating habits throughout the child's life.
ReplyDeleteI agree that life course perspective intervention would be a good course of action for the reduction of the obesity epidemic. Because research shows that the factors that influence obesity can be found as early as in pregnancy and are instrumental to causation of obesity as early as the first few years of life, a course of action that includes changing these contributors throughout the life span would be most beneficial. I was actually really surprised about the effect pregnant moms' diets have on their children being obese later in life. I know that obese moms are more likely to beget obese children, based on genetics as well as perpetuated lifestyle factors and choices. However, it was still jarring to me to find out that the diets of mothers who are not even obese can effect the outcomes of their children. As we learned earlier in the semester, through the use of genomics, it makes sense that the diets of past generations can have impacts on the health of future generations, but this phenomenon is different from even that. This makes me wonder about the mechanisms that cause this phenomenon to actually happen. Is the genome actually being changed in the almost fully developed child in the third trimester from the mother's diet, or are the mother's actions rewiring the child's brain in this time? Is the mother who eats a high-fat diet during pregnancy but is not obese also at risk for becoming obese after pregnancy with the same changes happening in her brain?
ReplyDeleteI think that diseases and conditions that have a genetic component as well as a lifestyle component, such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, are very interesting. You cannot change your genes, but you can change your lifestyle. In terms of obesity in children, it is extremely important to educate parents about how these processes in the body work, and what they can do to combat them. A problem with this though, is it can cost a lot of money, and involve major lifestyle changes such as a complete change in diet and everyday activities such as TV watching. I think that the second article about mothers’ diets during pregnancy affecting their offspring’s’ weight very interesting as well. You can’t change your genes, but, according to this preliminary research in mice, mothers have an influence over their child’s obesity battle before they are even born. Prevention is the best solution to many public health problems, and obesity is one of them. More research is needed in this topic as it pertains to humans, but it is a fascinating subject.
ReplyDeleteI think interventions built on the life-course theory are necessary and can have a huge impact on the obesity issue in this country. The issue that we deal with when it comes to public health interventions in the US is the lack of funding. Only 3% of the country's healthcare expenditures go to prevention making it crucial to create and implement interventions that will lead to effective improvements to the health and wellness of communities.
ReplyDeleteIf the problem of obesity starts at an early age and fetal stage of life due to environmental and lifestyle factors for both the mother and child, regardless of the roles genes play, interventions should target these sensitive stages of life. One possible intervention is starting mandated nutritional programs for expecting mothers or free nutrition consulting for expecting mothers.
I think the problem with interventions targeted at kindergarten children or school based programs is, not only that the obesity problems starts earlier according to this study, but that often, children have very little control over what they eat. Parents control what children eat. They cook for them, pack their lunch, schedule their day. Interventions should target parents in order to make an effective lifestyle change in children. Guides and resources for healthy lifestyles must be readily available to parents. For example, healthy cooking recipes, activities involving physical movement, and advice from experts should be made available to parents whether it's from an online resource, or easy-to-read pamphlet guides handed to parents by their children's pediatrician during their checkups. By getting pediatricians involved in the process, parents can use them as a resource for questions and, by having the pamphlets given at every appointment, the information on the pamphlets can be age targeted.
The life-course theory could be very useful in creating interventions to decrease the rate of obesity. Since there are many factors that can lead to or cause obesity, ranging from genetic mutations to behavioral influences, it is important to take a holistic approach to combating obesity.
ReplyDeleteSince many people who are going to become obese do so at a young age, usually by age 5, it is important to address this issue early in life. While some have stressed the importance of pregnant mothers eating healthy and not being overweight or obese, I feel that if an obese woman becomes pregnant, it is unlikely that she will be able to significantly change her eating habits and lose weight during her pregnancy. Since “obese mothers beget obese children,” we need to fix this issue before a woman becomes pregnant. This is why nutrition counseling for pregnant mothers is not enough. We need to fix this issue before pregnancy.
To do so, we need to address the issue of a lack of education about healthy diets and exercise habits and the high costs of many healthy foods, foremost. We need to make the healthy choice the easy choice, and thus make fruits and vegetables cheaper and more appealing than fast food. We need to change the culture of eating processed, high-fat and high-calorie foods. In addition, focusing obesity interventions on high risk groups, such as those of low socioeconomic status, we could decrease the rate of childhood obesity.
I do believe healthy eating is something that should be encouraged during pregnancy. However, we must also keep in mind that for many women their appetite and ability to keep down foods is impacted when pregnant, resulting in many of them developing otherwise strange eating habits and preferences. Nevertheless, I think that the core cause of obesity in these young children can be attributed to how they were fed when infants. The first study fails to take into account whether or not these "fat kindergarteners" were bottle or breast fed. Bottle-fed babies tend to be over fed, which may be a potential confounding factor that they are overlooking in the first study. If this is a contributing factor to the overwhelming prevalence of obesity in young school children, the solution is educating parents of healthy eating. Although I do think the previously suggested compulsory nutrition program does sound helpful, maybe there should be a program that solely targets children born at a large weight because they are more likely to become obese at a younger age. By implementing the compulsory nutrition program for parents of larger (and therefore more at risk for obesity) infants, we can create focused programs that may be more financially feasible considering the small portion of our current healthcare budget appropriated for preventative efforts.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to find such a strong association between mom's diet and the likelihood of the child becoming obese. I knew that obesity was genetic, but the fact that maternal diet alone could have such strong implication is shocking. I think the most essential and important intervention is to make people aware of this. These studies need more media attention, and doctors should inform all female patients in childbearing age. I think most people know what they should, and shouldn't be eating, and the effect it will have on them, yet they still don't change anything. However, if they knew the affect it would have children they would be much more like to do something. Many woman try their entire lives to quit smoking, but aren't successful until they are pregnant, and have extra motivation.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, many woman cannot afford to eat costly fruits and vegetables, especially if they are out of season or live in certain areas. The cheaper foods are generally unhealthy, or low in nutritional content. So maybe as part of the welfare program, like food stamps, or as part of a publicly funded health care program like medicaid, there should be a special program and grocery stores for pregnant woman, that provide healthy food for free or at a subsidized cost.
