The Challenge: Childhood Obesity
Allyson Rowley | April 20, 2018
In this issue, MAC Magazine launches a new series showcasing how McMaster researchers are tackling urgent societal challenges. First up: The co-directors of the Metabolism and Childhood Obesity Research Program (MAC-Obesity) reveal how their team is searching for new solutions to the worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity.
THE CHALLENGE:
- 42 million children under the age of five are either obese or overweight.
- The World Health Organization says the number of obese five- to 19-year-olds has risen tenfold over the past 41 years to 124 million.
- The WHO reports one in three Canadian children is now obese or overweight.
THE EXPERTS:
Mac pediatric endocrinologist Katherine Morrison ’82 and Gregory Steinberg, Canada Research Chair in Metabolism and Obesity –co-directors of MAC-Obesity–harnessing the collective brain power of more than two dozen McMaster researchers across disciplines.
THE GOAL:
Find new solutions to reduce obesity. Translate world-leading basic science into clinical practice to improve metabolic health for your entire life.
THE SOLUTIONS:
Morrison lists a number of reasons for the surge in obesity over the past few decades — how family structure has changed, how communities have changed, the availability of food, the rise of technology. “And how we’ve engineered physical activity out of our world,” she emphasizes. Morrison recalls her own childhood: “What would my mother say when we were back from school? ‘Go outside! Come back at dinner!’”
FIVE RULES OF THUMB FOR PARENTS
- Well-balanced nutrition
- 60 minutes of physical activity every day for 5–17 year olds
- Low screen time
- Good sleep
- Address your child’s mental health concerns, nurture their self-esteem
THE QUOTE:
“We need new solutions. Childhood obesity is very complex. Everyone knows you should move more and consume fewer calories. But those strategies haven’t had a huge impact on the trajectory of the disease.” –Gregory Steinberg
His laboratory is developing new tactics to prevent obesity and its many serious health complications. One avenue they’re exploring: tapping into the power of “brown fat” to improve how our bodies regulate themselves and use energy. We have lots of energy-storing white fat. Brown fat, on the other hand, burns energy and generates heat. Plentiful in newborns, brown fat gradually diminishes by adulthood.
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