Gastineau Elementary Bike to School Day Schools play a large role in preventing<unk>  by providing a safe and supporting environment with policies and practices that support healthy behaviors. At home, parents can help prevent their children from becoming overweight by changing the way the family eats and exercises together. The best way children learn is by example, so parents should lead by example by living a healthy lifestyle. Screening for obesity is recommended in those over the age of six. Both physical activity and diet can help to reduce the risk of obesity in children from 0 to 5 years old; meanwhile, exclusive physical activity can reduce the risk of obesity for children aged from 6 to 12 years old, and adolescents aged from 13 to 18 years old. The implementation of strategies to improve childcare services such as preschools, nurseries, daycare, and kindergarten on healthy eating, physical activity, and obesity prevention shows little effect on a child's diet, physical activity, and weight status. Maternal Body Mass Index Maternal body mass index (BMI) is an important predictor of<unk> . Mothers with pre-pregnancy obesity, as defined by BMI ≥30 kg/m2, are known to have children that have higher growth rates and more likely to have obesity. Dietary The effects of eating habits on<unk>  are difficult to determine. A three-year randomized controlled study of 1,704 3rd grade children which provided two healthy meals a day in combination with an exercise program and dietary counsellings failed to show a significant reduction in percentage body fat when compared to a control group. This was partly due to the fact that even though the children believed they were eating less their actual calorie consumption did not decrease with the intervention. At the same time observed energy expenditure remained similar between the groups. This occurred even though dietary fat intake decreased from 34% to 27%. A second study of 5,106 children showed similar results. Even though the children ate an improved diet there was no effect found on BMI. Why these studies did not bring about the desired effect of curbing<unk>  has been attributed to the interventions not being sufficient enough. Changes were made primarily in the school environment while it is felt that they must occur in the home, the community, and the school simultaneously to have a significant effect. A Cochrane review of a lower fat diet in children (30% or less of total energy) to prevent obesity found the existing evidence of very low to moderate quality, and firm conclusions could not be made. Calorie-rich drinks and foods are readily available to children. Consumption of sugar-laden soft drinks may contribute to<unk> . In a study of 548 children over a 19-month period the likelihood of obesity increased 1.6 times for every additional soft drink consumed per day. Calorie-dense, prepared snacks are available in many locations frequented by children. As<unk>  has become more prevalent, snack vending machines in school settings have been reduced by law in a small number of localities. Some research suggests that the increase in availability of junk foods in schools can account for about one-fifth of the increase in average BMI among adolescents over the last decade. Eating at fast food restaurants is very common among young people with 75% of 7th to 12th grade students consuming fast food in a given week. The fast food industry is also at fault for the rise in<unk> . This industry spends about $4.2 billion on advertisements aimed at young children. McDonald's alone has thirteen websites that are viewed by 365,000 children and 294,000 teenagers each month. In addition, fast food restaurants give out toys in children's meals, which helps to entice children to buy the fast food. Forty percent of children ask their parents to take them to fast food restaurants on a daily basis .To make matters worse, out of 3000 combinations created from popular items on children's menus at fast food restaurants, only 13 meet the recommended nutritional guidelines for young children. Some literature has found a relationship between fast food consumption and obesity. Including a study which found that fast food restaurants near schools increases the risk of obesity among the student population. Whole milk consumption verses 2% milk consumption in children of one to two years of age had no effect on weight, height, or body fat percentage. Therefore, whole milk continues to be recommended for this age group. However the trend of substituting sweetened drinks for milk has been found to lead to excess weight gain. Legal Some jurisdictions use laws and regulations in an effort to steer children and parents towards making healthier food choices. Two examples are calorie count laws and banning soft drinks from sale at vending machines in schools. In the United Kingdom the Obesity Health Alliance has called on whichever party wins the general election to take measures to reduce<unk> , for example by banning advertisements for unhealthy foods before 9:00 pm and banning sports sponsorship by manufacturers of unhealthy foods. The failure of the present UK government to cut sugar, fat and salt content in foods has been criticised. Health experts, the health select committee and campaigners described Conservative plans over<unk>  as, "weak" and "watered down". Physical activity Secondary students in Havana, Cuba during a physical education classPhysical inactivity of children has also shown to be a serious cause, and children who fail to engage in regular physical activity are at greater risk of obesity. Researchers studied the physical activity of 133 children over a three-week period using an accelerometer to measure each child's level of physical activity. They discovered the obese children were 35% less active on school days and 65% less active on weekends compared to non-obese children. Physical inactivity as a child could result in physical inactivity as an adult. In a fitness survey of 6,000 adults, researchers discovered that 25% of those who were considered active at ages 14 to 19 were also active adults, compared to 2% of those who were inactive at ages 14 to 19, who were now said to be active adults. Staying physically inactive leaves unused energy in the body, most of which is stored as fat. Researchers studied 16 men over a 14-day period and fed them 50% more of their energy required every day through fats and carbohydrates. They discovered that carbohydrate overfeeding produced 75–85% excess energy being stored as body fat and fat overfeeding produced 90–95% storage of excess energy as body fat. Many children fail to exercise because they spend long periods of time engaging in sedentary activities such as computer usage, playing video games or watching television. Technology has a large factor on the children's activeness. Researchers provided a technology questionnaire to 4,561 children, ages 14, 16, and 18. They discovered children were 21.5% more likely to be overweight when watching 4+ hours of TV per day, 4.5% more likely to be overweight when using a computer one or more hours per day, and unaffected by potential weight gain from playing video games. A randomized trial showed that reducing TV viewing and computer use can decrease age-adjusted BMI; reduced calorie intake was thought to be the greatest contributor to the BMI decrease. Technological activities are not the only household influences of<unk> . Low-income households can affect a child's tendency to gain weight. Over a three-week period researchers studied the relationship of socioeconomic status (SES) to body composition in 194 children, ages 11–12. They measured weight, waist girth, stretch stature, skinfolds, physical activity, TV viewing, and SES; researchers discovered clear SES inclines to upper class children compared to the lower class children.<unk>  inactivity is linked to obesity in the United States with more children being overweight at younger ages. In a 2009 preschool study 89% of a preschoolers' day was found to be sedentary while the same study also found that even when outside, 56 percent of activities were still sedentary. One factor believed to contribute to the lack of activity found was little teacher motivation, but when toys, such as balls were made available, the children were more likely to play. Home environment Children's food choices are also influenced by family meals. Researchers provided a household eating questionnaire to 18,177 children, ranging in ages 11–21, and discovered that four out of five parents let their children make their own food decisions. They also discovered that compared to adolescents who ate three or fewer meals per week, those who ate four to five family meals per week were 19% less likely to report poor consumption of vegetables, 22% less likely to report poor consumption of fruits, and 19% less likely to report poor consumption of dairy foods. Adolescents who ate six to seven family meals per week, compared to those who ate three or fewer family meals per week, were 38% less likely to report poor consumption of vegetables, 31% less likely to report poor consumption of fruits, and 27% less likely
Childhood obesity
Low Birth Weight
Gestational hypertension
Normal weight obesity
Childhood chronic illness
Low birth weight
Gestational diabetes
Sedentary lifestyle