PSY 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Childhood Obesity, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Basal Metabolic Rate
Document Summary
Worldwide, about 1 in 3 children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition: malnutrition: being small for their age. Malnutrition common in developing countries, but also industrialized countries. Malnourishment especially damaging during infancy because growth is so rapid during these years. Malnourished children are frequently listless and inactive: behaviors that are useful because they conserve energy. A biological influence (lethargy stemming from insufficient nourishment) causes a profound change in the experience of parental teaching that shapes a child"s development. Children need more than an improved diet: parents must also be taught how to foster children"s development. Boys make up about 10% of diagnosed cases of eating disorders. Some of the known risk factors are childhood obesity, low self esteem, pressure from parents and peers to lose weight, and participating in sports that emphasize being lean. More commonly associated with boys is body dysmorphic disorder. The technical definition for being overweight is based on the body mass index (bmi)
