As energy prices rise and the cost of living rises, it is estimated that there are four million children in poor households with limited or uncertain access to healthy food.
My current doctoral research is looking at how this childhood food anxiety affects eating habits. Studies suggest that poor food during childhood leads to obesity.
A 2017 study found that children aged 8 to 10 in households without easy access to healthy food were more likely to become obese than those in households with sufficient food. found to be five times higher.
A study of 50 mothers and their children found that children in food-insecure households ate when they were not hungry and ate five or more snacks a day. I found that I could eat more.
This is called the “insurance hypothesis”. In theory, people who cannot have food readily available eat more to conserve energy when food is available, in order to avoid future hunger when food is scarce.
However, another recent study of 394 adults in the UK found no difference in total energy intake between food-insecure and food-secure people. However, the diets of people without ready access to healthy foods contained less fiber and protein and more carbohydrates than other people in the study.
Also, the time intervals between meals in food-insecure people were not consistent when compared to those with ready access to healthy food. Those who lacked access to food were unable to keep regular intervals between meals and instead ate as food became available.
These studies are based on the finding that eating high-calorie foods (high in sugar and fat, often classified as unhealthy foods) and skipping meals are associated with obesity. , is concerned.
This suggests that poor diet is a factor leading to obesity.
Role of stress
The emotional toll of childhood living in poverty can also lead to obesity. A 2018 review of research on factors leading to childhood obesity focused on the role of the home environment.
It suggests that the stress caused by low income, inability to access or purchase nutritious food, and lack of income and food creates a negative psychological and emotional environment for children. I’m here. This family disharmony disturbs homeostasis, the body’s ability to monitor and maintain internal conditions.
Over time, this research suggests that this can lead to obesity. This is known as “emotional eating”. We use food to calm us down or make us feel better.
Elevated stress levels cause dysregulation of certain peptides and hormones in the body, such as insulin, cortisol, and ghrelin.
Children are particularly affected because they are in the process of developing habits that last into adulthood. Negative emotions cause changes in the parts of the brain that are responsible for developing habits and memory. Children eat comfort foods to reduce distress, and when this becomes a habit, they use the same strategies to deal with future stress. Over time, this can lead to obesity.
emotional eating
Other research studies have explored the association between emotional eating and obesity. Her 2019 study of 150 adults explored the relationship between obesity and socioeconomic disadvantage, psychological distress, and emotional eating.
We found that the lower the socioeconomic status, the higher the distress, and the higher the distress, the higher the level of emotional eating. Second, the higher your emotional eating, the higher your BMI.
A study of more than 600 adults at the University of Salford found that food insecurity was associated with poorer diet quality, and greater distress and coping diets were associated with higher BMI. It turns out that there is
This study was conducted in adults rather than looking at the causes of childhood obesity. However, it has been suggested that psychological distress and subsequent emotional eating are pathways linking poverty and obesity.
Additionally, a US study of 676 adolescents from a variety of backgrounds found that perceived stress, worry, and confused moods were associated with emotional eating.
In the UK, 29% of men and 27% of women are obese. Unless more steps are taken to protect children living in poverty, this proportion will rise even higher in the coming years.
Khizra Tariq, PhD Candidate in Nutrition, Psychopharmacology and Brain Development Unit, University of Salford
This article is reprinted from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
