HEALTH: Summer makes Kids Fat, Study says

What did your kids do for summer vacation? Probably pack on the pounds.

Young kids become more overweight or obese during the school break, and not the academic year, according to a new report published in the journal Obesity.

Lead researcher Paul von Hippel at The University of Texas at Austin studied the body mass index (BMI) and obesity rates in a nationally representative sample of more than 18,000 students who started kindergarten in 2010 through the end of their second grade year in 2013.

And all increases in overweight and obesity rates occurred during the two summer vacations, not the classroom periods. Obesity prevalence increased from 8.9% to 11.5%, and overweight prevalence jumped from 23.3% to 28.7% while the kids were on break. In fact, obesity prevalence declined slightly during the school year.

 

The new findings support von Hippel’s 2007 study that also found children gained weight faster during summer vacation than during the kindergarten and first grade terms.

It’s not that school systems have gotten healthier, he argues, in spite of pressure to serve more healthful school lunches, and increase recess and physical education. Rather, his  research suggests kids are at greater risk of becoming obese when they are out of school than when they are in school.

“Schools have never been a big part of the obesity problem. What we’re seeing in elementary schools today is the same thing that we saw in 1998-2000; kids are gaining BMI at healthy rates during the school year, and then becoming overweight when school lets out,” von Hippel said in the report. “We can’t make a dent in this problem if we continue to focus on school food and physical education programs that affect children only when they’re at school.”

The report cites previous studies that show kids watch more television during the summer. They also sleep less, which has been linked to weight gain. And children in hotter climates are less physically active in sweltering summer months.

 

Von Hippel’s report calls for school-based programs that work with families to shape better out-of-school behaviors, such as reducing screen time, which not only exposes kids to ads that push unhealthy foods, but also replaces more active play with sedentary time. Schools can also help parents practice better nutrition with their children at home.

He also recommends keeping kids active through summer school programs and summer camps. A 2015 study found that underprivileged teens who didn’t attend summer school gained significantly more weight and body fat than students who did go, probably because of a structured environment’s restricted food access and scheduled time for exercise found in summer programs.