Watching
America's Waistline
New Center for Weight and Health Ponders Pediatric Obesity and Other Social Puzzles
By By Jill Goetz,
College of Natural Resources
Posted March 8, 2000
Breakthroughs in nutritional genomics and behavioral research on human dietary needs and habits -- not to mention the explosion of fitness programs and purported weight-loss drugs -- have failed to reduce the nation's waistline. Childhood obesity, in particular, has risen sharply in the past decade and is now classified as an epidemic by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
This is one of the conundrums associated with diet that the College of Natural Resources hopes through its new Center for Weight and Health hopes to address.
Formerly known as the Center for Hunger and Obesity, the new center launched last fall with a research symposium on preventing pediatric obesity in the 21st century. More than 100 researchers and representatives from academia; county, state and federal government agencies; and community-based organizations working with youth attended.
The symposium's goal mirrored that of the center: to pursue interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches, at the state and national level, to growing problems of poor nutrition and dietary habits. Spearheading the symposium were the center's co-directors: Sharon Fleming, professor and associate dean for research, and Cooperative Extension specialists Joanne Ikeda and Patricia Crawford.
Speakers addressed new discoveries in the biological, behavioral, environmental and cultural components of pediatric obesity. Jeffrey Friedman, a geneticist at Rockefeller University, reviewed recent findings on genetic factors in obesity, a condition now believed to be up to 88 percent heritable in humans. He described the roles of the hypothalamus and leptin, a hormone that has been shown to be instrumental in weight regulation. Obese people (those with a body-mass index above the 95th percentile for their gender and age group) have higher blood leptin levels than others; and when they diet, the resulting drop in blood leptin levels may make it particularly difficult for them to lose weight.
"The importance of these biological factors cannot be overestimated in human obesity," Friedman said. But he also stressed that they "tell only part of the story."
Penn State Professor Leann Birch addressed the critical role of parents' behaviors and attitudes and food preparation practices in shaping children's diets. She has found that children can learn to self-regulate their eating habits if given alternative food choices; in particular, children given smaller food portions eat less.
Crawford, a center co-director, noted that pediatric obesity rates have risen rapidly over the past decade in California and nationally. For reasons that are not clear, the rates are rising fastest among low-income ethnic minorities, including African American, Native American and Hispanic children.
Pat Lyons, an Oakland-based registered nurse and consultant, screened a video in which teen-age girls discuss diet and body image. She highlighted the mixed messages girls receive in the media ("eat fat, look thin") and the dangers of size discrimination in reducing girls' self-esteem.
Others stressed the need for children to be more physically active and spend less time in front of the television -- the current average for kids being four hours a day.
Participants brainstormed to identified culprits contributing to pediatric obesity, including the exploding fast-food market and its commercialization; reduced funding for public-school physical education and after-school programs; and larger food portions.
Many noted the insufficient funds available for prevention studies. Such funding will remain elusive unless the public better understands the extent of pediatric obesity, said Laura Brainin-Rodriguez of the Child Health and Disability Prevention Program of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. "A key obstacle will be getting local residents to 'take ownership' of the childhood obesity crisis," she said. "For example, we must make a stronger commitment to increase funding for public parks and their facilities and for after-school programs. We are still struggling with the issue of political will."
March 8-12, 2000
(Volume 28, Number 24)
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