Woman's age at puberty could determine her child's weight
Categories: Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, Development, Media
There are a million and four reasons for obesity, it seems. Every day I wade through headlines screaming about the danger lurking in fried food, video games, the Internet, and fast food commercials. Ominous warnings pervade: we are getting bigger and bigger and bigger and soon we will just explode.
It seems that there is a brand new factor to blame for the obesity epidemic in North America and the UK: the age of their Mothers were when they hit puberty. According to new research, women who start having periods early are more likely than those who get them later to have overweight children. In addition, Mothers who had periods at a younger age tended to have children who were shorter and fatter than average.
I might get eaten alive in the comments for this, but I have to say that I don't buy the blame game. I do understand that obesity is sometimes the result of a medical condition, but I believe that for the most part, overweight kids can be linked directly and precisely with eating too much and exercising too little. Period.
The obesity problem is not found in countries that aren't flush with excess wealth and food. It's not evident in countries where walking and cycling are the preferred method of transport. Perhaps there is predisposition for obesity in our genes, but don't you think that any predisposition can be offset with running and kayaking and playing kickball? I really think so.
I was 17 when I got my first period. I guess there's a chance that Nolan will be wiry and lithe for the rest of my life, but I'd rather he play a lot of tag than rely on my skinny genes.
It seems that there is a brand new factor to blame for the obesity epidemic in North America and the UK: the age of their Mothers were when they hit puberty. According to new research, women who start having periods early are more likely than those who get them later to have overweight children. In addition, Mothers who had periods at a younger age tended to have children who were shorter and fatter than average.
I might get eaten alive in the comments for this, but I have to say that I don't buy the blame game. I do understand that obesity is sometimes the result of a medical condition, but I believe that for the most part, overweight kids can be linked directly and precisely with eating too much and exercising too little. Period.
The obesity problem is not found in countries that aren't flush with excess wealth and food. It's not evident in countries where walking and cycling are the preferred method of transport. Perhaps there is predisposition for obesity in our genes, but don't you think that any predisposition can be offset with running and kayaking and playing kickball? I really think so.
I was 17 when I got my first period. I guess there's a chance that Nolan will be wiry and lithe for the rest of my life, but I'd rather he play a lot of tag than rely on my skinny genes.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nicola 4-24-2007 @ 3:51PM
Exactly. I am so sick and tired of the "blame game" that surrounds the obesity issue. Stop eating junk food. Stop sitting in front of the t.v. Get yourself and your kids outside and simply be physical. You don't have to cycle or run or go to the gym. Just get up and be active. Eat fruits and vegetables, whole grains. Cut out the fast food and convenience foods.
Obesity is an epidemic of poor parenting, gluttony, and laziness. There, its been said. Now I'll be eaten alive. But there's not a whole lot of me to eat I'm afraid!
For the record, I entered puberty reasonably early (age 11) and have a long lean son to show for my reproductive efforts, so I'm not going to lose sleep over the "new research".
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Robin 4-24-2007 @ 4:10PM
It's an odd thing to portray this as a causative relationship rather than a correlative one: haven't we been told for years that overweight girls tend to start puberty earlier? And isn't it common sense that between genetics (conditions like PCOS or insulin resistance that tend to run in families) and especially lifestyle and education, overweight parents tend to raise overweight children?
It's definitely a cycle, and sadly, a lot of parents out there still aren't properly educated about nutrition and health. I originally come from a community where people don't see anything wrong with putting orange pop in a baby's bottle because "it's got orange," full of neighbourhoods where there's no safe place for kids to go out and play, especially when their parent(s) work(s) twelve hours a day, places where it can be cheaper to buy fast food than fresh produce unless you have the time and money to go cross-town to a better grocery store.
You're completely right that in most cases obesity has to do with eating too much and exercising too little - but there are a lot of complex social factors behind exactly why so many of us (especially those in the lowest income brackets) do this.
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Jeannie 4-24-2007 @ 4:55PM
Robin - I just don't know that obesity can be accurately parlayed into an economic issue. That seems like grasping at straws, finding excuses for fat people.
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Ann Adams 4-24-2007 @ 11:21PM
Robin, of course it's often economics. I could have written your post and we went back far enough in the archives here, you'd probably find mine saying the same thing (only you probably said it better).
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