Factors contributing to smoking, alcohol and obesity during pregnancy in developed countries

  

        We have established that we are advocating for a cohort of humans that do not have a voice or a choice.

We have focused on advocating primarily for greater recognition of the mothers ability to modify core behaviors that are known to have poor health consequences for the child in later life.

 We have identified three predominant modifiable behaviours in developed countries.

We now will look at factors contributing to, and hindering change for a pregnant women to modify behaviours that can deleteriously impact the development of her offspring.

Why is obesity increasing?

The obesity epidemic originated in the United States and spread quickly to other developed countries and is now spreading across developing countries.¹

THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC HAS TAKEN OVER THE WORLD!

There is increasing evidence illustrating the potential long term health consequences of a child born to an obese mother.² Furthermore there is also clear evidence of SERIOUS post natal health implications due to OVERNUTRITION the fetus experiences in utero.³

THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC IS CHANGING THE HEALTH PROFILE OF A VAST COHORT OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE, AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HAVE HEALTH REMIFICATIONS FOR GENERTIONS OF CHILDREN TO COME!

What is contributing to this obesity epidemic? What barriers increase the likelihood for an individual to head down the obese path?

There is an inverse relationship between obesity and socioeconomic status, in that the lower a person is on the socioeconomic scale the greater the risk for suffering from obesity.⁴

Socioeconomic status (SES) looks at factors like occupation, finance and educational components. The value of such components vary across different regions and countries however, ultimately it provides a baseline to study a variety of, in our case, health consequences that may be associated with SES.^1,4

There is a clear correlation between people of lower SES and the risk of being obese. This statement doesn’t really do justice to the vast multitude of factors that influence our attitudes, behaviours and ultimately, choices in life.  Looking closer, low level education, poor access to health care and associated health services and poor financial status are a few of the greatest indicators contributing to obesity epidemic in developed countries. ^1,4,5

It was thought that a high density of supermarkets and fast food outlets were a significant reason for this epidemic. The reality of the problem is much more complicated. Research has already indicated that it is not just the density or amount of food available but rather the COST of the food. Typically the cheapest foods happen to be significantly greater in fats and sugars then then healthier, more pricy cousins.¹

REMEMBER THAT OBESITY IS NOT LOCALISED TO THOSE OF LOWER SES!

Western life is characterized by HIGH ENERGY FOODS and A TYPICALLY SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE – THESE TWO TRAITS ARE FIGHTING ON THE SIDE OF OBESITY!⁴

What chance does an obese women have in a societal environment that promotes behaviour and choices that are PRO OBESE!

THERE IS HELP OUT THERE AND IN AN UPCOMING BLOG WE WILL DISCUSS WHAT IS BEING DONE AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE STARTED!

Don’t forget about the dangerous consequences of smoking and alcohol intake on the growing fetus! 

The rates for these two modifiable perinatal behaviours has declined HOWEVER, there are subpopulations in developed countries that CONTINUE to display worryingly greater rates than the general population.^6-8 Aboriginal people in Australia are one such group which has been discussed in detail in related posts. Those in low SES category are another population that displays an increased prevalence of smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, and as with obesity are related to the predominant factors contributing to low SES in developed countries.^7,8

A mother wants to give her children the best start in life and we know that a great start in life is a greater chance for a healthy life.

References

1.  Drewnowski A, Moudon AV, Jiao J, Aggarwal A, Charreire H, Chaix B. Food environment and socioeconomic status influence obesity rates in Seattle and in Paris. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014 Feb;38(2):306-14.

2.  Martinez JA, Cordero P, Campion J, Milagro FI. Interplay of early-life nutritional programming on obesity, inflammation and epigenetic outcomes. Proc Nutr Soc. 2012 May;71(2):276-83.

3.  Muhlhausler BS, Ong ZY. The fetal origins of obesity: early origins of altered food intake. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2011 Sep 1;11(3):189-97.

4.  Ford ES, Mokdad AH. Epidemiology of obesity in the Western Hemisphere. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Nov;93(11 Suppl 1):S1-8.

5.  Ogden CL, Lamb MM, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. Obesity and socioeconomic status in adults: United States, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief. 2010 Dec (50):1-8.

6.  Faden VB, Graubard BI. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy and infant birth weight. Ann Epidemiol. 1994 Jul;4(4):279-84.

7.  Rocha RS, Bezerra SC, Lima JW, Costa Fda S. [Consumption of medications, alcohol and smoking in pregnancy and assessment of teratogenic risks]. Rev Gaucha Enferm. 2013 Jun;34(2):37-45.

8.  Beijers C, Burger H, Verbeek T, Bockting CL, Ormel J. Continued smoking and continued alcohol consumption during early pregnancy distinctively associated with personality. Addict Behav. 2014 Feb 6.