The inaugural Childx conference was held here last month, and video interviews featuring keynote speakers, panelists and moderators are now on the Stanford YouTube channel. To continue the discussion of driving innovation in maternal and child health, we’ll be featuring a selection of the videos this month on Scope.
The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States has not changed significantly since 2004 and remains at about 17 percent. However, the rate of obesity among preschool children, ages 2 to 5, has dropped from nearly 14 percent to 8.4 percent, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Matthew Gillman, MD, a professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School, is among the group of researchers working to understand why rates of obesity among younger children have decreased.
In the above video interview from the Childx conference, Gillman discusses two possible reasons why fewer children under the age of five are obese and how this statistic points to potential prenatal underpinnings that influence a child's risk of obesity. He goes on to explain how researchers previously believed that our health habits in adulthood gave rise to chronic disease, but that studies have shown the risk for these conditions may be determined early in life, even before birth. Watch his full interview to learn more about how fetal development influences our overall health.
Previously: “It’s not just science fiction anymore”: Childx speakers talk stem cell and gene therapy, Global health and precision medicine: Highlights from day two of Stanford’s Childx conference, Innovating for kids’ health: More from first day of Stanford’s Childx and “What we’re really talking about is changing the arc of children’s lives:” Stanford’s Childx kicks off
