Obesity in Children

Why is obesity in children important? The rate of obesity has increased two times in children and three times in adolescents during last 30 years. Over one-third of adolescents and children were obese or overweight in 2010. These results are basically due to the imbalance between calorie intake and expenditure. Lifestyle, genetic, dietary, and environmental factors affect overweight and obesity.


Some causes of obesity in children

Skipping breakfast
Some children skip their breakfast, specially if the mothers work. If your child skips breakfast, he or she is more prone to develop obesity. Usually, the risk of obesity or being overweight is low in children, who consume breakfast daily. Breakfast can lower the hunger and consumption of snacks in the daytime. Therefore, it helps reduce calorie intake of your child.

Lack of physical activities
An active child burns more calories compared to a child, who has a sedentary life. Extra calories are stored as fat in physically inactive children. Therefore, lower physical activity results in being overweight or obesity. Sometimes, schools may not provide adequate physical activity or free play. Additionally, most of the children, who are obese, are playing video games or watching television all the time.

Snacks
Usually, snacks contain a lot of simple sugars. If your child consumes more snacks, he or she gets more calories daily because, simple sugars are rapidly absorbed via the gastrointestinal tract. However, snacks do not help feel much satiety than solid food do. Therefore, your child tends to consume more food hence more calories a day. If your child drinks a soda daily for one year and the calories are not balanced by physical activity, he or she will gain about seven kilograms (15 lbs) of fat.

Unhealthy diet
The most obese children consume more calories a day compared to their daily energy expenditure. Usually, their diet is not a balanced and healthy one. Obese or overweight children eat or drink a lot of simple sugars instead of a balanced healthy diet, including complex carbohydrates, dietary fibres, vitamins, and proteins.


Complications of obesity in children

Obesity may lead to both long-term and immediate complications in children. These complications affect their well-being significantly.

Immediate complications

• High blood pressure or high-cholesterol levels, which are the risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

• The risk of getting impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose (prediabetes), which shows a higher risk of diabetes later.

• Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)

• Bone and joint complications

• Some psychological and social complications such as poor self-confidence and stigmatisation.

Long-term complications

• Adult obesity

• Ischaemic heart disease

• Stroke

• Peripheral vascular disease (PVD)

• Diabetes mellitus

• Osteoarthritis (OA)

• The risk of getting some cancers (colon, breast, oesophagus, endometrium, cervix, ovary, kidney, pancreas, thyroid, gall bladder, and prostate)

Prevention of obesity in children

Parents and teachers should promote healthy eating and physical activities. It will lower the risk of being overweight or obese and the complications. Family members, schools, society, health-care professionals, child-care settings, government agencies, faith-based institutions, entertainment industries, the food and beverage companies, and the media also have a significant role in the management. Schools should provide a supportive and safe environment to learn and practise physical activities and healthy eating.



Related links:

What Is Obesity?
Complications of Obesity
Obesity and Dietary Control
Tips for Diet in Obesity