Environmental Determinants of Pediatric Obesity: An Epidemiological Review

TL;DR

This paper reviews environmental factors contributing to rising childhood obesity rates and highlights disparities among disadvantaged communities.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of environmental determinants of pediatric obesity and identifies research gaps for targeted interventions.

Findings

Environmental factors like food access and socioeconomic context strongly influence childhood obesity.

Disadvantaged communities face higher obesity risks due to clustered environmental stressors.

Interventions must address multiple sectors to effectively combat rising obesity rates.

Abstract

Pediatric obesity represents an urgent public health concern, with rapidly increasing prevalence across all regions. While genetic susceptibility contributes significantly to interindividual variability in weight, the significant increase in obesity prevalence over the last 30 years is driven by shifts in environmental contributors. This narrative review will summarize evidence on the major environmental determinants of childhood obesity. Environmental contributors to obesity include the food environment, physical activity and built environments, socioeconomic and community context, home and family environments, digital exposures, early life and chemical obesogens and policy drivers. These environmental factors influence activity patterns, dietary habits, sleep, and stress. Additionally, many of these contributing factors cluster within communities that are disadvantaged, thereby increasing predisposition of specific racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups to childhood obesity. We highlight research gaps and opportunities for multisectoral interventions aligned to impact the growing prevalence of childhood obesity.

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