Finally, I agree with Michele that we need to address the bigger overall problem, which is the obesity epidemic. Obviously both schools and health institutions need to increase educational nutrition programs. I also believe schools should have daily PE classes for students not participating in sports.
The quotation at the end of the second article truly resonates, "Genes, at this point, are not modifiable, whereas diet and pregnancy weight gain are." It is not new information that what you eat influences your body and your children. It seems rather selfish for a mother to ruin their child's (in the womb) health, which depends heavily upon the mother's actions. It was found years ago that drinking alcohol during pregnancy led to fetal alcohol syndrome, which debilitates the child. It seems intuitive that a mother's actions truly affects the health of their child. If one are pregnant, you need to keep your children in mind while you eat, because you are essentially feeding yourself and your child in the womb. If one is determined to keep your children away from high-fat foods, it does not make sense to eat high-fat foods while you're pregnant. People cannot change their genes, and their predisposition to obesity, but people are able to control what they eat, and what to avoid to prevent triggering the genetic predisposition. It seems almost depressing that once a child is a bit overweight or is obese while they are at the sensitive period of their childhood, they can no longer stray from imminently becoming or staying obese.
ReplyDeleteThese two articles were quite interesting and informative. I had read a number of articles related to obesity in its earliest years," however, I didn't realize that kindergarten was such a breaking point in obesity. It seems that children seem to stay obese if they are still overweight by kindergarten, and "if you can make it to kindergarten without the weight, your chances are immensely better" [of not being overweight]. This was quite eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if a child is to maintain a healthy weight to kindergarten, doesn't mean a healthy lifestyle should start during kindergarten; it must be started way before. I think it's up to the parents to be educated properly and feeding their children properly and up to them to lead their child in the right direction regarding food, diet, and exercise. And in order for this to happen, I agree with what a few students have agreed upon, and that is early intervention with OB/GYNs or pediatricians. It would be a good idea for these OB/GYNs or pediatricians to have their place accompanied with some sort of diet/nutritional plan. This should include a healthy plan not only for the expectant child, but also for what the mother's diet should be like as well.
For those already obese or mothers who are already obese and pregnant, I think in the end, it really comes down to making the right decisions. Make healthy lifestyle choices, eat the right kinds of food, keep things in moderation, and at least do the minimum amount of exercise. Though I see see how nutrition and genomics can go hand-in-hand, I'm afraid people will just blame being overweight due to their genes and go on with their poor lifestyle choices. In some cases, it's just a matter of self control.
Both articles have further solidified for me just how important it is to recognize and try to resolve the obesity epidemic. I believe that because obesity has so many underlying roots, like genetics, lifestyle, social and environmental factors, among others, it needs to be dealt with from many different angles. One important angle to use would be the life course perspective.
ReplyDeleteUsing the life course perspective with obesity could be extremely effective to start with moms, and specifically their eating habits during the third trimester. It's important that their clinicians and OB/GYNs stress the importance of healthy eating habits for their babies futures. However, I do agree with Kendra when she says that this is more of an overall lifestyle change. Many of those at high-risk don't have a doctor, or don't see one regularly, thereby they would not receive extra counseling or advise on their nutrition, since they aren't receiving any at all. Public health measures are needed to educate and make aware those who are at high-risk.
As with many other public health problems, I feel as though obesity also ties in with SES and race. Obesity is entangled in a web of many different social determinants, and in order to fully make change we need to get through every root and every determinant, to make an effort to better improve our health system in general.
While I think educating children at an early age about healthy nutrition, I feel as though it is more effective to target expectant mothers. Many expectant mothers attend childbirth classes leading up to labor. These classes could include time in the schedule to discuss nutrition for both the mother and child. For women who can't afford childbirth classes, there should be more emphasis placed on discussions surrounding nutrition during doctor's visits. Many times the mother and doctor discuss the baby without really discussing the mother. If doctors were encouraged to discuss the mother's health and nutrition she could really learn a lot. Doctors could also print pamphlets and reading material so the mothers could read about nutrition on their own time.
ReplyDeleteAn intervention using the life-course theory would greatly decrease obesity. The first component is to have a focus on education. Monitoring both maternal diet/health as well as the child’s diet/health as the mother’s diet can affect the child’s risk of developing obesity, as we also saw in the Ghost in Your Gene video. Perhaps expecting mothers can take a nutrition/dieting class to understand the effects of the food they eat on both themselves and their children, with easy to follow nutrition guides/pamphlets, and healthier alternatives to not so healthy food choices. Schools should also have nutrition classes for children to understand the importance of proper nutrition and the effects it has on their health.
