ResearchPerspectives in PracticePreventing Obesity: A Life Cycle Perspective
Section snippets
Components of the Life Cycle Perspective
At critical stages of a life cycle—fetal, infant, childhood, puberty, pregnancy, and lactation—certain factors may have the potential to increase or decrease a person’s risk of overweight and obesity later in life (3, 4). For example, a woman’s own childhood growth patterns may influence the metabolic milieu that she provides for her children during their fetal and early childhood periods. In addition, patterns of maternal weight change during pregnancy and postpartum can impact a mother’s
Fetal
Environmental factors in utero may influence body size, adiposity, and risk of chronic disease throughout life (4, 5). It seems that the lifelong risk for obesity is increased by both rapid and inadequate rates of intrauterine growth, so that risk of obesity is higher on both ends of the birth weight spectrum. Epidemiological studies suggest a strong relationship between birth weight and childhood and adult body mass index (BMI): high birth weight seems to be associated with high BMI as an
Conclusions
If obesity tracks across generations, there should be a sense of urgency to our work to understand and stop the rapid increase in obesity in this country. To break the generational cycle of obesity, we must support healthful growth patterns in high-risk girls and young women so that they enter their reproductive years at a healthful weight. Even if we can develop effective interventions now, it may take more than one generation to “stem the tide.” In our review of the literature, we found that
D. Johnson is associate director, Center for Public Health Nutrition and assistant professor, Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington, Seattle
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Cited by (44)
Exposure to light at night (LAN) and risk of obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
2020, Environmental ResearchCitation Excerpt :All studies of micro-level exposure to LAN thus far, included subjects aged 18 or below, given the effect of LAN upon melatonin suppression is particularly pronounced in children as compared to adults (Higuchi et al., 2014; Nagare et al., 2019). Importantly, rapid weight gain in childhood interacts with an individual's entire life span (Johnson et al., 2006). Future studies should thus focus on multiple population sub-groups; adolescents given the effectiveness of early preventive intervention in offsetting risks of obesity in adulthood as well as their adult counterpart who are more likely to be at risk of LAN exposures via their work and work-related lifestyles and the potential for circadian desynchronization and obesity risks.
Associations between adolescent and adult socioeconomic status and risk of obesity and overweight in Danish adults
2014, Obesity Research and Clinical PracticeCitation Excerpt :The relationship between obesity and SES may be bi-directional as obesity may influence SES, however SES may also influence the risk of obesity [8]. It has become widely recognized that social and biological factors that have developed over the life-course may influence adult health status and this has led to an increased interest in the life-course determinants of obesity [9–11]. Examining SES at a single time-point in life does not take into account the temporal nature of this association and may only partly explain the contributions of socioeconomic factors to health status or how these change over time [12].
Symptoms of eating disorders and feeding practices in obese mothers
2014, Early Human DevelopmentCitation Excerpt :It has been seen that a wide range of physiopathological, socio-cultural, behavioral, and psychological variables affect a woman's decision and ability to breastfeed successfully [20]. The association that has been noted between maternal obesity and low breastfeeding rates is a matter of public health concern because obesity is rising in women of reproductive age and the use of formula milk has been found to be associated with a greater risk of obesity in childhood [21,22]. Our study focusing on eating disorder symptoms and breastfeeding practices in obese puerperae living in an industrial area of North-Eastern Italy found that obese mothers are more likely to maintain a full breastfeeding regimen at 6 months and to postpone weaning their infants despite greater body image dissatisfaction, ineffectiveness, interoceptive awareness, and maturity fears found on their EDI-2 scores.
Stages of Change in the Trajectory of Postpartum Weight Self-Management
2012, JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal NursingObesity in Rural Youth: Looking Beyond Nutrition and Physical Activity
2011, Journal of Nutrition Education and BehaviorA Computer Support Program that Helps Clinicians Provide Patients with Metabolic Syndrome Tailored Counseling to Promote Weight Loss
2011, Journal of the American Dietetic AssociationCitation Excerpt :In an effort to reduce costs while maintaining effectiveness, a number of studies have examined the use of phone counseling or Internet programs as either stand-alone approaches or as a supplement to face-to-face encounters (48-50). These interventions have been developed around a range of behavioral models or have been tailored to particular stages of disease risk or lifecycle (51-53). The present study was designed to address delivery and efficacy challenges.
D. Johnson is associate director, Center for Public Health Nutrition and assistant professor, Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington, Seattle
D. Gerstein is associate specialist, Center for Weight and Health, University of California, College of Natural Resources, Berkeley
A. Evans is assistant professor, Arnold School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia
G. Woodward-Lopez is an associate director, Center for Weight and Health, University of California, College of Natural Resources, Berkeley