So, you always thought obesity in children was due to the deteriorating dietary habit of young kids nowadays. You know, those juicy burgers, Coke, French Fries, chocolate milk topped with full fat cream. The list is endless on all those sinful goodies being polished off by the kids of today.
However, research is showing us that no condition has a unique cause. There are multiple reasons that can cause a condition. And childhood obesity is one such condition.
A collaborative study, spread across 12 countries of the world (UK, USA, Australia, Portugal, Finland, Brazil, India, Kenya, China, Colombia, Canada, South Africa), decided to look at the possible connection between diabetes in pregnant women and the risk of obesity developing in their children when they are in the age group of 9 and 11 years. The International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE) is the collaborative study that studied children from the suburbs and the urban areas of the 12 countries.
The countries were grouped based on the WHO and the ADA classification into higher income, middle income, lower income, and low income countries.
A total of 4740 children between the ages of 9 and 11 were analyzed between the years of 2011 and 2013 from the 12 countries of the study.
USA – 363; UK – 324; Canada – 443; Australia – 386; India – 414; Brazil – 354; Kenya – 289; Colombia – 700; South Africa – 120; and China – 413.
The mothers were also assessed for their diabetes status, body mass index, weight, and body fat.
In the multinational analysis, gestational diabetes was found to be present at a rate of 4.3%. The percentage of children with central obesity (abdominal fat), high body fat, and childhood obesity is 9.9%, 8.1%, and 12.3%, respectively.
In the study, the current BMI of the mothers was measured and used in the analysis. The BMI of the women before their pregnancy could not be obtained. The significant positive association of gestation diabetes in women and central obesity in their children was present even when they accounted for the BMI of the mothers. However, this significance was absent for high body fat and childhood obesity in the presence of BMI.
The children of women with gestational diabetes were observed to have high sugar levels (hyperglycemia), high insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia), and increased synthesis of leptin.
The chances of children of mothers with gestational diabetes to develop increased levels of body fat was found to be 1.42, increased obesity was 1.53, and central obesity was 1.73.
The positive association of gestational diabetes in women and their children developing childhood obesity (BMI) is significant in low- and middle-income countries. The high income countries showed a positive association between maternal gestational diabetes and children developing central obesity (increased circumference of the waist).
What exactly causes this obesity to develop specifically in those whose mothers had gestational diabetes is still a matter of debate. The theory goes that there is an increase in fat accumulation in the fetus along with changes in the hormone levels of the fetus. This is probably the origin of increase in obesity in such children. Sometimes the regulation (epigenetic) of the genes is altered causing only those genes that assist in accumulating fat to persist in the fetus.
At the end of the day, research has thrown up an additional cause for obesity. The fetal environment, the maternal gestational environment appear to be influential in childhood obesity. So, before we begin to blame our diet alone, perhaps we need to look at the overall picture. There’s more to what the eye can see!
