maternal obesity childhood obesity

Association of Maternal Obesity and Childhood Obesity: Implications for Healthcare Providers Edith F. Durand, BSN, RN, Cynthia Logan, PhD, RN, and Ann Carruth, DNS, RN Southeastern Louisiana University, School of Nursing The purpos e of this cr it ical appr ai sal wa s to assess the av ai labl e li te rature on the associ at ion of maternal obesity as a risk factor for childhood obesity and to explore the implications for incorporating this evidence into practice. The increasing prevalenc e of childhood obesity , with its documented adverse health effects, is a critical public health threat in the United Sta tes and wor ldwide . Resear ch stu die s ha ve doc ume nte d inc rea sed rat es of chi ldh ood obe - sity associated with maternal obesity . Healthcare providers are challenged to expand their competencies to recognize the association of maternal obesity and childhood obesity and to address both primary and secondary prevention of childhood obesity. Stopping the cycle of obesity before it becomes the leading cause of preventabl e disease and death in the United States is a priority for community health nurses. Obesity ha s been foun d to be a strong pr edictor of severalwell-e st abli shed ri skfactorsfor increased morbidity and mortality. Reversing the obesity epidemic is an urgent priority (Mokdad et al., 2003). Childhood obesity is a significant public health problem in the United States and worldwide. During the 20th century, infant mortality rates and deaths from infectious diseases decreased tremendously, and life expectancy increased by greater than 30 years. Despite these successes, the statistics on overwei ght and obesity have continued to head in the wrong direction. Data presented by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS, 2005) indicated that the prevalence of overweight children, ag es 6 to 11 ye ars, in cr ea se d fr om 4% to al mo st 16 % in th e pa st 30 ye ars. Th is in cr ea si ng prevalence of childhood obesity has led policymakers to rank it as a critical public health thre at for the 21 stcent ur y . If th is tr end cont in ues, the ga in s th at were ma de wi th he art di s- ease, diabetes, several forms of cancer, and many other chronic health problems may be reversed. Unfortunately, overweight and obesity are risk factors for many of these chronic health conditions (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2001). JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING, 2007, 24(3), 167–176 Copyright © 2007, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Correspondence should be addressed to Edith F. Durand, Post Office Box 733, Albany, LA 70711. E-mail: [email protected]

maternal obesity childhood obesity

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