Guidelines Dietary - Eat For Health

• Childhood weight gain: There is convincing evidence that excess weight gain relative to height duringchildhood is associated with increased risk of being overweight later in life (Grade A; Evidence Report,Section 17.4). 58,241,242Guideline 1• Parental weight: There is convincing evidence that parental overweight or obesity is associated withincreased risk of child overweight or obesity. The risk is greater when both parents (rather than one) areoverweight or obese (Grade A; Evidence Report, Section 17.7). 49-62• Maternal smoking: There is evidence that babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy, as anindependent risk factor, probably have a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese in adolescence andadulthood (Grade B; Evidence Report, Section 17.5). 52,54,59-61,243• Television: Recent evidence suggests that hours spent watching television by children is associated withincreased risk of overweight or obesity (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 17.3). 49,60,64-71,244-246 Media use,including television viewing, may displace time children spend in physical activities 246,247 and eating mealsand snacks in front of the television may also be associated with increased energy intake. 248• Socioeconomic status: There is evidence from developed countries to suggest that a low family incomeor socioeconomic status is associated with increased risk of overweight or obesity during childhood,adolescence and young adulthood (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 17.9). 49,52,55,64,65,68,72-74 Similarly, theevidence suggests that low socioeconomic status is associated with an increased risk of overweight orobesity (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 17.10). 59,62,239,249-252• Other factors: Although there were insufficient studies to make an evidence statement, other factorsassociated with increased risk of overweight and obesity throughout life included:––being overweight in adolescence 78––consuming takeaway food and low quality snacks 75-77––childhood smoking 78,83––increased price of fruit and vegetables 68,79––low self-esteem and/or depression 80-82––low locus of control score 84,85––stressful family life 86,87––food insecurity 65,81,253––self-reported dieting, 76,82,254 particularly in girls 255––inadequate sleep 60,244,256,257––low rates of breakfast consumption. 258The literature review to inform the revision of the US dietary guidelines found strong and consistent evidencethat children and adults who eat fast food, particularly those eating at least one fast food meal per week, are atincreased risk of weight gain, overweight and obesity. There was not enough evidence to evaluate any associationbetween eating at other types of restaurants and risk of weight gain, overweight and obesity. 198 The US reviewalso found moderate evidence suggesting that children who do not eat breakfast are at increased risk ofoverweight and obesity, with the evidence being stronger for adolescents. 198The US review also found a limited body of evidence showing conflicting results about whether liquid and solidfoods differ in their effects on energy intake and body weight, except that soup at a meal may lead to decreasedenergy intake and body weight. 198Finally, an emerging body of evidence documents the impact of the obesogenic food environment on body weightin children and adults. Current evidence indicates that the food environment is associated with dietary intake,especially lower consumption of vegetables and fruits, and resulting in higher body weight. 198 This is discussedfurther in Appendix A.Achieve and maintain a healthy weightNational Health and Medical Research Council21