LERATO LELIA
One in four school going children are classified as overweight or obese. This is according to the results of a study done by four Honours students from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein. The study was conducted at seven schools around the city, particularly focusing on 6year olds. One of the students, Maryke Ferreira, says their study revealed shocking results.
“At six years old children are supposed to be at their leanest and that’s why our study and results were so shocking because almost a quarter of the children in our study could already be classified as overweight or obese. Children that are overweight will enter a stage where their fat cells are increased in adolescence which puts them at a greater risk for high blood pressure and diabetes and other lifestyle diseases. Even if they lose the weight in adolescence they still have the predisposition to obesity,” said Ferreira.
Overweight 2 to 5year olds are five times more likely than their non-overweight counterparts to be overweight at age 12 years, while overweight/obesity in adolescence may be predicted by BMI at the age of 6.
While it was only 99 children that had their body weight, body mass index and their body fat measured in the study. Dietician at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Gabriel Eksteen says child obesity is a serious issue in the country.
“Child obesity is quite a big problem in South Africa and that probably reflects what we see in the adult population as well. When we look at the numbers, we see that roughly 23% of 2-5 year olds are overweight or obese. We see similar stats in slightly older children as well as teenagers. This also goes hand in hand with high inactivity levels and were seeing a lot of children doing quite little exercise,” said Eksteen.
The UFS students said the aim of their research was to help parents to be made more aware of future morbidities associated with what many regard as innocent “puppy fat”; and be empowered to prevent, recognise and appropriately address weight problems in their children.
