Overweight in childhood Once fat, in the long run fat?

How to overcome the obesity epidemic?

Obesity and childhood obesity are a growing problem. "The huge increase in obesity in children surpasses all previous assumptions and has become a dramatic threat to their health," the Foundation for Child Health warns in a recent release. Therefore, the experts have summarized a number of practical recommendations that should contribute to the prevention of overweight in childhood.

"Obesity and obesity have reached epidemic proportions and must be combated by society and politics more consistently than before," according to the demand of the Foundation for Child Health. The experts cite various measures that could help to prevent obesity and obesity in children - from a ban on advertising unhealthy food to putting up water dispensers. The fight against the obesity epidemic must urgently be promoted.

How can the childhood obesity epidemic be stopped? (Photo: kwanchaichaiudom / fotolia.com

More and more children are obese

According to Professor dr. Berthold Koletzko, a metabolism expert at the University Children's Hospital in Munich and chair of the Child Health Foundation, has "more than eightfold increased the incidence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents over the past 40 years." The expert cited the figures from a recent publication Analysis of 416 studies involving more than 160 million children and adolescents from 200 countries. This has shown that the proportion of obese girls rose from 0.7 percent in 1975 to 5.6 percent in 2016 and boys from 0.9 percent to 7.8 percent. This has enormous consequences for the health of the affected children.

Health consequences of weight problems

Citing the representative figures of the nationwide "KiGGS" study, the Foundation for Child Health reports that 15 percent of children between the ages of three and 17 are overweight and 6.3 percent obese (obese). The list of possible health consequences ranges from "diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes on cirrhosis, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and certain types of cancer to mental stress, impaired performance and depression", according to the Communication of the Foundation Child Health. "Obesity is more than baby fat, trumpet angels live dangerously," stresses Professor Koletzko.

Increased early risk of death

In adipose adolescents, the risk of death increases by 4.9-fold and death by all cardiovascular causes by 3.5-fold, compared to normal-weight peers over the next forty years of life, reports the foundation child health, citing current studies. Compared to normal-weight children, overweight adolescents also have a 1.4-fold increased risk of mental abnormalities (a 2.5-fold increased risk in obese adolescents).

Life is greatly shortened

Overall, obesity in young adults shortens their lives by 2.5 years, a mild obesity reduced their lives by almost six years and in severe obesity, they live six to eight years shorter, reports the Foundation Child Health. "This means that severe adiposity shortens life more than some malignant diseases," emphasizes Professor Berthold Koletzko.

Excess pounds do not "grow together"

The hope of many parents that the excess pounds of the children "grow back" over time contradicts Prof. Koletzko explicitly. This is a deceptive hope. "If a child or adolescent is suffering from obesity, his weight will usually not return to normal later," the expert continues. "A fat child does not get slim," stresses Prof. Koletzko. Therefore, it is important to take active countermeasures and remedy the causes of the weight problems.

Causes of obesity epidemic

However, the causes of the obesity epidemic, according to the Foundation Child Health are quite diverse. Here, the seductive advertising, the easy availability of unhealthy food and sweet drinks as well as the massive use of screen media, smartphones and cell phones and the associated lack of movement play a role. The sugary drinks are also becoming increasingly clear that they are an independent risk factor for excessive weight gain.

Children should drink water

Therefore, the Foundation Child Health recommends that children should be accustomed to drinking water from an early age and sugary drinks such as lemonade, cola drinks, sweetened teas or ice tea, fruit juices, fruit nectars or fruit juice spritzers should remain the exception. In educational establishments for children and adolescents of all ages, the experts believe that no sugary drinks should be offered. "The kindergarten program TigerKids developed by Stiftung Kindergesundheit, for example, shows that this can actually succeed with its simple and practical elements," says Professor Koletzko.

Example projects in day care centers

In the project, a drinking station was set up, where water and sugar-free teas are offered. In addition, the children prepare their own fruit plates with chopped vegetables and pieces of fruit. After a short time, the success has shown. "It becomes a habit for pre-school children to drink water naturally and regularly and to eat vegetables and fruit," says the Foundation for Child Health. The habituation of the children to the health-promoting behavior leads then also at home to a more frequent consumption of vegetables, fruit and water and a decrease of the consumption of sweetened beverages.

Water dispensers help

According to the Foundation, another example is the TrinkFit study conducted in North Rhine-Westphalia. Primary schoolchildren were given their own drinking bottles and were able to supply them with hot or even drinking water at any time using a water dispenser. Just the installation of water dispensers led to drinking more water and a lower consumption of sugary drinks "and after one school year to a 31 percent lower frequency of overweight than in the control schools," says the Foundation Child Health. It shows how important it is to motivate children to drink water instead of sugary drinks.

The provision of water dispensers reduces the consumption of sweetened beverages and reduces the weight of the children. (Image: Maksim Kostenko / fotolia.com)

Advertising with a fatal effect

According to the experts, child-friendly advertising for food on television and through social media also plays a disastrous role in the obesity epidemic. This has been shown to affect the preference, purchase and consumption of unbalanced and fat-making products such as coke, chips and sweet snacks. Also, the pledge by some large corporations to voluntarily limit advertising directed at children under the age of 12 has proven to be a bland wipe. "A study in the US showed that the voluntary self-regulation of advertising to children was not effective," said Professor Koletzko.

Self-restrictions of the manufacturers do not work

Furthermore, preschool children are daily exposed to the promotion of unhealthy foods in children's programs, reports Prof. Koletzko. All attempts to better educate people about healthy eating and drinking would have turned out to be largely in vain in Germany. The food industry has so far successfully rejected legal regulations through its lobbying work. In Germany, neither the evaluation of nutrients nor a uniform labeling of food quality is prescribed by simple symbols, although this is a requirement of the World Health Organization (WHO).

What are the required measures?

Since the self-commitments of the manufacturers do not work or even turn out to be a sham, it is "high time for stricter legal regulations, for a clear and understandable labeling of food and for their effective official supervision," said the urgent request of the Foundation Child Health. Stricter rules are urgently needed and individual measures are not enough to stop the disastrous development. The most important measures to be implemented include, according to the experts:

• The consistent promotion of breastfeeding;
• the limitation of high sugar consumption through education and legislative measures;
• the promotion of water consumption by taxation of highly sweetened beverages;
• the restriction of child-directed advertising in the mass media and social media of the internet;
• a simple and easy-to-understand labeling of foods so that consumers can quickly identify the better products.

Science, society and politics must work together

All in all, science, society and politics must cooperate more closely in the opinion of the Foundation for Child Health "in order to change the children's fattening world." The implementation of regular exercise activities in daycare, schools and leisure time is also important, stresses Professor Koletzko. Because children and adolescents should, according to the expert, move at least 90 minutes a day. In addition, parents should limit the use of their children's audiovisual media to a maximum of two hours a day, added Professor Koletzko. And last but not least, children, parents and caregivers must have knowledge and practical skills in beverages, nutrition and health. (Fp)