CHAPTER 6

Endangering Your Child's Health

PART 1 Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a complex problem that involves diet, individual behavior, family behavior, heredity, cultural patterns, environmental conditions, and many other factors. For this reason there are a multitude of risk factors for child obesity, many of them interrelated.

One very important risk factor is the weight of the parents:

Obesity in mother or both parents

Poor dietary habits are major risk factors:

Overconsumption of high-calorie fast food

Overconsumption of high-sugar foods and sweetened drinks (like sodas)

Missing breakfast

Factors relating to activity:

Low level of physical activity

High level of television watching, computer use, or video gaming

Television in child’s room

Socioeconomic factors may increase risk:

Children in rural areas are more at risk for obesity

Minority (African-American and Hispanic) children are more likely to be obese

Children from families with low income and low educational attainment have increased risk

It may surprise you to learn that rural kids are more likely to be obese than inner city kids, but it’s true. LESS

PART 2 Early Risk Factors

Most childhood obesity prevention programs, including that of First Lady Michelle Obama, target kids who are age 8 and older. But the risk factors for child obesity are present early on, even before the baby is born! So it’s vital to start young—very young—to help your child stay at a healthy weight. READ MORE

Some of the earliest risk factors include: