Recently, researchers from the EarlyBird Diabetes Trust, a research group based out of Peninsula Med...

1. Childhood Obesity Depends on Diet, Not Physical Activity,
Experts Say.
Recently, researchers from the EarlyBird Diabetes Trust, a research group based out of Peninsula
Medical School in Plymouth, studied a group of more than 200 children in Plymouth for over
three years, monitoring their fat and exercise levels at regular intervals. The study, published in
the Archives of Childhood Disease, found that, "Physical inactivity appears to be the result of fatness
rather than its cause. This reverse causality may explain why attempts to tackle childhood obesity by
promoting physical activity have been largely unsuccessful."
With this study shedding new light on how best to target the increasing problem of childhood
obesity, researchers now look towards the children's diets as being the main cause.
While this seems to be a matter of common sense to me (in that a child's diet is an important factor
in determining their body weight and BMI), I do find it hard to believe that physical activity isn't at
least as important. When I was a child, I spent hours and hours outside each day, begging my mom
to let me stay out and ride my bike just a little bit longer. I did not, however, eat a steady diet of
lettuce and whole grains and lean protein. I ate pretty well for a kid, loving produce more than
your average child, but ate my share of white flour, simple carbohydrates, sugar - can you say
cookies for breakfast?? - and the like, and I was a rail.Â
Moms - what do you think? Clearly this study is just one in a series investigating the factors
involved in childhood obesity, but what in your experience makes the most difference in your
child's weight and health: an active lifestyle, or a balanced diet?