Essay on Childhood Obesity: Causes, Effects, and Effective Solutions

This essay examines the critical issue of childhood obesity, exploring its multifaceted causes, far-reaching effects, and potential solutions. The paper begins by defining childhood obesity, emphasizing the role of Body Mass Index (BMI) and its implications for children's health. It delves into the root causes, including genetic factors, inadequate physical activity, and poor eating habits, highlighting the impact of processed foods, sugary drinks, and the decline in healthy eating patterns. The essay further analyzes the adverse effects of childhood obesity, encompassing physical health problems such as high cholesterol, hypertension, and increased risks of chronic diseases, as well as psychological impacts like depression, anxiety, and social challenges. Finally, the paper proposes solutions such as promoting physical activity, encouraging healthy eating habits, reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods, and seeking nutritional counseling to address and mitigate the childhood obesity epidemic.

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Childhood Obesity
Introduction
There was a time when children who were chubby were viewed as cute. It was assumed
that their baby fat would melt away as soon as they transitioned into adulthood. It is known that
childhood obesity is unhealthy to children not only in Egypt but also globally. Childhood obesity
has the potential to cause not only psychological problems but also health problems (Moore,
William and Debra 828). In analyzing the root causes of obesity, we can come up with measures
to reduce the disease. In this paper, I will discuss the causes of childhood obesity, the effects as
well as the solution of tackling the epidemic.
Causes of childhood obesity
According to the world health organization, obesity, as well as overweight, are described
as the excessive accumulation of body fat which presents a high risk to individual health.
Children who have body mass index (BMI) of more than or level at 95% are deemed as obese.
Obesity is a major risk factor of a host of chronic diseases like cancer and heart-related diseases.
There is the adage which states that a person is a reflection of what he or she eats. Hamburgers
and French fries have replaced vegetables as well as fresh fruits. Most children currently have
not been taught how to eat healthily (Vittrup and Danielle 88). Most of the parents spend most of

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their times bombarding children with sugary meals, fast foods and drink commercials that have
the potential of causing cavities. Some of the major causes of childhood obesity are the genetic
factor, inadequate physical activity, poor or unhealthy patterns of eating of the combination of
the mentioned factors (Nghiem and Rasheda 4817). Children whose parents are obese may suffer
from overweight. However, the main cause of obesity is too little exercise and poor eating
patterns. Some of the behaviors that enhance childhood obesity include eating foods rich in high
calorie, foods with low nutrients as wells as beverages. In the united states of America, the
Department of Health and Human Services have reported that more than 32% of the young girls
and 53% of the young boys take an ounce of soft drinks per day. Little physical activity is also a
cause of childhood obesity (Robinson 220). Exercise burn calories thereby helping children
maintain and have a healthy weight. Thus, children who do not exercise tend not to burn their
calories suffering from obesity.
Effects of childhood obesity
Children who are overweight or have obesity can have high cholesterol and hypertension
which are some of the risk factors for heart-related diseases. They can have enhanced risks of
insulin resistance, imbalance glucose tolerance as well as have type 2 diabetes. They can also
have problems while breathing like sleep apnea and asthma. They are probably to suffer from
joint problems as well as discomfort in muscular skeletal. Psychologically children can suffer
from depression and anxiety, reduced self-esteem and reduced quality of life and social
challenges like stigma and bullying from other people.

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Solutions to childhood obesity
It is important for children to play and do exercise instead of watching television or
sleeping. Parents should ensure that if their children are hungry between their meals, vegetables
or fruits should be given to them instead of chips or ice cream (Nielsen et al. 9). Parents should
reduce or even ban the consumption of high fat, snacks, high calorie and foods low in fiber.
Parents are also advised to reduce the consumption of fast food foods for their children. They
should seek the advice of nutritional counselors for guidance regarding the health of their
children.

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Work Cited
Moore, Elizabeth, William Wilkie, and Debra, Desrochers. “All in the Family? Parental Roles
in the Epidemic of Childhood Obesity.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 43, no. 5,
Feb. 2017, pp. 824–859.
Nghiem, Son, and Rasheda Khanam. “Childhood Obesity and the Income Gradient: Evidence
from Australia.” Applied Economics, vol. 48, no. 50, Oct. 2016, pp. 4813–4822.
Nielsen, Tenna Ruest Haarmark, Cilius Esmann Fonvig, Maria Dahl, Pernille Maria Mollerup,
Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen, Oluf Pedersen, Torben Hansen, and Jens-Christian Holm.
Childhood Obesity Treatment; Effects on BMI SDS, Body Composition, and Fasting
Plasma Lipid Concentrations.” PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 1–18.
Robinson, S. M. “Preventing Childhood Obesity: Early-Life Messages from
Epidemiology.” Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 42, no. 3, Sept. 2017, pp. 219–225.
Vittrup, Brigitte, and Danielle McClure. “Barriers to Childhood Obesity Prevention: Parental
Knowledge and Attitudes.” Pediatric Nursing, vol. 44, no. 2, Mar. 2018, pp. 81–94.