Overweight and Obesity in Children

By Rachel Halleen (AEP)

 

Did you know in 2017-18, 24% of children aged 5-14 were overweight or obese? That’s nearly 1 in 4 children carrying excessive amounts of body fat. Whilst the proportion of children being overweight or obese has remained relatively stable between 2007-08 (23%) and 2017-18 (24%), these figures are still alarming.

 

Implications of overweight and obesity in children

 

Perhaps we could blame modern technology and increased screen-time nowadays, or the availability of convenience and fast foods that influence poor dietary choices increasing energy consumption in children. Regardless of the reasons why, overweight and obese children are at increased risk of poor physical health and mortality in adulthood. What’s also concerning, it that 79% of obese children will never realise a healthy weight and 5% of healthy weight children are likely to become overweight adults.

 

As mentioned above, overweight and obese children are at increased risk of long-term health problems. As reported by the World Health Organisation, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance which may lead to type 2 diabetes, and psychological health issues [1].

 

For all individuals, young or old, raised BMI is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders including osteoarthritis, some types of cancer.

So, what can we do to reduce overweight and obesity in children?

You guessed it, more exercise and better nutrition. 

Overweight and obesity are terms used to describe excessive body fat in individuals which is generally a result of long-term energy imbalance. This means the energy one consumes through food and drink is greater than the energy expended through exercise and everyday bodily functions.

 

Behavioural, environmental and social factors that may influence this imbalance include:

• Increased consumption of poor nutritional food choices
  • including sugar sweetened drinks and calorie-dense foods
  • increased accessibility to fast foods, and more recently, a rise in home delivery food companies
• Insufficient sleep
  • Studies have shown that increased energy consumption is a primary mechanism for weight gain following sleep restriction [2].
  • Studies have shown that short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index [3].
• Increased screen-time
  • Both television-based screen-time and hand-held entertainment devices
  • No more than 2 hours per day is the recommended amount
• Increased sedentary behaviour
  • Long periods of sitting can reduce the benefits of being physically active
• Decrease in physical activity
  • In 2011-12 only 26% children aged 5-12 and 8% children aged 13-17 met the physical activity guidelines

 

 

What are the benefits of exercise for children?

 

Children can gain numerous social, emotional, intellectual and health benefits from being active every day. These include:

• Reduced anti-social behaviour
• Better cooperation with peers
• Improved teamwork skills
• Lower anxiety and stress levels
• Improved self-esteem and confidence
• Stronger bones and muscles
• Improved sleep patterns
• Opportunity to have fun with family and friends
• Improved fitness, coordination and motor skills
• Lower risk of disease
• Lower risk of unhealthy weight gain

 

So, what are the physical activity guidelines for children?

 

Below is a table outlining the physical activity guidelines for children ages 5-17 with the information provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare:

 

Examples of moderate to vigorous activities are:

• Playing sport (football, basketball, netball etc.)
  • This doesn’t have to be formal, backyard or park sport is fine
• Bike riding or scooter riding
• Swimming
• Dancing
• Running

 

Examples of light physical activities include:

• Walking
  • Perhaps to school or walking the dog
• Going to the park with friends
• Helping around the house
  • Vacuuming, sweeping, hanging the washing out

 

Muscle strengthening activities may include:

• Climbing
• Playing on monkey bars
• Push-ups and sit-ups
• Lifting weighted items

 

 

So, whether you’re a parent, grandparent, child educator, or even if you are none of the above, it is important to understand the health impact of overweight and obesity in children. Encourage better food choices in your family and friend’s groups, share healthy recipes with each other, support children when the want to play sport, spend more time outdoors and less time in front of a screen, and remember that healthy habits lead to healthy lifestyles.

 

 

References:

[1] World Health Organisation 2018. Obesity and overweight. Viewed 1 July 2021.

[2] Markwald RR, Melanson EL, Smith MR, et al. Impact of insufficient sleep on total daily energy expenditure, food intake, and weight gain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013;110:5695–5700.

[3] Taheri S, Lin L, Austin D, Young T, Mignot E. PLoS Med. 2004 Dec; 1(3):e62.

[4] Department of Health 2021. Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines and the For Children and Young People (5-17 years). Viewed 1 July 2021.