Obese Children Twice As Likely To Develop Multiple Sclerosis; Chronic Inflamm, Risk Other Diseases: Study

[appalachiablue]

- 'Obese children twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis, study suggests,' The Guardian, March 28, 2024. - Swedish researchers say inflammation caused by obesity is likely to increase risk of developing conditions such as MS. -Edit.

Children who are obese may face more than double the risk of developing multiple sclerosis as adults, a study suggests. MS can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a range of potential symptoms including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. It is a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability. The findings are from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

The research team looked at data on children aged two to 19 who joined the registry between 1995 and 2020, and compared their information with that of children in the general population. The study included data on more than 21,600 children with obesity, who started treatment for obesity when they were an average age of 11, and more than 100,000 children without obesity.

Children involved in the study were tracked for an average of six years. During the follow-up period, MS was diagnosed in 28 of those with obesity (0.13% of the group) and 58 in the group without obesity (0.06%). The average age of MS diagnosis was comparable between groups, with patients diagnosed on average when they were 23. Despite the limited follow-up time, our findings highlight that obesity in childhood increases the susceptibility of early-onset MS more than twofold.”

The study’s authors said: “One of the effects of obesity in childhood is that it causes a low-grade but chronic inflammation, and most probably this inflammation increases the risk to develop several diseases such as MS. “It is also believed that chronic low-grade inflammation increases the risk for other such diseases as asthma, arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and some forms of cancers. However, we know that weight loss reduces the inflammation and most likely the risk to develop such diseases.”...
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/28/obese-children-multiple-sclerosis-study

[pandr32]

1. Junk food is easily available.

Children's tv shows are filled with ads of happy, popular kids eating crap. Big Food has been engineering ways to make everything more cheaply and often additives come from abroad. While this isn't new, that is part of the problem because today's kids are born into families that also have poor kitchen skills and eat ultra-processed food. The part of America we should want to go back to is the one where we had a decent food culture and friends and families gathered around to share nutritious meals. That is the centerpiece of all cultures--still in much of the rest of the world.
These kids will pay their whole lives, and by default so will we. The corporations responsible--not so much.

[appalachiablue]

2. Right on it, these are the negative factors involved in obesity

and other health problems we're facing now for decades. Highly processed and easily available food that lacks nutrition but is loaded with unhealthy additives, chemicals and calories.

Junk food is relentlessly pushed by corp marketing and enables our eat on the run culture. Many people aren't aware of how toxic this diet is compared to fresher, home cooking. The Big Food corporations have to be made to change somehow. Poor health and diseases produce high costs in terms of peoples' lives and medical care if you can afford it.

[pandr32]

3. All very true--a huge problem.

You mentioned that many aren't aware how bad their diets are, but they can't compare it to "fresher, home cooking" because they haven't experienced any. We are now a few generations into a broken food culture. Parents can't model good eating habits and cooking skills if they have none.
We subsidize Big Agriculture and they have grabbed up family farms and spread their monstrous tentacles across huge swaths of our country. Much food production is centralized. Many people wondering which brand of eggs to buy don't realized they are tricked--they come from the same place.
Fast and junk food are always only a few steps away and heavily advertised.
We have to fight back.
TY for your response.

[appalachiablue]

4. Righto, generations of this, big corp control & we have to push for reforms! Tx.