What is Childhood Obesity?
Childhood Obesity is a condition wherein the body has excess and abnormal fat accumulation. It means that there is too much fat in the body. These are unwanted fats and are not healthy. Presently, it poses a serious health concern as this condition may likely predisposes children to develop heart and vascular diseases, as well as diabetes as they grow in age.The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool to help compare the normal weight for the height and age of a child. A child witha calculated BMI above the normal is considered overweight or obese. There are also instances wherein the child’s BMI is normal, but the percentage of body fat is high, thus can still be considered obese.
Throughout the world, the incidence of childhood obesity for children under five years old in the year 2010 is estimated to be more than 40 million. The U.S., have 37% of its children obese, ranked first, and with the rest of the countries having an increasing rate of childhood obesity.
Causes of Childhood Obesity
The imbalance of calorie intake and calorie used is the primary cause for childhood obesity. A number of factors which can contribute to this condition include:
High intake of calorie rich-foods.Foods having high content in fat and sugar,but contain generally less vitamins and minerals, increases the likelihood of having more fats in the body. A study made by researchers of University of Carolina in Chapel Hill have found out that heavy snacking of desserts and colas or sweetened drinks is the number one cause of childhood obesity in the U.S. Over-eating on fast foods can also contribute to obesity.
Sedentary Lifestyle.With less physical activities to help burn fats and control insulin, more fats are stored in the body.With the media entertainment, television, internet, video games, cellphones children nowadays spent more of their leisure time indoors. Their time spent outdoors playing physical games and sports are minimized.
A rare genetic abnormality coined as Prader-Willi Syndrome has been found to cause some cases of childhood obesity. This is a condition wherein the body has a very low metabolism rate and the feeling of being always hungry. As the child with this condition is growing up, there will be an overly increase in food appetite and eating excessively and may go on binge eating even after eating a meal, more and more calories are taken in and a less amount of calorie used.
Effects of Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity has impact on psychological and physical aspects of a child.Children themselves rated their quality of life low, and perceived that discrimination from society and poor self-esteem resulted from obesity. Apart from that, obesity also gives rise to the following health problems:
Sleep apnea.The children experienced a disturbance in their sleep due to disorder in breathing pattern. Their sleep is disrupted and they tend to become sleepy during the day. This can result to low performance in daily activities.
Increase in blood cholesterol. A high LDL level form plaque in blood vessels, making the blood difficult to pass through. When plaques are carried in the bloodstream, it may clog small arteries in the heart that may cause coronary infarction or heart attack; and when plaque clogs the small arteries in the brain, this may lead to cerebrovascular accident (CVA).
High blood pressure. Obese children who were found out to have elevated blood pressure had developed hypertension as they grew into adulthood.
Increase in blood sugar. There is an increasing rate of children diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus type 2 among children who are obese.
Solutions to Childhood Obesity
Calorie used should balance the calories being taken in and that should be the main idea to solve childhood obesity.
Parents, as the primary caregivers, should first send their children to a pediatrician to have a thorough medical check-up to uncover physical disorders. For children found out to have Prader-Willi Syndrome, interventions with hormones are needed and behavioral therapy as well.
Creating and sticking to the plan of lowering calorie food intake and increasing the level of activity. Minimize the time spent in watching television, in video games and other sedentary activities. Instead, choose an activity that requires physical exertion like biking. It can also create and serves as time for the family to bond and spent time with each other.
Encourage the children to eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and minimize those foods high in fats and sugar. Lessen consumption of fast foods, and make available in the home the nutritious foods.
Provide emotional support. Children need to feel loved, accepted, and encouraged by their parents. Let them express how they feel and continue to show caring attitude towards them.These obese children will strive harder when their parents are giving them the support they need to achieve healthier lifestyle.
How to Prevent Childhood Obesity?
Here are some tips for parents to do to help keep their children healthy and their body weight in control:
Set by example. Having parents who are enjoying healthy and active lifestyle, children are more opt to follow.Set a time for family bonding outside the home and have activities that require physical exertion.
Visit pediatrician for a wellness-checkup once a year. Know the children’s BMI for assessment of weight status and evaluation of health status.
Encourage outdoor-plays and sports. Children who engage in physical playing and sports increase their physical activity and minimize sedentary habit. Physical activities help burn out fats, good for circulation and promote well-being.
Setting of Limit. Limiting time in watching television,surfing the internet, and playing video games can provide a way for children to try and engage in playing with other children and learn to be active in physical games.
