Childhood Obesity: Causes, Effects, and Prevention

Childhood Obesity

INTRODUCTION
Childhood obesity is a medical condition which is very serious in nature as it affects
children a lot and also adolescents. This problem is very troublesome as this can harm bodies of
children in different varied ways that leads to having many health problems like high blood
pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. This problem can also lead children to lowering down
their self esteem and also it leads to depression. There are many causes to children obesity like in
taking too much calories, lifestyle issues, very little activity, etc. All these factors causes risk for
a child to be obese and later causes many complications in physical, social and emotional well
being of a children. It is therefore very important that early measures are taken to control it
otherwise this could also lead to early or premature death of children and also it can cause
disability in their adulthood.
MAIN BODY
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept of childhood obesity
According to Demir and Bektas (2017), Obesity in children is basically when the children
are having a lot of fat in their bodies and also they are very overweight. Initially at a very young
age children are preferred to eat healthy and have proper balanced diet so that they get proper
amount of nutritions and other energy resources which are helpful in their growth and
development. In situation when children are in taking more amount of energy and even if they
are eating healthy food and having balanced diet, not doing exercises and any physical activity in
their daily routine will lead them to gain extra pounds. This is a very serious issue which much
be addressed to every place that have obese child or children. The obesity can lead to very
dangerous health problems which mostly happens in adulthood or at a very old age like: heart
problems, diabetes, cancer, etc.
According to Butte (2017), In recent years, the childhood obesity has increased
tremendously as the kids and children are being exposed to variety of food items that are not
healthy and contains lots of fats. It is easy to measure obesity in adults but it gets difficult with
children as calculating Body mass index (BMI) would not give accurate results. Children are
always growing and in the process of development therefore it is not easy to come to any
conclusion by taking BMI of a child and diagnosing obesity. There are many causes which could

lead to children being obese and therefore effective measure are to be taken so that this serious
health problem can be prevented at an early age so that the children do not suffer in their
adulthood or later anytime in future.
Causes of Childhood Obesity
According to Datar (2017),Childhood obesity is a very serious problem and there are
various causes which can lead to child obesity. Any changes in the lifestyle of the children like
their routine, sleeping pattern is not good for the growth and development of children as it causes
serious health issues in the children at a very early age. These causes must be taken into
consideration by both parents and children so that the future heath problems can be avoided by
taking preventive measures. Few of the causes of childhood obesity are as follows: Poor diet or eating habits: Many children have very poor diet and eating habits which
leads to obesity. Eating healthy and nutritious food is very important for the children as it
helps them to grow and develop. But now a days children are eating junk and unhealthy
food which contains lots of fats. In taking fatty food leads to formulation of fats in the
body which results into obesity. Lifestyle changes: Now a days children are not following the lifestyle which was being
followed by children earlier. According to e Pereira, Padez and Nogueira (2019), There
is not strictness relating to the routine of children at their home. The children now a days
live their lives the way they want and sleep at whatever time they wish to. This change in
the lifestyle which is constant amounts to obesity. The kids do not follow any time table
as they eat whenever they want and sleep. They are much involved in playing games on
screen instead of playing physical games. This affects a lot on children's lifestyle which
leads to obesity. Inactivity: According to Badillo-Suárez, Rodríguez-Cruz and Nieves-Morales (2017),
Children are constantly using phones and laptops or televisions to play their games
instead of going out in fresh air and doing any physical activity or indulging themselves
in games such as: basket ball, soccer, etc. which involves physical activities. This
inactivity of them is impacting their health which is causing obesity as there is lots of
intake of fatty and junk food but they are inactive.
 Genetic: Few children instead of following proper routine often suffer obesity problem
due to their genetic conditions or issues. The genetic condition can be due to the health