The Future Pattern Of Weight Gain Is Laid As Early As Three Years Of Age

The road to obesity starts early for kids in the United Kingdom, finds a new study by Scottish researchers who measured activity levels among preschoolers.
The study involved 78 children who were 3 years old at the beginning of the research.Investigators measured their total energy expenditure, along with their amount of physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Results showed the children were spending only about 20 to 25 minutes a day in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Current recommendations call for kids this age to spend at least 60 minutes a day in such activity.

Seventy-two of the children were reassessed two years later. The earlier findings held true, leading the investigators to conclude the children had established a sedentary lifestyle that would increase their risk for obesity.

Specialists from the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, say the nature of human physiology is such that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a healthy bodyweight with a low level of physical activity ... Increasing physical activity must be a part of any national prevention efforts for weight gain.