Obesity may be caused by hunger
HUNGRY pregnant women are likely to give birth to babies who will eat too much food in their adulthood. Such children are likely to become obese.
By Ronald Kalyango
HUNGRY pregnant women are likely to give birth to babies who will eat too much food in their adulthood. Such children are likely to become obese.
The Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report released recently warns that unless nutrition improves today, health care costs are expected to soar in future. It advises that fighting hunger now would prevent obesity in the future.
The report, Fighting hunger today could help prevent obesity tomorrow, says reducing hunger and undernourishment in children and pregnant mothers could prevent them from becoming overweight and obese, and reduce associated health costs in later life. Obesity is linked to diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The study pulls together a growing body of empirical evidence that suggest that hunger during pregnancy tunes foetal tissues to get the most out of the food energy available.
Many developing countries are currently facing this situation and the impact on their health situation could be dramatic.
In real terms, the findings reveal that developing countries like Uganda are getting an increasing number of people at two extreme ends of the nutritional scale.
While the poor become increasingly undernourished, a growing number of people flocking to urban centers are able to eat far more than they require, soon becoming obese.
These are characterised by the growing number of pot bellies even among people as young as in their mid twenties, the bulging bellies have also extended to women in their twenties as well.
HUNGRY pregnant women are likely to give birth to babies who will eat too much food in their adulthood. Such children are likely to become obese.
The Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report released recently warns that unless nutrition improves today, health care costs are expected to soar in future. It advises that fighting hunger now would prevent obesity in the future.
The report, Fighting hunger today could help prevent obesity tomorrow, says reducing hunger and undernourishment in children and pregnant mothers could prevent them from becoming overweight and obese, and reduce associated health costs in later life. Obesity is linked to diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The study pulls together a growing body of empirical evidence that suggest that hunger during pregnancy tunes foetal tissues to get the most out of the food energy available.
Many developing countries are currently facing this situation and the impact on their health situation could be dramatic.
In real terms, the findings reveal that developing countries like Uganda are getting an increasing number of people at two extreme ends of the nutritional scale.
While the poor become increasingly undernourished, a growing number of people flocking to urban centers are able to eat far more than they require, soon becoming obese.
These are characterised by the growing number of pot bellies even among people as young as in their mid twenties, the bulging bellies have also extended to women in their twenties as well.