October 23, 2018.
While a chubby baby is synonymous with good health, a child who keeps his folds and curves with age worries parents. Hence the need to identify childhood obesity.
Childhood obesity: a genetic predisposition
A study carried out in more than 50,000 German children and published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine, shows that 90% of overweight children at the age of 3 remain overweight or obese in adolescence. However, the study reveals that it is useless to worry before 2 years, because half of the children too big at this age will not be any more in adolescence.
According to Prof. Patrick Tounian, “ vsThe results confirm that childhood obesity is a genetically determined constitutional state. A child’s weight curve is programmed in advance », He confides to Figaro. But the genetic predisposition to obesity is not the only valid explanation, our current way of life is also targeted.
Identify obesity by monitoring body build
If the scale is insufficient to judge overweight, monitoring the body, thanks to the calculation of body mass (BMI), will identify the rebound of adiposity (phenomenon where the corpulence increases again after stabilization). If the child’s adiposity rebound occurs before 6 years of age, the risk of obesity is higher.
So what to do with obesity from the age of 3? While some pediatricians recommend early identification in order to slow down weight gain as early as possible, with the objective of approaching standard curves, others do not see it as urgent. For the latter, it is in adulthood that it is necessary to lose weight.
Anne-Flore Renard
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