Purdue ingestive Behavior Research Center symposium 2007: Influences on Eating and Body Weight over the Lifespan — Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

In the introductory presentation [1], Linda Adair reviewed the epidemiological data on childhood and adolescent obesity pointing out the increased overweight (17%) and increased at risk to become overweight (16%) over the last 5 years of NHANES data (1999–2004). Potentially very disturbing was a sharp increase in weight in the 2–5 year age group, which has been reflected anecdotally in the difficulty many parents have encountered fitting their toddlers into standard car seats. Differences in obesity prevalence associated with race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status were also discussed. For example, the highest overall overweight prevalence was observed in African and Mexican American youth. Further, Linda Adair described the susceptibility to developing obesity that occurs during specific stages of development, including the prenatal period, infancy, mid-childhood and adolescence, and considered some of the influential factors unique to each of these stages. For example, prenatal exposure to over- or undernutrition, rapid growth in early infancy, an early adiposity rebound in childhood, and early pubertal development have all been implicated in the development of obesity. She also considered the importance of studying weight trajectories, as deviations in weight that occur during one stage of development can influence or interact with factors operating at subsequent stages. Finally, some new or controversial factors contributing to development of obesity at various stages were reviewed, including the protective effect of breastfeeding and the role of a child’s temperament in influencing parents feeding strategies.