ReplyDeleteA second component for the intervention is exercise promotion. Being predisposed to obesity will always stay in your DNA, however, changing your lifestyle to exercising and being more active can prevent obesity. Schools should have better PE programs for all students, or perhaps a fitness education class on the importance of exercise.
One of the articles mention a study that found that 12.5% of children starting kindergarten were already obese. As a result, the target population for this intervention will be mothers who have recently given birth because they are the primary caretakers and will most likely be the ones deciding what their newborns eat. Primary care physicians should provide nutritional advice to mothers starting from when the baby is just born. Once the baby can start eating real foods, other than baby food and milk, the physicians should meet with the mothers again to discuss meal plans. Mothers who are overweight or obese should be reccommended to a nutritionist, where they can learn about nutrition and weight management for them and their babies. In addition, the nutritionist should provide mothers with a sample meal plan that is both affordable and culturally appropriate. Another possibility is the addition of cooking workshops that take place once a month to show mothers how to cook healthy meals and correct portion sizes.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this intervention will be useful because it will teach both the mothers and the children healthy eating habits that can be sustained over the lifetime. According to the life-course theory, individuals are at risk of diseases and other health conditions even before they are born. As a result, children who have healthy eating habits at an early age will continue these habits. In the future, these children will grow up to become healthy adults and have children of their own. These children will then be less likely to become obese because their parents started healthy habits since birth.
Upon learning of a pregnancy, healthy lifestyle and eating habits must be instituted. This can start with a woman's first obstetrician visit. Topics such as diet and exercise should be discussed and the life-course connection regarding obesity and genetics needs to be introduced. If the woman is currently obese it should be highly recommended that a nutritionist is involved in planning meals and giving advice throughout her pregnancy. This will not only help the mother keep a healthy weight after the pregnancy but also helps the child avoid becoming obese early on and further when they grow up.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Kolata's article, obesity is predicted by age 5, which tells us early intervention in pre-schools is a priority. Restricting certain high fat snacks and beverages can be part of the solution and by introducing more fruits and vegetables to "snack time". From a socioeconomic prospective, not every family has the means and access to maintain a diet that will lead a child to healthy habits. Children's tastes can be influenced easier at an early age before too many sweets and high fat foods become the preference.
I believe these interventions can be helpful in preventing obesity in early childhood leading to a healthy adulthood.
I am a huge proponent of the life course perspective. I believe that implementing healthy lifestyle choices, such as nutritious eating habits, can make a huge impact on health outcomes (in this case obesity) in later stages of life. If obesity can be predicted a as early as 5 years old, I think that education interventions at or before this age could make a huge difference in decreasing the obesity trend. Like many of my classmates have already highlighted, even just educating women about the correlation between their eating habits during pregnancy and their child's risk of becoming obese could have huge, positive implications.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for a life course model to be successful, both mothers and children of all socioeconomic status need to have equal access to education, healthy food sources, safe places to exercise, etc. Without changes in the current system, I do not believe that the life course model could be successful.
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. More and more children are becoming obese and developing health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Unfortunately for them, it is usually not really their fault at all. Children born to obese parents are more likely to struggle with their weight and be obese. A major change is needed to stop the cycle of obesity. Children that are at a greater risk of obesity due to genetics need to be monitored more closely and their parents need to make extra efforts to keep them healthy. Nutrition classes and more regimented physical education should absolutely be mandatory in elementary schools at a young age, so that children are comfortable with the concept of healthy living from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAs startling as this information is, after what we've learned in class, I don't find it all that surprising. The environment plays a crucial role in deciding our fate, so saying that a woman's eating habits while she's pregnant or a child's weight early in life is an indicator of obesity later in life doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me. Armed with this new information, health care professionals may be even more successful in preventing obesity, as they can educate pregnant women and new mothers on proper nutrition for women and their young children.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, the intervention I propose centers primarily around education. By educating pregnant women on the importance of eating healthy, public health officials could possibly slow the growing problem of obesity. I suggest holding classes or seminars for expectant or new mothers. These classes would go over the importance of eating a good diet, what kinds of foods to eat, and how the women could take steps to help their children be healthy not just in the near future, but later in their lives, as well. I feel as though the most important thing is spreading the word about the connection between a mother's diet and obesity in the child. Women may be a little reluctant to make a lifestyle change for their own sake, but they would probably be much more likely change their habits if they knew their lifestyle could impact their children in such a negative way. An educational intervention would be the best method to get this information to the public.
These news articles show more information about the obesity epidemic in the United States and sheds more light on adolescent obesity that is very important to realize. I was shocked when I read that more children who are obese or overweight by 5 will most likely be overweight/obese as adults. This research shows the need for interventions not just to pediatricians and OBGYN's, but also to parents. Mothers who find out they are pregnant need to immediately change their diets so that they are eating nutritious foods for their baby. And after they have the baby, parents need to make sure that their child is eating nutritious foods at home. This is difficult for families who live in poverty and do not have the resources to feed their children good meals. So, I think an intervention to provide food assistance in impoverished areas to help parents of newborns and toddlers as well as pregnant women would be helpful. Also, making sure that schools have the money to provide nutritious and healthy foods once the child is in school will help curb the obesity epidemic. The life course perspective shows that a healthy lifestyle including nutritious food and access to physical education is necessary for children to become healthy adults. The articles show that there is a vast need for these interventions in pregnant women and children under 5, but there is also a need for more programs to help after the age of 5 as well for those children who are overweight to help them live a healthier lifestyle to hopefully combat their chances of staying overweight or obese in the future. The interventions would need to be given through OBGYN's to pregnant women and through pediatricians/communities to parents of at risk children. These interventions are necessary everywhere in the US but starting them in impoverished communities would be a great start.
