From Your Health Journal…..”A very interesting article out of University Park from Penn State University about how poor stress responses can lead to obesity in children. Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, as results suggest that some children who are at risk of becoming obese can be identified by their biological response to a stressor. The goal is to help children manage stress in ways that promote health and reduce the risks associated with an over- or under-reactive stress response. This is an interesting finding, as I firmly believe is the root of many evils when it comes to our health. It raises blood pressure, increases risks for heart disease, effects our diet, and countless other health related illness. Obesity in children is on the rise all over the world, as the environment plays a huge role in this with such things as how the parents act, ‘play’ technology available, and now…..excessive stress. It is important we learn how to manage stress for many reasons, now we have a new cause for action to reduce it – stress. Please visit the PSU site to read the complete article. It was well written and informative. The link is provided below.”
From the article…..
Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to researchers at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University.
“Our results suggest that some children who are at risk of becoming obese can be identified by their biological response to a stressor,” said Lori Francis, associate professor of biobehavioral health. “Ultimately, the goal is to help children manage stress in ways that promote health and reduce the risks associated with an over- or under-reactive stress response.”
Francis and her colleagues — Douglas Granger, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research at Johns Hopkins University, and Elizabeth Susman, Jean Phillips Shibley Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State — recruited 43 children ages 5- to 9-years-old and their parents to participate in the study.
To examine the children’s reactions to a stressor, the team used the Trier Social Stress Test for Children, which consists of a five-minute anticipation period followed by a 10-minute stress period. During the stress period, the children were asked to deliver a speech and perform a mathematics task. The team measured the children’s responses to these stressors by comparing the cortisol content of their saliva before and after the procedure.
The researchers also measured the extent to which the children ate after saying they were not hungry using a protocol known as the Free Access Procedure. The team provided the children with lunch, asked them to indicate their hunger level and then gave them free access to generous portions of 10 snack foods, along with a variety of toys and activities. The children were told they could play or eat while the researchers were out of the room.
The results appeared online in the December 2012 issue of the journal Appetite.
The team found that, on average, the children consumed 250 kilocalories of the snack foods during the Free Access Procedure, with some consuming small amounts (20 kilocalories) and others consuming large amounts (700 kilocalories).
To read the complete article…..Click here