As we gather weapons and allies to do battle on behalf of our children (and possibly ourselves?), we also need to know as much as possible about the enemy. Childhood Obesity.

This is the beginning of our intelligence gathering. We will identifying 10 areas you may not be aware of that can either help or hinder your cause. Starting before birth!

1. We all know that cigarettes increase the risk of low birth weight, and alcohol can damage an unborn baby’s brain. So is it logical to assume that unhealthy foods also could have negative effects on a baby? A growing number of studies suggest that sugary and fatty foods, consumed even before birth, can have an affect on how babies develop after birth.     

Studies on mice, conducted by Pennington Biomedical Research Center, reported that overweight female mice had higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around in the womb than normal-weight ones did. Researchers believe these molecules trigger the release of proteins that can upset the appetite-control and metabolic systems in the developing brain. (more…)

2. Adenoviruses are a group of contagious viruses responsible for many ailments in humans.  Many of which appear as respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children.  But can they cause childhood obesity?  Well, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, when they injected chickens with certain adenovirus strains the chickens gained excess fat compared to chickens that were not injected.

One of the leading researchers in the field of “infectobesity” is Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, who coined the phrase.  The term “infectobesity” refers to obesity of infectious origin and the emerging field of medical research that studies the relationship between disease-causing organisms, such as viruses and bacteria and weight gain.  Dr. Dhurandhar and his team have reported seven viruses that cause obesity in animal test groups. “We reported the first human virus, an adenovirus (Ad-36), which causes adiposity in chickens, rodents and non-human primates and shows association with human obesity. Our in-vivo and in-vitro data show that Ad-36 increases adiposity, lowers serum lipids, increases insulin sensitivity and preadipocyte differentiation.” (more…)

3. What do people usually think when someone says that they are overweight because of genetics? There is usually the shaking of the head and rolling of the eyes exhibited by the listener. But wait. According to scientists from three major Universities in the UK, a variant of a gene known as the Fatso gene, or more kindly referred to as the FTO gene, could be responsible for some people having a predisposition to obesity and related problems such as diabetes. The gene was first discovered in certain chubby mice, when scientist were searching for markers that signaled increased vulnerability to type 2 diabetes. The FTO gene showed up there too. The study found that people carrying one copy of the FTO gene have a 30% increased risk of being obese compared to a person with no copies. However, a person carrying two copies of the gene has a 70% increased risk of being obese. So how much actual weight could these genes be responsible for? In the UK study, the estimated average increase was only about 7 pounds for a person with two copies compared to a similar person with no copies. (more…)

4. A researcher at the University of Florida posed the question during studies concerning nerve damage caused by early childhood ear infections. Derek Snyder wondered if  repeated or severe an ear infection, which can damage a taste nerve running through the middle ear, could  cause people to tasted food less intensely than others who had not suffered the damage, thus leading to childhood obesity and obese adults.

After tabulating 6584 questionnaires, the team discovered that respondents over 35 who had suffered several ear infections had almost double the chance of being obese.

After responding to additional questions, it was found that patients who had suffered  repeated ear infections as a child were a little more likely to crave sweets and fatty foods – perhaps because the damaged nerve caused them to have a higher threshold for sensing sweetness and fattiness.

 In another study, preschoolers with a history of frequent ear infections were found to eat fewer vegetables and more sweets than children who did not have frequent ear infections. They also tended to be heavier. (more…)

5. The age old question of what came first the chicken or the egg also seem to apply to stress and weight gain.  When examining the relationship between childhood obesity and stress, the question is whether the weight gain causes stress or the stress causes the weight gain.  While there may not be a clear answer as to which is responsible for the other, it does seem to be cyclical with both factors compounding each other.

While the stresses of life are usually assigned to adults, ( finances, work, relationships, etc.) children and teens certainly have their share of “the blues”( who likes who, am I wearing the right clothes, am I one of the cool kids).  Recent research from Iowa State University has identified stress factors in adolescents that appear to have a direct relationship to obesity.  Such things as having poor grades, mental health problems, more aggressive behavior, or doing more drugs and alcohol all lead to a child being more likely to have weight related issues. 

Everyone with a television has probably seen the commercials connecting the stress hormone Cortisol and weight gain.  Cortisol is a steroid hormone that helps the body respond to stress but also has other functions, including converting fat, protein and carbohydrates into energy. Stress hormones also ramp up fat storage.  In ancient times of possible feast or famine or attack by a saber tooth tiger, this storage of extra energy could be a good thing.  In most countries today, stress is handled sitting down and the excess calories go un-used.  Normally, levels of this hormone peak in the morning and slowly decrease to a low point in the evening.  However, Cortisol levels in stressed individuals were slightly elevated in the evening as well.  To make matters worse, stress hormones trigger cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods that seem to calm the stress hormones.  One study showed that when researchers withheld high carb foods from stressed mice, their stress hormones spiked.  And the cycle continues. (more…)