If you believe the headlines, we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. While I find it likely that more and more Americans qualify as gravitationally-challenged--at a startlingly young age, even--I'm less confident that it qualifies as an epidemic.
I'm even less certain that we should legislate one or a number of a solutions to the problem. Why? To fix something you must understand the nature of the problem. Is it diet, lack of exercise, too much soda, not enough salad?
Maybe it's parenting. And not of the hippo-see, hippo-do variety (sorry!). One recent study shared this finding:
[T]oddlers who did not have a secure emotional relationship with their parents were at increased risk for obesity by age 4 ½. [source]
Thankfully, the report included "how much" increased. While 13% of children in the lowest relationship-stress category were at an increased risk for obesity, the number was 26% for those in the highest relationship-stress category. Hmm. What data and collection method was this finding based upon?
The researchers looked at data from 900+ participants in the "Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a project of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Oh, they also "analyzed it." Meaning they looked for links between variables. And found one. And from there we get the jump to this statement:
This body of work suggests the areas of the brain that control emotions and stress responses, as well as appetite and energy balance, could be working together to influence the likelihood that a child will be obese.
Well, at least they qualify the assertion with "suggests."
Is stress part of reason why more children are tipping the scales as too heavy? In fact, during a podcast debate of the issue of whether or not the government should get involved in the "obesity epidemic," I heard one health official make this claim. And I doubted it then. Stress is a good catch-all scapegoat. And no one likes the thought of children in stress, so it may be a good way to elicit financial commitment to act . . . Yet it is really a causal variable?
I kinda doubt it. For stress can just as easily result in low weight. Or same weight. In my household of three we have one individual who absolutely can't eat a thing when stressed, one who eats a little less, and the third whose eating habits are unaffected. Of course, mine is a pitifully small sample size. Yet I haven't seen data that suggests a general tendency for stressed adults or children to eat more.
Sure, it could. But does it? Personally, I'd like to see cross-cultural studies on mother-child bonds and BMI measures. That might help.
Until we know more, I would hesitate to throw money at the problem. Sure, that may make us feel better, like we're doing something. But if the intervention misses the mark, we aren't helping anyone. On the contrary.
At this time I suspect that the increasing levels of obesity in our country may be the result of a sort of "perfect storm." Meaning that a number of variables acting in concert could be causing the increase in weight. But who knows. Maybe it's all viral. Meaning truly viral. Or something else.
Tags: critical thinking, diet, politics
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