ReplyDeleteBoth articles show us that both your genes and your environment play a role in your overall health. It seems to me that the best place to start targeting obesity would be with pregnant mothers. There are dozens of different rules that a woman is told to follow when she is pregnant, from limiting caffeine intake to taking vitamin supplements to support the baby's growth. Doctors should include recommendations for healthy eating in order to promote a healthy baby. Pregnant women should have nutritional information available to help them understand that decisions that they make both during and after pregnancy can have a lifetime effect on their children.
ReplyDeleteWith this information available, parents will be better equipped to deal with any genetic predispositions to obesity. Armed with the knowledge that a child who is overweight in kindergarten is likely to stay that way, will allow parents to take an active role in providing a healthy diet and exercise opportunities (riding a bike as opposed to watching television) for their children.
Obesity is an epidemic that has been present in the United States for far too long. The US experiences higher rates of obesity as compared to any other country in the world. This is an issue that certainly needs to be addressed. The life course perspective with obesity is definitely a method that I think could bring about greater awareness of how to prevent obesity, especially for pregnant women in their third trimesters. The life course perspective combined with education will be widely beneficial, in my opinion. It is important to illustrate the epigenetic factors that influence the development of obesity in individuals. Nutritional education and counseling may also be efficient methods of ensuring that consequences of poor nutritional health can impact one's child while pregnant. As part of the nutritional counseling,
ReplyDeleteThe life-course perspective could be a very useful tool in combatting obesity in the US. As the life-course article states, in order to reduce racial-ethnic disparities in birth outcomes, we need interventions that target the sensitive periods of development, but that are also sustained across the lifespan. I would propose an annual school-based intervention targeted at the parents of the students; in this way, it will cover the sensitive periods of early childhood and puberty, while also providing continued education and support to both the students and the parents. I believe that it should be targeted at the parents instead of the children themselves because I see them as having the most influence over their children's lifestyle behavior, especially in their early age. Additionally, studies have continuously shown that children's lifestyle habits that they carry into adulthood develop based on their parents. If this intervention can motivate the parents to change their negative behaviors, they can then influence their children to follow suit. More specifically, this intervention should be education based, but in a more interactive way. I imagine something attuned to an annual seminar that both teaches parents about healthy eating and physical activity, while also providing them with tangible tools of improving these aspects of their and their children's lives. Of course, there would need to be some sort of added incentive to get attain a high turn out at these seminars.
ReplyDeleteFrom these articles it's evident how important understanding the life course perspective for obesity is for people. I wasn't as surprised of how much your mothers' genetics plays a part in your weight. My mom can eat a lot and still be skinny, and I'm the same so I know the role of genetics in weight gain.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else who have said that intervention should start with OB/GYNs who should educate expectant mothers about the life course perspective for obesity and the importance of eating nutritious food during pregnancy. They should be also educated about keeping stress free during pregnancy. These advice should then be passed down to the children when they are born.
While there are mandatory physical education in schools already, I believe that there needs to be more done by the parents in encouraging them to play outside more when they are younger. Joining or creating physical activities with them should be done also. Intervention should start with pregnant women and continue for the child when they are born.
Based on the life coruse perspective, intervention for obesity should occur prenatally. Expectant mothers, especially those who are predisposed to obesity, should be educated on proper diet during pregnancy. She should also be educated on providing proper diet and physical activity once her children are born.
ReplyDeleteDespite the presence of physical education in schools, the curriculum should be tailored more to encourage more "fun" activities, with the goal of having obese children voluntarily lose weight. Nutrition and wellness courses should be included in the curriculum as well, exploring topics like healthy diets and physical activity.
It is evident that some form of health intervention must be implemented if Americans wish to end the increasing trend of obesity. One intervention that I would implement would be offering informational and educational nutrition counseling to newly pregnant women to stress the importance of healthy eating on their future child's life. Since this would technically be a "preventative care" intervention, under the new Affordable Care Act it should be covered by health insurance companies. Through this life-course approach, a longitudinal study could be done to follow the women and children who choose to utilize this program and those who do not. The results could then be compared to determine if this intervention has beneficial outcomes. It is clear that women's dietary choices during pregnancy, specifically during their third trimester is imperative to understanding the weight of their children over their life time. Moreover, healthy choices should be carried out until the child is ready to make their own choices regarding food; today, studies show that french fries are the vegetable consumed most by babies and small children, an obvious issue in American society. Lastly, we discussed the biological derivatives behind cravings in pregnant women; there are no biological reasons that women have these cravings and often women do not need to increase their caloric consumption as early in their pregnancy or as greatly as they do throughout their term. These are all factors that should be addressed since women may not be aware of these biological facts.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the life course perspective for any disease including obesity is beneficial. The article brings up a familiar concept that we learned earlier in the semester. We learned that ancestral exposures significantly affects future generations. This information ties into the fact that exposures that women face over the course of their lives may have an effect on their children. Therefore, I believe that there should be great efforts to educate women earlier especially women who plan to have children. This is important because we now know that genetics has a huge role in the etiology of disease. For instance, we learned today that mutations of beta-adrenergic receptors often lead to patients being overweight and diabetic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else that OBGYN's should step up and inform their patients about risks and complications. I believe an educational intervention is needed because many women/people do not know that certain decisions or exposures can cause problems for their baby. The usual proposed solutions for obesity is to get people to eat healthy which sounds simple. However, this ideal is not feasible for most families because healthy food options are usually too expensive. Therefore, legislative policies need to be placed to provide adequate access to healthy food.
To tackle the obesity epidemic in the United States, I think it is important to create an intervention that addresses two key areas using the life-course approach: 1) the mother's diet and eating habits during pregnancy, and 2) weight regulation in children prior to their turning 5 years of age.
ReplyDeleteAddressing the first key point, when a woman becomes pregnant, her doctor should consult with her regarding healthy eating habits and the positive impact such actions could have on her child's future weight. Furthermore, programs that encourage healthy eating and nutrition, such as WIC, should be expanded, so that lower income families can have access to healthy food sources.
Addressing the second key point, once a child is born, it is important to ensure that his or her weight is maintained at a healthy level. A proposed intervention for this involves regular weight follow-up and consistent nutrition education prior to the age of 5 for all children. One way of doing this is through annual doctor visits. Doctors should keep track of the child's weight and provide nutrition education to parents so that their children are fed healthily. In an ideal world, however, such a program would be implemented in pre-schools. At pre-schools, teachers could teach students about healthy eating and lifestyle habits, as well as more consistently keep track of a child's weight. Unfortunately, the key limitation here is that preschools are expensive and the United States does not have a universal preschool requirement. In any case, it is key to ensure that children are not obese prior to turning 5, as studies have shown that children who are obese at that age tend to be obese in future years.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone above about how the life-course perspective is necessary. Obesity is an issue that stems from a variety of factors and is a life-long battle for many people. It is not a quick decision; it is a lifestyle decision that must be maintained throughout a person’s life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many people as well about the important of stemming an intervention off of education. I, even as a person with a sufficient education in public health, didn’t realize that impact that a mother’s maternal diet can have on the duration of a child’s life. As one of the articles state, “Exercise and a healthy diet can often reduce, but not completely overcome, the effects of genes.” I always thought that the parents influence on obesity was more focused on lifestyle, so the education of the impact on genes and the difficulty to overcome those needs to be stressed to mothers.
Where I disagree, is that there needs to be much more than education to truly make a change. A lot of these issues stem from disparities in income, location, ethnicities, etc. where just giving education doesn’t address the issues firsthand. One student mentioned earlier a mandatory course during the 9 months of pregnancy. I agree with this, as many mothers’ I’m sure don’t realize their impact. But in order to make it something people actually attend, I think it needs to be a fun, activity centered program so women have an incentive to attend. For example, through an OBGYN, a healthy cooking workshop where woman can talk to other pregnant mothers and learn how to cook healthy, quick meal options could be a great resource for woman. Each course should be designed specifically for the groups of woman present. Therefore, the specifically designed class could target the main reasons why the mother may not be able to eat healthy.
In addition, I think another intervention that addresses accessibility of resources is critical. An intervention that I believe implementing would help would be to create a delivery system of healthy food or meals for women who can’t because of time, income, etc. Providing this during pregnancy could be a sliding-scale payment system to that way it can be accessible to everyone. Stressing this option could allow mothers to feel it is in their reach to create this healthy lifestyle for themselves.
I also think that the “norms” of eating while pregnant need to be changed. I believe that many mothers have the mindset that women are hormonal and it’s okay to crave high-fat types of food. People use the excuse that they are “eating for two.” However, many women should realize that there isn’t really an excuse for this-it is a social norm that has been created that public health officials should work to change. If the norm was to eat healthy during pregnancy because your children’s risk of obesity during their lifetime depends of it, many more women would choose that option. People need to remember this is not a temporary change-it should be a lifelong lifestyle decision.
Public health interventions for obesity need to start taking place earlier in a child's life - perhaps even before the child is born. As both of these articles point out, obesity risk is very much determined by the time a child reaches the age of five. Public health interventions need to be done earlier and more intensely. I suggest creating two different campaigns that would utilize television commercials, billboards, public transit advertising, magazine ads, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe first should be focused on maternal health during pregnancy. The campaign should focus on the importance of eating healthily during pregnancy while being realistic about the effect weight gain during pregnancy has on that child's weight later on in his/her life. I don't think many women realize the connection between too much weight gain during pregnancy and obesity for their child. If the correlation was made into common knowledge by advertising that over 40 pounds of weight gain during pregnancy drastically increases a child's chances of becoming obese, women would have a clear idea of how much food/weight gain is unhealthy during pregnancy.
The second should focus on diet and exercise in the very early stages of the child's life. This campaign should focus heavily on statistics because statistics are powerful when it comes to health. The campaign should be geared towards healthier eating. But just to be clear this campaign is for infants and toddlers, because like I mentioned before, much of a child's lifetime weight is determined by kindergarten. If the family has healthy lifestyle habits established by the time the child is in kindergarten, those habits will likely continue as the child grows.
The early years of a child's life is when he/she can be most susceptible to health problems that can persist onto adulthood. Obesity is a disease that does not always get the attention it needs when a child has shown physical symptoms being overweight. It is the assumption that a child can lose all that weight as he/she grows up that limits parents and health care professionals from providing necessary preventions.
