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Who Is At Risk For Childhood Obesity & Is There A Blood Test For It?

Children who have a body mass index (BMI) at the equivalent degree or greater than 95 percent of their contemporaries are overweight. BMI is a mechanism applied to ascertain your “weight level.” BMI is computed based on your height and weight. Your BMI ratio is often defined using your sexual characteristics and age.

Obese children are at risk for numerous life-threatening health conditions (Diabetes, heart disease, sleep disorder, joint pain and asthma) and their poor health will continue into their adulthood.

Who Is At Risk For Childhood Obesity?

Who Is At Risk For Childhood Obesity?

Most childhood unhealthful adiposity is initiated by kids consuming excessive quantity of inappropriate diets and, to a reduced level, having insufficient levels of physical exercise. Genetics adds noticeably to the progress of unnecessary weights during the early years. Furthermore, inheritances could describe 45% to 75% of the body mass index deviations during childhood.

However, a shocking study shows Enhanced development in childhood and early infancy is a solid risk factor for obesity. Scientists have indicated activities and attributes such as shorter breastfeeding period, elevated birth weight and elevated parental body mass index (BMI) as key risk aspects associated with overweight in initial childhood.

In general, the study crew discovered BMI development ratio modifications were highest in the initial 18 months of the lifecycle and all three of the risk components researched were linked with cycles of enhanced development:

Several types of research recommend that breastfeeding lowers the risk of childhood obesity. However, infants who are breastfed for six months or less have higher chances of getting this complication

Babies born with higher weight showed a decline in the progression rate. Also, their BMI showed a considerable increase until they are 5 or 6 years of age.

Some of the modifiable factors associated with childhood obesity include

  • Parental obesity
  • Unhealthy diet during pregnancy
  • Lack of physical activities
  • Gestational diabetes and weight gain
  • Alcohol consumption during pregnancy
  • Macronutrient intake during infancy.(1)(2)(3)

But how can we diagnose and determine whether your child is suffering from this condition?

Is There Any Blood Test For Childhood Obesity?

In general, doctors and physicians define obesity in childhood as weighing 20 percent or more over the healthy range. In this case, your kid’s health care specialist may possibly do a full bodily assessment and diagnosis for chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high glycerides and cholesterol levels, fatty liver disorder, menstrual problems in the girl child and psychological problems.

If your baby is overweight, a new study indicates that those additional weights can modify the outcomes of regular blood checks. Blood tests are used to examine for diabetes and/or health ailments that may be affecting weight gain.

Higgins’ group studied at more than 1,200 healthy kids and adolescents in and around North America and observed that overweight influenced 24 regular blood tests, involving those for liver function, infection markers, triglycerides, and iron.

An obesity screening is used to uncover if you or your baby is at an unwanted weight. If the screening reveals that you or your baby is obese or has obesity, your doctor will test to look at if there is a medical problem triggering the extra calories. Not every baby may require screening for every disorder. Your health care provider will determine if screening may be appropriate for your child. However, most adolescents and kids over the age of 5 should be checked at least once a year with a BMI.(4)(5)(6)

References:

  1. What is Childhood Obesity? Who is at Risk? – Childhood Obesity Foundation https://childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/what-is-childhood-obesity/
  2. Risk factors of childhood obesity: What are they? How to prevent them? – An updated of 2019 https://obesitycanada.ca/snp/risk-factors-of-childhood-obesity-what-are-they-how-to-prevent-them-an-updated-of-2019/
  3. Early-life risk factors for childhood obesity associated with zBMI growth rates http://www.sickkids.ca/AboutSickKids/Newsroom/Past-News/2018/early-life-risk-factors-childhood-obesity-zBMI.html
  4. Testing & Diagnosis for Childhood Obesity in Children http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/c/childhood-obesity/testing-and-diagnosis
  5. Obesity Screening: MedlinePlus Lab Test Information https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/obesity-screening/
  6. Obesity Might Skew Blood Tests in Kids https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20191223/obesity-might-skew-blood-tests-in-kids

Also Read:

Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:December 30, 2021

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