Abstract
Children gain weight at an accelerated rate during summer, contributing to increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in elementary-school children (i.e., approximately 5 to 11 years old in the US). Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 14:100, 2017 explained these changes with the “Structured Days Hypothesis” suggesting that environmental changes in structure between the school year and the summer months result in behavioral changes that ultimately lead to accelerated weight gain. The present article explores an alternative explanation, the circadian clock, including the effects of circannual changes and social demands (i.e., social timing resulting from societal demands such as school or work schedules), and implications for seasonal patterns of weight gain. We provide a model for understanding the role circadian and circannual rhythms may play in the development of child obesity, a framework for examining the intersection of behavioral and biological causes of obesity, and encouragement for future research into bio-behavioral causes of obesity in children.
Highlights
Studies examining seasonal trends in weight gain among children have found that in the US and Japan, the school year promotes improvements in weight status (i.e., decreases in body mass index (BMI), whereas children increase their Body mass index (BMI) during the summer holiday from school [1]
Our data collected across 5 years of elementary school revealed that not all children exhibiting accelerated weight gain during the summer holiday develop overweight or obesity; about 18% of children begin to transition from a healthy weight to an overweight or obese status during elementary school, with most increases occurring during the summer [2]
We take a broader perspective of human biological systems, examining the interdependence of behavior, social demands, circadian and circannual clocks, and metabolism to consider potential mechanisms through which misalignment of these daily and annual patterns may contribute to obesity in children
Summary
Studies examining seasonal trends in weight gain among children have found that in the US and Japan, the school year promotes improvements in weight status (i.e., decreases in body mass index (BMI), whereas children increase their BMI during the summer holiday from school [1]. We take a broader perspective of human biological systems, examining the interdependence of behavior, social demands (i.e., social timing resulting from demands such as school or work schedules, social activities, community involvement, family obligations and routines, parenting practices, etc.), circadian and circannual clocks, and metabolism to consider potential mechanisms through which misalignment of these daily and annual patterns may contribute to obesity in children.
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