ReplyDeleteGenetic factors do affect obesity, but environmental factors are also as significant. Since it may take a while for doctors and scientists to tackle the genetic aspect of obesity, attention should be given to nutrition, an essential influence that we often neglect. From a public health perspective, an possible intervention program in kindergartens and daycare centers is one that focuses on educating the caretakers or teachers on nutrition values in meals and the importance of exercising. At home, parents should be able to receive similar information so that they can provide their children with appropriate meal plans. Another intervention program may be one that suggests ideal meals and daily exercises as guidelines for parents or caretakers to help children maintain a healthy weight.
It is important to establish healthy habits in children from a young age, since it can significantly improve their health outcomes as they grow up and are exposed to even more environmental factors that may increase the risks of being obese.
There is no question that good health begins in the womb. In addition to obesity, other negatives outcomes that arise later in life such as stroke, heart disease, and (as we have learned) even diabetes are linked to the fetus's quality of life in the mother's womb. The transfer of chemicals into the placenta plays a huge role in the baby's outcomes in life. But another major factor, is obviously genetic predisposition. In combatting obesity, in future generations we need several prevention policies and interventions. A series of interventions would be necessary to combat obesity since it is indeed a disease of polygenetic nature.
ReplyDeleteDeveloping a step-by-step lifespan plan would be the best method for those predisposed to obesity as well as those who aren't:
1. Initiating OBGYN nutritional programs and exercise programs to keep pregnant women healthy
2. Encouraging exercise programs and nutritionally focused classes for children as young as kindergarten age
3. Restricting the sales (or increasing that taxes) on sugary, high saturated fat foods.
4. Having policies in place to create rewards programs for those participating in YMCAs and acquiring fresh produce (particularly in the local hay markets that are substantially cheaper than grocery stores)
5. Giving benefits to communities that have regular group "walks" or community "active programs"
These are general recommendations that could easily be implemented and that can significantly change the behaviors that may exacerbate the expression of the obesity gene. Further, the plans can prevent someone who lacks the predisposition of obesity from developing the disease over the course of their lifetime.
In my opinion, a large issue with obesity prevention is the fact that US healthcare does not dedicate nearly enough resources to prevention itself. After reading the articles for obesity, it is evident that obesity prevention needs to start in the womb and continue into early childhood. Imagine the healthy lives that could be created and the healthcare costs saved from just eating right, from mothers to young children and beyond. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure all could be reduced just from controlling obesity. However, there is no other way to do this than with programs early on to educate parents and young children. If pregnant mothers were taught how to eat right during pregnancy, the effects on their child if they don't, and parents taught how to provide their children with a nutritious diet, the rates of obesity could decline immensely. While it is great that our country is beginning to promote nutrition and exercise, a focus on obesity prevention earlier in life needs to come to the forefront and education is critical in doing so.
ReplyDeleteI believe that obesity, as suggested by both articles, is heavily influenced by one's parents and their dietary habits. The reason that intervention programs in schools have not been as effective as we would hope is because children will get a decent meal at the school, but could return home to a meal high in saturated fats and sugars. One good meal will not constitute the loss of weight if the rest of the food eaten during the day is unhealthy. If parents tend towards obesity themselves, and have poor dietary habits, naturally their children will look to them as an example. It is important to focus on adults first, then the changes in diet and lifestyle will trickle down into their children's lives as well. This is no easy feat, however; as some people simply do not want to change, cannot afford healthy foods, or cannot afford to get the help they need. There are already food assistance programs in the US, but they do not necessarily monitor the types of foods that people will purchase. I recommend regulating food assistance programs by setting strict guidelines on what types of foods may be purchased. I would also suggest offering nutrition services for little to no cost in community clinics for those who may not necessarily be able to afford these services normally. For those who have no financial burdens, I believe that a program by physicians could be established that will inform patients of the potential dangers of an unhealthy diet; not only to themselves, but to their children as well. The general public does not search for this information on their own, presumably, therefore it is important to provide it to them in any way possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently taking HS450 Noncommunicable diseases and learned that obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. So far what I learned from that class, the life-course perspective is a crucial evaluation tool to target causes of obesity and implement interventions where it can be most effective. However, the life-course perspective can be challenging to apply. Socioeconomic status is shown to be a determinant for obesity for those with lower socioeconomic status. Often, individuals under a low socioeconomic status cannot afford fruits and vegetables and opt for the unhealthier options and don't have the education or tools to live a healthy life style, such as their neighborhood infrastructure where there are no healthy grocery stores but only fast food restaurants, and no gyms (or people can't afford memberships) or a safe place to exercise. Overall, many factors within being of a low socioeconomic status can contribute to obesity. This affects children the most because parents are just continuing this unhealthy life-style and passing it onto their kids who are more likely to be obese growing up.
ReplyDeleteKnowing what I know so far, my intervention to prevent this childhood obesity epidemic would be to implement more education regarding obesity and how to live a healthy lifestyle, especially within schools and in the doctor's office. Like one of the articles states, advice from the doctor isn't taken seriously or the doctor doesn't emphasize enough the importance of preventing obesity. A national education campaign needs to occur to educate the public and reeducate health care worker to strive to prevent obesity amongst the nation.
As I have stated before, individuals may be educated about the dangers of being obese but may not have the means to counter it. Another intervention that can occur is to change the infrastructure of neighborhoods to assure access to healthy living. Examples include eliminating fast food restaurants and placing affordable grocery stores and gyms. My interventions would cost a lot of money and time, and would be difficult to implement due to the economy but it can offset the costs in the long-term from treating chronic diseases due to obesity.
