Childhood Obesity Epidemic

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Obesity and CVD: Conceptual Model

The development of obesity in childhood and subsequently in adulthood involves interactions among multiple factors that may shape daily diet and physical activity behaviors and increase obesity and cardiovascular disease risks. These factors that may influence energy balance include individual or personal (e.g., food beliefs, attitudes, cultural experiences, taste preferences, economic status, and portion size preferences), environmental (e.g., built, home and family, schools, and community environments; food availability and cost), societal (e.g., cultural norms, advertising and food marketing, social networks, technological developments, economics, public policy) and healthcare-related (e.g., provider counseling and treatment, reimbursement), as well as physiological (e.g., intrauterine and early life “programming”, appetite and satiety mechanisms and regulation, adipose tissue metabolism, genetic predisposition) (13).