Stress Hormones Are Superior In Obese Children
The number of obese children in the world has increased alarmingly. Obesity in children is a serious problem for the whole family, because it is about feeding the little ones. It is important for children to have good nutrition and mistakes can be made in this regard. Wanting your children to eat enough to appear well fed is not the solution.
Obesity is generated after the poor obtaining of nutrients and excessively high fats. These elements lead to rapid and inappropriate weight gain. As a consequence, many diseases can occur in children, these especially caused by a hormonal factor.
Cortisol is a hormone that is released in response to stress, which increases the level of sugar in the blood that is derived from cholesterol. That is, it can cause obesity, and for this reason it is common in people who have bad eating habits. The accumulation of this hormone in the blood can cause health problems over time.
Do obese children suffer from stress?
According to studies at the Dutch Erasmus MC-Sophia Children’s Hospital, cortisol levels are elevated in obese children. The results were published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. This research selected 20 overweight children and 20 children of normal weight, between 8 and 12 years old.
The procedure consisted of measuring cortisol levels by collecting hair samples. Obese children were shown to suffer from a lot of stress. And, in addition, they present higher levels of this hormone than those children with an adequate weight.
However, it is not known for sure what causes cortisol levels to skyrocket in obese children. It is unknown if they are psychologically stressed or if their bodies handle stress hormones differently.
What is known is that obesity has many bad consequences in the future, either in the short or long term. Especially cardiovascular problems, diabetes and hypertension, among others.
Consequences of stress in obese children
Both stress and obesity are conditions that by themselves can have serious health consequences. However, the combination of both worsens the prognosis. Since stress hormones have been found to possibly lead to childhood obesity, the picture is getting worse.
Among the main consequences of this problem in obese children we have:
- Bone and joint problems. Being overweight, although the bones are very strong, they cannot hold much, so it may appear difficulties to move or move.
- Difficulty breathing. This problem leads to a lack of physical exercise due to respiratory discomfort, fatigue or tiredness. Diseases such as asthma are also frequent in these cases.
- Disadvantages when sleeping. Insomnia is closely related to posture and breathing, so you can suffer from sleep apnea.
- Hypertension. It occurs as a result of high levels of cholesterol, which increases with the consumption of foods high in fat and sugar.
- Diabetes. It is caused by high blood sugar levels, mostly type 2 diabetes.
- Cardiovascular diseases. There is a propensity for heart attacks or strokes.
- Early puberty. In obese girls, puberty is early. They may also have irregular menstrual cycles.
- Depression, low self-esteem, emotional decline due to social discrimination.
What can we do?
If you are the parent of an overweight child, you should start giving him a proper diet to achieve his normal weight. To achieve this, try to serve reasonable-sized portions of food, and follow a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Limit your intake of sugar and saturated fat and provide protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, or legumes. Also, encourage your child to drink plenty of water and practice regular physical activity.
Notably, obesity, when manifested in childhood, can persist into adulthood. If we don’t address the problem in time and allow it to reach puberty, it may be too late to help you. Therefore, do not hesitate to take care of your child’s diet and avoid excessive stress as much as possible.
