Formula For Predicting Obesity

            Researchers are trying to find ways to get ahead of the obesity epidemic. According to “Preventing Obesity at Birth” on Time.com, they think they have a formula to predict the likelihood that a infant will become obese. Their study analyzed data from 1986 and developed a list of five risk factors, including birth weight, body mass index of the parents, the number of people in the newborn’s household, mother’s professional status, and the mother’s smoking status during pregnancy. The article says each of these has been linked to obesity by promoting weight gain in physiological and behavioral ways. So, they have an “obesity risk calculator,” now what? It is important to determine these risk factors so as a public we can try to eliminate the chances of childhood obesity. However, not everyone is as proactive about prevention. One hurdle, in my view, is complaisance on the part of Americans. Many are sick of hearing about obesity because they feel they are being told how to live. They feel like they are being scolded and their decisions are being taken from them by people they’ve never met. We can have obesity prediction formulas and programs to help curb childhood obesity, but what we really need is concerned citizens willing to pay attention to and use these health aids.