Childhood Obesity In Children

948 Words2 Pages

Since the 1980’s, obesity has more than doubled worldwide. Obesity has many adverse health effects associated with it. In adults, it is primarily associated with being a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders (e.g. osteoarthritis) as well as breast and colon cancer. However, obesity in children is a major issue that can lead not only to these long-term chronic outcomes, but effects in childhood as well. Obesity in children can cause breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, insulin resistance, and psychological effects. Worldwide, 42 million children under the age of five are affected by childhood obesity (World Health Organization, 2015). …show more content…

Additional reviewed interventions were not successful in preventing obesity; however they were successful in gaining more insight into how a child’s environment affects eating and physical activity habits. Ultimately, this review found that while obesity and overweight in children continues to be a serious public health concern, there are prevention strategies that have been implemented and have worked in some countries, but probably require some element of cultural adaptation (e.g. using local food in food programs). Thus, it is likely that every successful solution should include education along with the cooperative efforts between government, community, and family in order to be …show more content…

Biologically, the prevention and treatment of obesity is geared toward balancing energy, or calories, consumed with energy out, or expended. Unfortunately, the actual treatment and prevention has been proven more difficult. Many factors need to be addressed in order to understand what causes obesity. These include non-behavioral factors such as genetics, which may play a role in obesity susceptibility, and environment, as well as a lifestyle characterized by behavioral trends such as the lack of physical activity and improper or excessive food consumption (Gluckman et al.,

Open Document