Food Allergies In Kids Linked To Obesity
A new study looking at data from 4,000 kids suggests there is a link between food allergies and obesity.
The research was led by Dr. Cindy Visness, and published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The children involved in the study (which looked at wider health factors than obesity and allergies) were aged between 2 and 19. The New York Times reported on some of the findings:
Overweight and obese children were over 50 percent more likely than those of normal weight to be allergic to milk. Over all, the obese and overweight children were about 25 percent more likely to have one or more food allergies.
The researchers were rightly cautious about drawing the conclusion that obesity causes food allergies, noting that the corrolation could be for other reasons.
It's possible that children with food allergies are less likely to eat a balanced diet for instance, potentially increasing their chances of becoming overweight or obese.
With increasing numbers of kids with food allergies, and childhood obesity becoming a global problem, it seems important that more research is conducted into the rise of both allergies and obesity amongst children.
One of my granddaughters is allergic to just about everything but with all the special food her mom has to cook her, she eats pretty healthy so not sure about this. I see the study is just on milk allergies but still....
As with studies, ya never know!
ReplyMy son is just about 1 years old. All the food he eats my wife makes fresh. I was telling my mom and she could not believe it. I further told her in the grocery store aisle there is maybe a couple different kinds of jar baby food. Last time I was in the States there was half an aisle of ready made baby food.
Covenience might be making the children obese.
Cheers
ReplyI agree with Jody - I'm not sure this study will stand the test of time. Obesity among children is a tragedy to me. It was hard enough as an adult to be obese, but children face their own special challenges. Irregardless of whether allergies have anything to do with the propensity towards obesity, weight gain is still a function of eating too many calories. As a parent I try to model and teach my children proper eating habits, and I hope and pray they take them with them as they reach adulthood.
ReplyI think this study is making a very general and broad correlation between obesity and food allergies. My older son has some food allergies, my younger one none. They are both very slim for their age (the 6 1/2 year old is in the 5th percentile on weight). They both eat healthily, and are VERY active from the moment they wake to the moment they go to sleep (it actually helps keep my weight down too!). They also enjoy treats. I think if you take any type of population, you're going to find a certain percentage with allergies of some sort or find some commonality. I wonder if the study looked at activity levels and food choices. Other than a medical condition, childhood obesity comes down to two things: parent driven food choices and activity. I bet if these families with obese children ate like us and lived like us, they wouldn't have obese children.
ReplyI think there is a strong possibility that obesity and food allergies are linked,especially in children and/or adults who don't know they have food allergies. Do some research on food intolerances to find out how the immune system responds to foods eaten that one is intolerant to find out for yourself. Inflamation, fatigue, insomnia, and food addiction are all side effects from long-term exposure to foods one is allergic or intolerant of. Inflamation and bloating makes one feel fat even if you are not obese. When one is fatigued, he/she rarely feels like exercising. Lack of proper sleep is known to contribute to obesity. Obesity for some may be as simple as willpower and/or access to junk food, but for many it is way more complex and may have multiple contributing medical factors, such as food allergies.
ReplyI agree with Jody, I really don't know how much this study will hold up.
ReplyAdmittedly, not having read the study, I wonder if some of this is behavioral. If a child cannot have a certain thing, his/her parents might be tempted to compensate and allow too many indulgences in another area. So, if your kid can't have ice cream because of lactose intolerance (not an allergy, but just an example), you might let him/her have more of a dairy free cake and overcompensate and allow too much.
ReplyThe article is not saying that food allergies is the only thing that causes kids to become obese. It simply says it may play a role. Obesity is often times a complex issue. Other causes can be health problems like thyroid imbalance that is not caught yet.
I can see where food cravings for a specific type of food can lead to obesity because of it actually being an allergen. It probably causes water retention in quite a few ppl too. Food allergies can also consist of moodiness, insomnia, restlessness, and in some rare cases even hallucinations and onset mental disorders.
If you want to find out if you or your kids are allergic to certain types of food, start eliminating the the most common ones like wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts and grains, and so forth one group at a time. I just recently started. I tried a gluten free diet next month and really did not see a difference in weight loss or nasal congestion. So this month I am doing dairy. It often takes at least 30 days to see if there are any worthwhile results.
ReplySorry, I meant I did a gluten free diet last month. That means no wheat, nuts, beans, legumes, or any type of oats or grains. If you can find flax millet or even rice bread that can beneficial and you don't have to give up your sandwiches that way! I found that flax millet bread actually tasted better to me than wheat.
If you want to try eliminating all food groups at once you can do what a college professor of mine did to see if food allergies caused his Crohn's disease to be worse. Go on a chicken and rice diet for six weeks and gradually introduce other food groups like starting with adding cheese into the mix. And then later on bread, and then eggs and so forth. To add some zest, try finding some sweet vidalia onion salad dressing. Very good!
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