Childhood Obesity – Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

As a mom, I am always worried about my children and their health.  I try to make sure that I introduce my kids to a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and wholesome nutritious food.  I also encourage them to be physically active to avoid childhood obesity.  Jessie, from DomeHealth, loves to educate other’s on health related topics.  Check out what he has to say about childhood obesity and how to help your child before it becomes a problem.

Childhood obesity is one of the most common pediatric problems and is of great concern, because childhood obesity has now reached a very alarming rates. In the last two decades, the number of children with problems of overweight or obesity in fact almost doubled.

Thus, a recent U.S. study found that about 17% to 25% of the children in the United States are obese and are affected  by overweight and obesity related health problems.

Pizza and soft drinks are often on their menu, while Nintendo, Internet, and zapper games were nonexistent to the children of the past for which the desire to play outside was something common and normal.

Obese children are more then likely to keep living with this situation in adulthood. Obesity is also becoming a risk factor for many major chronic diseases, such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and some of the types of cancer (cancer of the uterus, colon cancer and breast cancer in particular). 

Causes of Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has a multifactorial genesis , in fact, it is the result of various causes, that are more or less obvious and interact between each other. First, childhood obesity is due to a poor diet , either in regards of a quality and/or quantity. This poor diet is linked to a lack of physical activity and various types of genetic factors. Cases of obesity-related hormonal alterations are rare ( hypothyroidism or adrenal gland problems ).

Research shows that television is closely associated with obesity in children of all ages (preschool, school and adolescents.) Obesity is even more prevalent among children who have a television in their bedroom.

Obesity is associated with many different health complications: 

•  psychological problems (low self-esteem, depression)
•  respiratory problems (especially during sleep)
•  Skeletal and joint problems (eg osteoarthritis.)
•  Diabetes
• hypercholesterolemia
• diseases of the liver and gallbladder
• hypertension
• strokes (especially in adults)
• cardiovascular disease (especially in adults)
• some forms of cancer (especially in adults)
• a disease of the gallbladder or liver disease
• gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• high blood pressure

Obesity occurs when you spend fewer calories than you consume. In the past, many people thought that obesity was simply due to a lack of willpower and self-control that generated excessive diet and insufficient physical activity. Although these are important contributing factors, doctors recognize that obesity is a complex medical problem, which is caused by multiple different social and behavioral, genetic and environmental factors. All these factors play an important role and are affecting the weight of a person.

Continue Reading: Ways to Reduce the Risk of Childhood Obesity