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HEALTHY
EATING

Early Establishment

of Healthy

Eating Habits

in Childhood:

A Preventative Measure Against Childhood Obesity

By Jocelyn Wey, Cynthia Bogran, Yi Fang, Darwin Nguyen and Adeel Sajid

Obesity in childhood has both immediate on eating habits are impactful and tend to be tend to develop their food habits early on
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and long-term consequences. Preventable dis- established early in childhood. Additionally, through “exposure and repeated experi-
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eases, usually associated with adulthood, are the role of different eating patterns among ences.” Early exposure to healthy, nutrient-
occurring more frequently in the pediatric racial and ethnic groups may also influence rich foods, such as vegetables, fruits and
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population, largely due to obesity. For exam- the development of obesity in childhood. In whole grains increases the odds these types of
ple, type II diabetes mellitus, a disease usually San Antonio specifically, there is a dispropor- foods will be eaten more often both in child-
associated with the older population, is now tionately high rate of pediatric obesity among hood and adulthood. Another key factor in
being seen more regularly in some settings, the Hispanic community. A great percentage establishing healthy eating habits at an early
contributing to almost half of new pediatric of these children reside in the south and cen- age relies on parents serving as role models. A
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diabetes cases. Obese children also have an tral regions of the city, corresponding to lower number of studies have shown how the per-
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increased risk for asthma, sleep apnea and socioeconomic status communities. This is ceptions, beliefs, emotional status and even
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even cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, important to keep in mind during office visits the BMI of the mother substantially influence
obese children are also more likely to also be and while counseling parents and patients on dietary practices and weight of children. 6,7,8
obese as adults, which is associated with sim- healthy eating habits, as some studies have also Early in development, children have a ten-
ilar health problems such as hypertension, found parents of lower socioeconomic status dency to model and eat what their parents
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gout, cardiovascular disease and stroke. tend to engage in poor eating habits which are consume, especially developing preferences
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While development of childhood obesity then transferred to their children. for what their mothers eat. Preschool-aged
is multifactorial, major contributory factors What, how and when food is consumed children tend to have a strong dislike of new
such as dietary choices and parental influence matters. Lindsay et al., found that children foods. Low consumption of fruit and vegeta-

30 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • May 2021