Preventing Childhood Obesity: A Systems Approach

Fat parents have fat kids.

Currently more than 10% of preschoolers in the U.S. are obese and effective strategies that target pregnancy, infancy, and toddlers are urgently needed to stop the progression of the childhood obesity epidemic, as proposed in an article in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free online ahead of print on the Childhood Obesity website.*

Evidence increasingly suggests that the risk for childhood obesity begins before and during pregnancy via maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain. It is likely that obese preschoolers will continue to be obese later in childhood and they may begin to exhibit adverse effects of obesity as early as 3 years of age.

Based on their review of the evidence from basic science, prevention, and systems research, the authors propose a systems approach to preventing childhood obesity that begins in pregnancy, continues through early life, and combines behavior change interventions with the implementation of environmental changes in communities.

You prevent fat kids by preventing the fat from reproducing.

Otherwise, you play catch-up.