A rise in obesity in adolescents may be down to a sharp drop in the amount of calories they burn while resting. A 10 year study in the International Journal of Diabetes found energy used at
rest was 25% lower in 15-year-olds compared with when they were 10 - a
fall of 500 calories a day. This is equivalent to cutting out an hour's strenuous exercise every day.
Most
of the energy we burn is just to keep our bodies ticking over -
using the brain, heart, liver and kidneys - rather than through physical
activity.
The study found that the number of calories the children burned at rest fell sharply
during puberty, even though this is a period of rapid growth, which usually uses up lots of
calories. It was only around the age of 16 that the number of
calories burned at rest started to rise again. During puberty
there was also a noticeable drop in the amount of exercise, particularly
among girls.
With about a third of school children aged 10-11 in England overweight or obese, the challenge is how to address the issue. Researchers said that the findings showed there was an even greater need to improve
children's diets and protect them from the heavy marketing of junk food
and sugary drinks.
"Last
month's government strategy on childhood obesity confirmed the duty on
sugary drinks, but was otherwise a disastrous missed opportunity. We need much tougher regulation around the marketing of junk food to children - particularly on TV and online."
BBC News item: Calorie burn fall 'could explain obesity rise' 8th Sept. 2016.
