Childhood Obesity News and Research

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Junk food ads make kids eat more, even if the ad shows no food!

Children exposed to just 5 minutes of junk food ads consumed 130 extra calories in a day, regardless of ad type or media format. Even brand-only ads, without showing actual food, triggered significant increases in calorie intake.

11 May 2025

Mothers' early pregnancy weight influences kids’ BMI into adolescence

Children born to mothers with higher BMI in early pregnancy have greater weight and BMI from birth through age 10, regardless of prenatal lifestyle interventions. Paternal BMI also plays a significant role in childhood obesity risk.

10 May 2025

Early antibiotic use linked to higher childhood BMI

Taking antibiotics within the first two years of life is linked to a higher body mass index (BMI) in childhood, according to a new study. The research will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, held April 24-28 in Honolulu.

25 Apr 2025

New Canadian guidelines offer comprehensive approach to managing pediatric obesity

Researchers provide evidence-based recommendations to manage pediatric obesity.

17 Apr 2025

New guideline takes a patient-centered approach to managing obesity in children

A new guideline to help health care providers manage obesity in children and adolescents takes a patient-centred approach, emphasizing behavioral and psychological supports that focus on outcomes valued by patients and their families.

14 Apr 2025

ChatGPT improves exercise for neurodivergent kids

A University of Michigan research team has used AI to help deliver exercise "snacks" to kids with autism.

11 Apr 2025

Researchers uncover why fat gain happens fast during life changes

Perspective article proposes that major fat gains arise from short-term lifestyle disruptions rather than gradual daily surpluses. The authors call for public health strategies to focus on preventing episodic weight spikes during high-risk life events.

10 Apr 2025

Six early life factors found to influence obesity risk in South Asian children

Researchers at McMaster University have identified six key factors in the first three years of life that influence the trajectory of obesity in South Asian children.

10 Apr 2025

Drinking diet drinks in pregnancy raises overweight risk in children, study finds

Daily consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) during pregnancy was linked to a modest but consistent increase in overweight risk in offspring from age 7 to 18. Surprisingly, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) were associated with a lower risk, though lifestyle differences may explain this.

25 Mar 2025

Childhood obesity boosts risk of COPD later in life

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14 May) shows that having an overweight or obesity trajectory during childhood is associated with an increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adulthood.

22 Mar 2025

Early sweet foods don’t shape toddlers’ diets — family meals matter more

Early sweet taste exposure during complementary feeding does not shape children's dietary taste patterns later in life. Instead, broader environmental factors, such as family eating habits, play a more significant role.

19 Mar 2025

Waist-to-height ratio more accurate than BMI for detecting childhood obesity

Body mass index (BMI) was almost three times more likely to classify children as overweight than waist circumference-to-height ratio, according to a new study.

12 Mar 2025

Study finds Pacific children struggling with micronutrient intake and obesity

Children ages two to eight years across 11 Pacific jurisdictions (Alaska, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawai'i, Marshall Islands, and Palau) are not meeting daily recommended intakes for key micronutrients, either consuming too much or too little.

6 Mar 2025

High-resolution DNA sequencing data for 37,000 children and parents released

The first resource containing high-resolution DNA sequencing data for over 37,000 children and parents collected over multiple decades from across the UK is now available to researchers worldwide.

4 Mar 2025

Artificial sweeteners may reduce metformin’s effectiveness in weight and glucose control

Drinking artificially sweetened beverages may reduce metformin’s effectiveness in young patients with obesity and prediabetes, but a larger study is needed to confirm these findings.

27 Feb 2025

Preschoolers with better fitness have sharper brains, study finds

A study in Pediatric Research found that preschoolers with higher physical fitness levels perform significantly better in memory, attention, and problem-solving tasks, emphasizing the role of movement in early cognitive development.

26 Feb 2025

Understanding the health risks of childhood hypertension

High blood pressure (BP) isn't just an adult problem - it's a lifelong condition that can start in childhood, yet it receives little attention in younger populations.

24 Feb 2025

Could a common sugar in processed foods be fueling childhood liver disease?

Researchers found that high fructose intake, especially from processed foods, is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in children with obesity, with potential misreporting of sugary food sources.

12 Feb 2025

Changing menu layouts could help teens make healthier food choices

New research from the University of Birmingham and Aston University has found that putting lower-calorie meal choices at the top of a restaurant menu, and reducing the availability of high-calorie options, makes teenagers more likely to order the healthier options.

12 Feb 2025

Can parents' diet predict childhood obesity? New research weighs in

Children’s eating habits are strongly influenced by their parents' weight status, with those having overweight or obese parents consuming more carbohydrates and exhibiting higher obesity risks.

6 Feb 2025