An online calculator predicts the risk of obesity in children, and what is it for?

Would you act in any way if a childhood obesity calculator predicted that your child will be overweight? We ask you this question because an online calculator predicts the risk of obesity in children.

It is likely that if you have bothered to do that calculation, the subject already worries you enough to be acting in different ways to prevent obesity or, conversely, if the subject does not interest you at all or want to know or do anything at respect.

By this I mean that the topic of the online calculator that predicts childhood obesity seems to me only a curiosity that can be useful in a few cases.

The invention has been disclosed a few days ago in Plos One magazine: a simple formula can predict at birth the probability that a baby will end up being obese. The work has been directed by Professor Philippe Froguel, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London (United Kingdom).

This calculator estimates the risk of the child to be obese based on their birth weight, the body mass index (BMI) of the parents, the number of people in the home, the professional category of the mother and if she smoked during the pregnancy.

According to the researchers, all the data are “well known” risk factors for childhood obesity. What those responsible expect is that their prediction method be used to identify babies at high risk and help families to take steps to prevent your children from getting too fat.

It is always good to continue researching childhood obesity and its causes, given the consequences for the health of children and future adults. Nap online calculator that predicts the risk of obesity in children It is going to make this problem prevent, great, and health professionals who inform and guide families have a lot to do with it.

Of course, the family with their eating and physical habits are vital when it comes to preventing obesity, something that can also contribute to the community, along with the school, as has been shown in different studies.

But if I had to criticize this prediction model, it can be quite inaccurate if we talk for example of premature babies (I imagine that we would have to adjust the weight once they reached the age corresponding to the expected birth).

Also, if it is not done at the time of birth, we know that there are cases of “plump” babies who in a few months, when they start walking, give the stretch and never heard of their michelines.

On the other hand, there is a risk that this calculator will become one more body worship instrument and concern for the look he looks for in the baby, from the moment he is born, those possible defects that nobody would want in principle. Although it is true that we do not talk about being more handsome or ugly but about a subject that does have important implications for health.

In short, there is much to do and inform, but yes the online obesity risk calculator in children, thought to apply from the moment the baby is born, makes any report aware of the parents of appropriate prevention measures, it will not seem like a work in vain.

Official Site | Online calculator
More information | Plos One
Photo | Nagobe on Flickr-CC
In Babies and more | The impact of childhood obesity, worse than previously thought, Childhood obesity: keys to prevent it, BMI calculator (body mass index) for children

Video: Obesity Risk Can Be Predicted at Birth (April 2024).