A Review of Modifiable Risk Factors for Severe Obesity in Children Ages 5 and Under

Abstract

Early-onset severe obesity in childhood presents a significant clinical challenge signaling an urgent need for effective and sustainable interventions. A large body of literature examines overweight and obesity, but little focuses specifically on the risk factors for severe obesity in children ages 5 and younger. This narrative review identified modifiable risk factors associated with severe obesity in children ages 5 and younger: nutrition (consuming sugar sweetened beverages and fast food), activity (low frequency of outdoor play and excessive screen time), behaviors (lower satiety responsiveness, sleeping with a bottle, lack of bedtime rules, and short sleep duration), and socio-environmental risk factors (informal child care setting, history of obesity in the mother, and gestational diabetes). The lack of literature on this topic highlights the need for additional research on potentially modifiable risk factors for early-onset severe obesity.

Regional differences in access to the outdoors and outdoor play of Canadian children and youth during the COVID-19 outbreak

“…The Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health have endorsed this statement (Pan-Canadian Public Health Network, 2018). An active lifestyle among children is associated with a more favourable cardiometabolic profile (Ekelund et al, 2012), lower risk of severe obesity (Porter et al, 2018), and improved fitness (Gray et al, 2015). Outdoor play provides an important and substantially healthier option than screen time, helps youth sleep better (Sampasa-Kanyinga et al, 2020), and is important for physical-emotional skill building (Pacilli et al, 2013), school readiness, and future positive mental health (Hinkley et al, 2018).…”

Excesso de peso em crianças indígenas Xukuru do Ororubá, Pernambuco, Brasil: magnitude e fatores associados

“…O excesso de peso e a obesidade infantil são agravos de etiologia complexa, geralmente associados a variáveis comportamentais, socioeconômicas e demográficas 1,2,3 . Crianças obesas ou com excesso de peso têm maior probabilidade de desenvolver doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNTs) precocemente, além de possuírem maiores chances de terem outras morbidades 1,4 .…”

“…A obesidade dos pais é um determinante consolidado da obesidade infantil. Diferentes investigações têm apontado uma forte relação do IMC da mãe com o estado nutricional da criança 2,4,41 , assim como os achados do presente estudo. Os mecanismos da influência do estado nutricional da mãe na programação metabólica ou genética da adiposidade dos filhos ainda estão em debate.…”

Parenting andsocial‐ecologicalcorrelates with children's health behaviours: A latent profile analysis

“…Such models posit consistent associations between individual‐level behaviours, including a child's food and beverage choices, physical activity levels, screen‐time, and later child weight outcomes 13,14 . Interpersonal and family‐level behaviours, particularly caregiver health behaviours, parenting skills, and constructing family health routines have been linked to paediatric obesity and differ between children of normal weight compared to children with obesity 13‐16 . These comprehensive ecological models suggest studying multiple layers within which an individual is embedded is a promising model for examining childhood obesity 17,18 .…”

“…The Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Risk model 12 emphasizes the importance of interpersonal family context on child psychosocial risk factors in the development of child obesity. Such models posit consistent associations between individual‐level behaviours, including a child's food and beverage choices, physical activity levels, screen‐time, and later child weight outcomes 13,14 . Interpersonal and family‐level behaviours, particularly caregiver health behaviours, parenting skills, and constructing family health routines have been linked to paediatric obesity and differ between children of normal weight compared to children with obesity 13‐16 .…”