After reading these articles, it seems that the best course of action is to start educating families when they become pregnant. I think exercise and dietary habits should be discussed by the doctor with the pregnant mother, helping her understand how her actions now can affect her child later. As Abbey mentioned, pregnant women are already told many guidelines to follow that help protect their child, and giving expecting mothers guidelines on how/what to eat would be beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of my classmates that life-course perspective seems like an essential tool in helping reduce rates of obesity, but I believe that our education system has to increase its contributions to keeping kids healthy. When I was in kindergarten, every month we would go to the school's kitchen and learn how to make a healthy afternoon snack; these are still snacks I eat to this day. I believe that making healthy choices fun for kids will help combat the bad habits many carry today, though obviously parents need to be willing to help their kids make healthy choices from a very young age.
Life-course perspective is a great and essential tool to prevent obesity. In addition I know the best way to prevent obesity is to enforce good habits with eating and exercise during childhood before adolescence and early adult/ pregnancy but that is the ideal situation. Having at least 30 minutes physical activity during the school day for children is crucial and should be mandated and observed throughout all school in the US K-8 even in high schools. The taking away of recess time is ridiculous. You cannot simply feed children healthy foods and then have them sit in class all day. The trick here would be to balance proper nutritious foods with an adequate amount of physical activity. Pregnant moms should be thoroughly informed about what they should and should not eat. Also pregnant moms need to hydrate adequately and be advised on what moderate exercise alternatives are available to keep them and their child safe and healthy.
ReplyDeleteInterventions would be most effective if implemented around age 5 since obesity is more or less determined by then. However, what children consume in early childhood is almost entirely up to their parents. Therefore, an effective way to address the childhood obesity epidemic would be to teach parents that good nutrition and physical exercise can prevent obesity in childhood and adulthood. Some parents, when they see their child gaining weight, might think to themselves, "My child is young and has plenty of time to develop healthy habits and lose weight." I think it would be important to educate these parents, as well as parents who have a tendency to put on weight themselves and parents who have a family history of obesity. Taking the time to explain to these parents how childhood obesity is an indicator for obesity later in life would be an effective way to reduce the obesity rate in young children. Hopefully, with more knowledge about overall health and obesity, parents would approach feeding their children a bit differently. They might start preparing healthier snacks or taking time to play outside with their children. Additionally, they might keep certain foods away from their children. For example, a family friend of mine introduced her child to McDonald's Kids' Meals at age 3. At the time, the child was probably too young to care that she was eating McDonald's but as she grew older, she requested dinner from McDonald's multiple times a week. Her mother struggled to say no to her, and by second grade she was quite overweight and physically inactive. I think instilling good nutrition at home, keeping high-fat content foods out of the house, and encouraging outdoor exercise are easier said than done but if properly implemented, these methods would prevent childhood obesity and therefore obesity later in life.
ReplyDeleteBoth articles on childhood obesity are supportive of the life-course theory - that a child's weight is predetermined by what their mother eats when pregnant and a child's diet during the first five years of their life. Studies have shown that environmental and social contexts have had a big impact on children's weight that persists with the child throughout their lifetime. This is an example of how a person's genes can be influenced by environmental factors.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the link between diet in the womb/early childhood and persistent obesity in life, an intervention that would be effective in decreasing obesity in the population is promoting healthy eating for pregnant mothers, women of childbearing years and for children in the early years of their life. This education and promotion campaign would focus on the importance of eating fruits and vegetables - especially organic to limit the amount of pesticides the fetus is exposed to in the womb. Health care providers would be instrumental in educating all women of childbearing years and especially pregnant mothers about eating a healthy diet, emphasizing the results of studies that show obesity is linked to diet during pregnancy and the first five years of a child. It's important to target all women of childbearing years when promoting a healthy diet because a healthy diet before a women becomes pregnant can further ensure the health of her baby.
To cover the mothers and children who are most vulnerable and experience the biggest disparity, I think the WIC program for food packages should be reformed. Food packages should limit unhealthy food available through WIC benefits and promote healthy food and especially organic food for both the mother and baby's health.
Based on the two articles above, the diet of the mother and the diet of children at early ages affects the children's weight for the rest of their life. Therefore, I think a good intervention should start with educating young women who are on the verge of having children. I think the awareness should begin before women even enter pregnancy because diet and lifestyle changes are not ones that can occur overnight. These types of lifestyle changes often take a while to change and make into a new habit. Therefore, I think it is important to educate and raise awareness about how the eating habits of a mother during pregnancy can negatively or positively affect her child. In this way, women who are planning to have children in the near or long term future can begin to work on fixing and changing their eating habits so that when they are in pregnancy they know what is best not to eat and what they should eat for their child's health. Also with regards to the early childhood obesity issue, I believe a good intervention would be educating mothers about eating habits when their children are between newborns and kindergarten. I agree with the last statement in the second article in that geners are not necessarily modifiable but diet and lifestyle changes are. Therefore, the early childhood obesity intervention should focus on educating mothers about feeding their children healthy options between the ages of newborn to kindergarten so that they can start off at a healthy weight and keep consistently healthy for the rest of their life. The intervention in both situations should consist of educating and raising awareness for mothers because the children only eat what their parents feed them.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI believe that the life course perspective would be the best course of strategy for reducing obesity within susceptible communities. There are so many things other than genetics that affect a fetus like the environment, epigenetics, and diet.
