The Development Trajectory of Overweight and Obesity in American Children and Adolescents (interaction with Social Development)

Abstract

AbstractBackground The high prevalence rate of childhood and adolescent obesity has thrown a global threat over the past few decades. This situation has propelled scientists towards searching for definite biologic al and social factors resulting in obesity so that stable and appropriate preventive strategies can be established in early life.Objective The aim of this research was to identify subgroups that exhibit distinct patterns of weight gain throughout different stages of life and to investigate the potential causes of the early onset of obesity in childhood and early adulthood.Methods The child survey was mediated by a group of trained interviewers to assess and evaluate each child with their mothers and their family’s environment. Mothers were thoroughly informed and the y signed the consent papers; moreover the willingness of children was also recorded. For statistical analysis, the Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling (HGLM) method (developed using HLM software) was applied to study the longitudinal effect on developmental obesity trajectory.Results Results clearly indicate that mate rnal obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption in pregnancy directly exert an effect on the growing trajectory of BMI. These responses are important proof of the perinatal environment influencing the onset of obesity. The findings say that characteristics of the environment and genetic factors may contribute, but excessive maternal weight and smoking in pregnancy are important predictor s of childhood and adolescent obesity. Smoking of the mother is suspected of limiting the growth of the fetus which leads to low birth weight, which causes uncontrolled and fast development and thus obesity occurs, known as compensatory rapid postnatal growth.Discussion Factors such as maternal obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy, low maternal educational attainment, and lack of breastfeeding in infants have been identified as contributors to the increased prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity.Conclusion The outcomes of this study clearly allude that these advance d risk factors must be controlled and thus these must be taken in to account while desi gning preventive interventions [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2023 37(4)]Keywords Adolescence obesity, Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling (HGLM), perinatal environment, maternal weight, smoking in pregnancy, designing preventive interventions.