Obesity during growth in Switzerland: role of early socio-cultural factors favouring sedentary activities

Depending upon age, gender and geographical area, 3–20% of the children and young adolescents in Switzerland are overweight and 0–6% obese, using the criteria of the International Obesity Task Force . The most likely explanation for this increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a decline i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Obesity 2006-12, Vol.30 (S4), p.S4-S10
Main Authors: Suter, P M, Ruckstuhl, N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Adults
Age
Analysis
Behavior
Body Mass Index
Child
Children
Chronic illnesses
Energy Metabolism - physiology
Entrance examinations
Epidemiology
Exercise
Female
Gender
Health aspects
Health Behavior
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Humans
Internal Medicine
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Metabolic Diseases
Motor Activity - physiology
Obesity
Obesity - epidemiology
Obesity - prevention & control
Obesity in children
original-article
Overweight
Overweight - epidemiology
Pandemics
Pathogenesis
Prevalence
Prevention
Public Health
Risk Factors
Rural areas
Sedentary Lifestyle
Sociocultural factors
Switzerland - epidemiology
Task forces
Television
Trends
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Summary:Depending upon age, gender and geographical area, 3–20% of the children and young adolescents in Switzerland are overweight and 0–6% obese, using the criteria of the International Obesity Task Force . The most likely explanation for this increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a decline in physical activity, and hence diminished energy expenditure that is not matched by a corresponding reduction in energy intake. In this paper, we first review the epidemiological situation in Switzerland regarding the rising prevalence of obesity and the decline in physical activity, and then focus upon the environmental, social and cultural factors that predispose children to sedentary behaviours. Several of these socio-cultural factors and in particular television viewing and poor-parental model, confer early ‘learned behaviours’ for low physical activity which track throughout growth into adulthood, and which also predispose to the overconsumption of less healthy foods. It is time to focus on preventive strategies directed at curtailing these ‘learned behaviours’, that we have acquired during the transition from the stone-age to the chip-age, if we want to hold the current pandemic of obesity.
ISSN:0307-0565
1476-5497
DOI:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803513