As early as age 6, children who carry extra weight could be headed down a path toward future diabetes or heart disease, a new study suggests.
The study, of nearly 1,000 Danish children, found that kids who were overweight often had elevations in blood sugar and insulin by the time they were school-age. They also had higher triglycerides (a type of blood fat) than their peers, but lower blood levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
Those differences were not, however, apparent among preschoolers who were overweight.
Tackling childhood obesity before its effects rise
The researchers said the findings underscore the importance of a healthy diet and physical activity in the preschool years — before the effects of excess weight begin to arise.
But no one is pointing the finger at parents. Experts said childhood obesity is complex, and often intertwined with social factors that families do not control — like a lack of affordable healthy foods or safe places for their children to be physically active.
“Parents want the best for their children. They want them to have nutritious foods,” says Amy Yaroch, executive director of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, a nonprofit research institute in Omaha, Neb.
“But wanting the best, and being able to provide it, are two different things,” Yaroch adds.
In general, she says, Americans live in a society that makes healthy eating and exercise challenging — where, among other things, we are surrounded by marketing for convenience foods designed to be tasty and enticing.
In fact, fast food outlets are far more plentiful than grocery stores, says Amanda Staiano, a pediatric obesity researcher who had no role in the research.
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The battle for low-income families
And for low-income families, the battle can be particularly tough.
“A lot of this does come down to