I found it so interesting to learn that what pregnant mothers eat and how much weight they gain could potential effect the risk of obesity for this offspring. Considering this, I believe nutrogenomics should be used to educate expecting mothers about diet.
I think there are many populations that an intervention program could target. One path could be to start educating teens in high school so that they will understand the importance of diet during pregnancy when they become pregnant themselves. The most important niche to target however would be young married women or expecting mothers to teach them a correct died while they’re pregnant (and express the importance of the third trimester) and for when their child is born to feed the correct foods to the baby until kindergarten age. Compulsory nutrition programs could also be provided for this group but perhaps to mothers who have heavier children. Its important to target the mothers before the child gets to kindergarten because as Gina Kolata said in an article, children who reach kindergarten at over weight, has a higher change of being over weight for the rest of his or her life.
I believe that one of the best interventions for the fight against obesity is to improve access to fruits and vegetables, fresher foods in general. Unfortunately malnourishment and obesity go hand and hand since obesity is a consequence of eating nutrient poor food and processed foods. In many communities opening a weekly farmers market especially during peak harvest seasons will not only bring fresher foods to these areas but also at a lower cost. Not only is fresh food scarce in some communities but it is also expensive. If the department of health developed a program that not only helped sponsored a farmers market in a community but it could also provide subsidization to allow even lower income families enjoy fresh food.
ReplyDeleteI think having a farmers market program will also educate individuals about cooking and the importance of eating healthy. The entire community could get involved by having local chefs prepare and demonstrate recipes using the local season food sold by local farms.
Health issues, such as obesity, is definitely a growing problem, especially in the United States. It's unfortunate that studies of obesity is only progressing now, when I feel it's already too late, as it becomes a more widespread epidemic. The findings of the two articles clearly reveal that developing obesity not only starts during childhood years, but even in the womb. Pregnant women, as well as fathers, should be able to undergo some type of free information seminar that stresses the point of eating habits directly correlates with the life of the child. Women should be eating healthy from the moment they find out they're pregnant because they're not just eating for themselves, but eating for their child as well. The situation kind of brings up the famous quote of "you are what you eat." Lifestyle choices are hard to make and don't happen overnight, but by making changes sooner rather than later, mother and child will be better off in the long run. The population needs to understand the importance of diet, healthy lifestyles, and physical activity and how these factors would greatly impact their life and the lives of their family. It may be too late for this generation to make a drastic change to their lifestyle, but if they at least make the effort to change, maybe the next generation will be better off in the future.
ReplyDeleteLike many others above me, I think expecting mothers should be required to meet with a nutritionist or dietician. Everybody knows that as a pregnant woman, you're eating for two; however, mothers often get cravings for odd and unhealthy and act on those cravings without realizing the potential harms of their actions. Giving dietary and exercise counseling to pregnant women would not only improve the health of the baby but would also hopefully foster better awareness of the mothers actions on her child before and after the child is born.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside though, I do have to womder why so many children are obese these days. I remember as a kid that we were always chubby but it was expected and often true that we would grow out of it. I understand that eating habits have changed with the times but genetically, I don't think much has changed since we were kids maybe 10 years ago.
Expecting mothers have such a huge influence on their children's health before they are even born. I think women should be educated by their OBGYN on the effect of their eating habits and lifestyle choices have on their baby. Obesity has become such a huge problem in the United States and it all starts with the children. I like the idea that pregnant women should be required to meet with a dietician or nutritionist to talk about healthy lifestyle choices and eating habits to allow their children to live the healthiest lives that they can. Women also might be more likely to pay attention to their choices if they know they'll have to share those choices with their doctor later on. Children are put at a disadvantage by their parents who do not have healthy habits because they are almost predisposed to be being obese. Young children often don't have a choice of what they eat, because they eat what their parents feed them. Exercise habits and healthy eating habits are essential to preventing obesity throughout the lifetime and through generations.
ReplyDeleteAfter doing the readings, it seems that life course perspective programs could really help reduce the impact of obesity. Obesity is something that affects many people, but from what I have learned in other classes, it seems to also disproportionately affect lower income families more than higher income families. Knowing that the people most affected by obesity would be unable to afford/access advanced medical treatments, surgeries, or medication, the life course perspective seems like the best preventative method that would be available to the people most affected by obesity.
ReplyDeleteHaving more education about the risk of childhood obesity extending to adolescence and adulthood available to parents of infants or even at OB/GYN visits prior to the child's birth. I think that have low cost healthy food available to families with young children in areas where low cost healthy food is not available. Having places like community centers or parts of clinics for families who are at greater risk of having children with obesity to support them and give them information to reduce their risk would be helpful to expecting parents and current parents throughout their children life. Continuing programs and following up with families throughout their children life would be important to making sure that children stay healthy and are able to reduce their risk of childhood obesity.
(I tried to post this morning but did not realize until now that my post did not save/submit when I saw the email, so sorry this is not as detailed as my original post and late!!)
Life-course perspective intervention theory to decrease obesity before kid’s head into older parts of life is a good way to prevent obesity. There have been experiments and studies that show that intervening during pregnancy and early childhood would prevent obesity. During early pregnancy there has been facts said actually eating sweets and bunch of snacks during pregnancy is actually bad for the kid. Instead of thinking eating the sweet is fine since your technically feeding two people you should think that you should eat twice as healthier. Even for early childhood help we should make sure the children eat healthier earlier to make sure we prevent obesity among people later on in life. I really wonder why schools and parents are not educating kids about healthy eating.
ReplyDelete