Causes of Obesity in Aboriginal Children Reviewed

by Kathy Jones on  January 26, 2012 at 9:18 PM Obesity News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
An understanding of the unique social and historical factors that shape the Aboriginal community is required to fully understand the causes of the obesity epidemic in Aboriginal children.

A review article published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism emphasizes that early childhood obesity prevention efforts should begin focusing with the parents before and during pregnancy and on breastfeeding initiatives and nutrition in the early childhood development stages.

"There needs to be a focus on improving the risk factors such as income and education" says Noreen Willows, one of the authors of the study. "Additionally, there needs to be a focus on embracing the cultural practices in terms of language and pride in the Aboriginal culture to influence health behaviours and outcomes".

Numerous environments at different times of childhood drive the risk of childhood obesity: the in utero environment, which influences birth weight, growth patterns and disease risk; the family environment, in which the child is raised and nurtured; and the larger surrounding environments encompassing policy, community, and cultural and societal factors.

There is no one fix to the obesity epidemic in Aboriginal children. Strategies for weight management in this population need to focus at changing all influential factors at each level of the child's environment, and the members of the community need to have an active role in pursuing this goal.



Source-Eurekalert

 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X
  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
Obesity
Complete Medindia Resources
News Categories:  
Kidney Health Center

Obesity Related News

» Lipoprotein Levels in Obese Patients With Fatty Liver Disease Does Not Improve by Moderate Exercise » Genes Might be The Cause of Irresistibility Towards Fatty Foods
» Obesity Raises Kidney Damage Risk After Heart Surgery » Obesity Rates Increasing Risk of Liver Disease Among Teens
» Obese Patients Have More Aggressive Papillary Thyroid Cancer: Study » Experts Say One-fifth of Shanghai Youth are Overweight
» Study Says Obese Adolescents Have Heart Damage » Drug-Free Intervention to Prevent Obesity and Diabetes Possible Via Salk Study
Read More >>