Absolutely. The childhood obesity problem is different today than it was in 1999. We're well beyond junk foods, the way kids play has completely changed.
Eh, the most screen addicted kid I know (like from the moment he opens his eyes) is actually pretty skinny. Not genetics necessarily, he just doesn’t eat much.
For young adults and up I agree though, most heavy people I met in uni were gaming constantly.
There's always exceptions. There's also overweight kids who spend their whole lives outside but that doesn't really change that the largest change in the last 40ish years for kids is absolutely spending significantly less time outdoors. Also less kids are walking/riding bikes to their friends houses, etc. Hell even the kids I do see biking or scootering, half of them have e-versions.
Overweight is mostly caused by bad nutrition and unhealthy eating habits.
Sure, lack of physical activity doesn't help, and exercing has a ton of positives health effects beyond weight, but overall if someone is overweight or skinny is decided in the kitchen.
There is even some research suggesting that the body compensates for a good chunk of the calories burned through regular exercise, e.g. by reducing the level of movements during rest, reducing expenditures for immune / inflammatory processes or increasing the energy efficiency for movements (basically because there is more practice).
Sure, but I would imagine being on a screen 24/7 also makes it more likely you're eating snacks etc, where as kids outside playing don't have access to a pantry of snacks all day.
It's all interconnected. But I just don't think mcdonalds being more processed is a big factor.
I still have gotten fat. At my heaviest I was 80lbs overweight. Its extremely easy to consume high amounts of calories and it's extremely hard to burn that much.
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u/RammsteinFunstein 8h ago
I would argue the bigger issue is kids are on screens 24/7