Obesity and asthma among children may lead to abnormalities or impairment in the function of the children's health and physical development. These health problems have recently been linked to a rather unique factor - dysfunction and trauma at home.
Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2012.
On the other hand, asthma is the shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing triggered by a respiratory virus. It is the leading cause of chronic illness in children and affects more than one of every 10 children in the U.S.
It is very well-known that adverse childhood encounters carry over into teenage to adult life but the new study focuses on the effects of these experiences during the childhood years. The study suggested that children facing this kind of traumatic events in their life are at risk due to dysfunction and trauma at home.
For the study, presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics 2016 National Conference & Exhibition, researchers conducted a methodical research and review to identify some of the clinical signs that can be used to identify children at risk after experiencing trauma. They examined 39 cohort studies to determine the effect adverse childhood experiences has on health and biological outcomes in children.
The researchers found out that household dysfunction affects children’s weight early in childhood, and abuse and neglect affect children’s weight later in childhood. This may lead to obesity of the children. If the children are also exposed to early adversity, they have increased risk for asthma, infection, somatic complaints, and sleep disruption.
"The majority of research on early adversity has looked at long-term adult outcomes. While this research has helped identify the problem, we must also deepen our understanding of what is happening in the brains and bodies of our children as they experience adversity," Debby Oh, Researcher at the Center for Youth Wellness, said in a statement.
Oh also said that with appropriate intervention, children are able to recover from obesity and asthma that are linked to dysfunction and trauma at home. Making early detection is a powerful tool to protect the health and well-being of children before long-term adult outcomes occur, she added.
