AUB-Led Multi-Institutional Research Team: Obesity Among Children on The Rise

Obesity among children andadults has almost doubled over the past 15 years, something which could alsoincrease the prevalence of chronic diseases in the next generations, warnedresearchers at the American University of Beirut.

During a special half-dayseminar held at AUB on January 20, 2012, the latest results of a three-yearcollaborative study on undernutrition and obesity were disseminated.

Thestudy was launched in 2009 under the Associated Research Unit (ARU) onUndernutrition and Obesity which was established by the National Center forScientific Research (CNRS) in 2009, in a collaboration between three academicinstitutions: the Nutrition and Food Sciences Department at AUB, the NutritionDepartment of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Universite Saint Joseph, and the HumanNutrition and Dietetics Department at Universite Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK).

About one in six children under 10 years old is now obese,according to the findings of the unit, which collected its data in 2009. Incontrast, one in 10 children under 10 was obese in 1997. Meanwhile, one in fouradults over 20 years old and one in eight adolescents in the 10-20 age groupare obese. In 1997 only one in 18 adolescents was obese.

Obesityis a prime risk factor for chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovasculardisorders as well as other diseases.

Infact the ARU study found that 30 percent of obese children and 20 percent ofobese adolescents show a predisposition for chronic diseases.

Forthis reason the ARU team has developed a food-based dietary guideline foradults and is planning to develop another one for children to prevent healthproblems later on in life.

“Researchhas shown that diet in the first two years of a child’s life sets the stage forchronic diseases and other health problems later on in life,” said ProfessorNahla Hwalla, lead researcher and the dean of the Faculty of Agricultural andFood Sciences at AUB.

Hwallaadded that while the team did not find signs of undernutrition among Lebanesechildren, there were indications that the quality of food being consumed wasnot healthy.

Thenext step is to implement these findings in a school-based intervention programand to conduct studies that would pinpoint the geographical areas that are mostaffected by obesity or malnutrition.

Duringthe opening ceremony of the seminar, CNRS secretary-general Mouin Hamzeunderscored the importance of using research to guide policy-making and notedthat CNRS had established five research units, four of which are led by AUB.

AUBPresident Peter Dorman lauded the work conducted by the multi-institutionalresearch team, highlighting the role academia can play in positively impactingits environment. “Universities are often described as ivory towers that tend tobe disengaged from their environment, but we are determined to counter this impression,”Dorman said, adding that AUB has been sharing its knowledge and research withgovernmental and non-governmental agencies to help develop better policies andenhance quality of life for everyone.

HealthMinister Ali Hassan Khalil, under whose patronage the seminar was held, praisedAUB for its leadership role in research and promised that the ministry willbase its health strategy on this research.

“Weneed to work on public awareness about nutrition in order to prevent diseases,especially since food and eating is a huge part of our culture,” said Khalil.“We have to develop a clear national strategy for nutrition that will set rolesfor the ministries of education, health and information.”