Hats off to the Journal of Pediatrics. In studies released today, Monday March 1, 2010 it relates information about obesity in minority children.
Hooray! Strike up the band!
We do not celebrate the occurence, but the notice and identification of the problem. Finally, someone grasped and is now reporting a basis for the understanding of the mammoth problem facing not only our babies and children, but us all. This is a true threat not only to our national health, but even to our national safety via less qualified people available to serve in the defense of our country due to obesity and the related serious disease from the same cause.
The Cause? Our imbalanced and inflammatory diet.
Let’s celebrate and look at some salient aspects of the studies reported by the Journal of Pediatrics. Good information is seen so rarely, we must focus on this, at least for a while, to set its relevance into our consciousness.
Lets quote from parts of the report from Lindsay Tanner; AP Medical Writer.
The odds of obesity appear stacked against black and Hispanic children starting even before birth, provocative new research suggests.
In a separate, equally troubling study, researchers found signs of inflammation in obese children as young as 3 years old. High levels were more common in blacks and Hispanics.
“We think that fat cells in the body cause inflammation and that inflammation causes vessel damage,” said University of North Carolina researcher Asheley Cockrell Skinner, the lead author.
These inflammatory markers have been linked with obesity in adults and are thought to increase chances for developing heart disease.
The results suggest that 3-year-olds with inflammation might already have artery changes that could make them prone to later heart problems, although that needs to be examined in future research, she said.
“You still have to get the public to say we believe this is a problem,” Washington said. “Everybody’s going to have to play a role here.”
Inflammation markers including a substance called C-reactive protein or CRP were measured. CRP levels of at least 1 milligram per deciliter of blood have been linked with heart disease risks in adults. Starting at age 3, very obese children were more likely than less heavy kids to have levels at least that high. Even higher levels were most common in black and Hispanic kids.
Dr. Reginald Washington, a Denver pediatric heart specialist who has worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics on obesity issues, called both studies important.[1]
So what does this mean?
- Obesity and serious disease manifested later in life begin in Utero.
- The diet of the mother and later the diet of the family and culture are a causative agent.
- The problem is manifest by signs of inflammation. Put another way; fat, and accompanying health problems, are inflammatory disorders.
- Notice that while minorities are higher, the problem hits all groups with profound serious effects.
- Education of the public on the inflammatory genesis caused from diet and lifestyle is key.
What is the relevance to us today?
- The misplaced emphasis being generated by highly publicized efforts from First Lady Obama, President Clinton and others like Governor Huckabee are wasting focus and resources from the fundamental problem of diet.
- Even when diet is looked at, it is not focusing on the true cause, i.e. the inflammatory nature of the contemporary diet and lifestyle.
- While it’s noteworthy to point out the increased incidence in minorities; that is not the real story. The real story is; fat and so many related serious diseases are caused from a diet that generates inflammation into the body. One of the accompanying tragedies is the higher incidence in these minority groups.
- This begins even before birth with the mother’s diet and lifestyle. It continues over the full span of life. It goes from generation to generation like a scourge on our species.
- The cure is simple and achievable. Eat the correct diet!
[1] Tanner, Lindsay, Striking number of obesity risks hit minority kids Associated Press, March 1, 2010, ONLINE http://www.windstream.net/wind/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=D9E5NFU00&CatID=TopHeadlines, from information in Journal of Pediatrics found at ONLINE: http://aap.org/,
