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THE EFFECT OF OBESITY AMONG HEALTH OF CHILDREN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Reasons for increasing childhood obesity
Effects of obesity on children
Prevention from obesity
Conclusions
References
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Table of Contents
THE EFFECT OF OBESITY AMONG HEALTH OF CHILDREN............................................ 1
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5
Reasons for increasing childhood obesity .......................................................................... 5
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Introduction
Obesity in children is a complex and challenging health issue for every country nowadays.
According to their height and age, children with more than normal-weight are overweight and
suffer from obesity. These children are prone to develop serious heart-related health issues and
can become diabetic very early. An unhealthy lifestyle such as eating food with high calorie
and fat content and a negligible amount of physical activity are the main causes of increasing
obesity around the globe. Obesity at a very young age will badly affect the academics and
physical health of the children. Obesity in the long term will lead to decreased life and different
kinds of associated diseases.
Reasons for increasing childhood obesity
Fast food with high-calorie content is cheap and easily accessible to everyone, and beverages
containing high sugar and a highly inactive lifestyle cause increasing obesity. Television,
smartphones, and video games limit physical activity among children, create sleeping issues,
and disrupt eating patterns. In the long term, these eating patterns can develop obesity.
According to health professionals, only breastfeeding in children's birth years is safe and
minimizes the risk of obesity at an early age. Children getting milk supplements or solid food
instead of mother's milk are highly prone to the risk of developing obesity. Consumption of a
high amount of protein for the initial years will lead to weight gain later in life. Many medicines
can cause obesity, including antipsychotics, glucocorticoids, progestins, antidepressants,
antihistamines, and antiepileptics(Spinelli et al., 2019). During these medications, weight gain in
children will have to be monitored continuously. The size of a portion of food is changed
drastically; frequent eating of snacks and consuming a high portion of food eventually leads to
high-calorie intake in children. The high calorie causes energy imbalance and promotes weight
gain. Obesity of children is also associated with family factors. The eating habits and food
culture highly influence the children's food. Food is also taken as a reward or social activity in
our society. These types of food use can lead to very unhealthy eating habits. Another cause of
obesity is complex genetic interactions between different variants of genes. Children having
genotype variants possess a high risk of being overweight. These variants minimize physical
activity and increase the body's fat storage (Guo et al., 2019).
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Effects of obesity on children
There are so many chronic diseases that are very common in children and teenagers suffering
from obesity. In addition, there is an increased risk of certain health conditions in children due
to being overweight are listed below.
Glucose Intolerance
Obese children have a high risk of developing glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes which
can cause kidney disorder, eye disorder and nerve problem. Measuring levels of fasting
glucose and insulin can evaluate glucose intolerance. However, by diet control and lifestyle
change, this can be reversed.
Cardiac diseases
A metabolic syndrome is a group of problems related to cardiovascular diseases. Obesity can
cause high cholesterol levels and increased blood pressure, which leads to a high risk of cardiac
diseases in children. Blood pressure rise and increased blood cholesterol levels are caused by
an extremely fatty and high salt diet. If not controlled on time, it may lead to cardiac arrest and
stroke(Sanyaolu et al., 2019).
Pain in joint
Children who are overweight will experience stiffness in joints, minimized range of motion
and pain. losing weight can reverse the problem in joints
Sleep apnea
Obese children may also experience sleep disorders like sleep apnea and excess snoring.
Cholelithiasis
Cholelithiasis or gallstones is a very serious health problem happening due to obesity. High
cholesterol food increases bile production in the gallbladder, which leads to cholelithiasis.
More than half of the cases of gallstones in children are associated with those suffering from
obesity.
PCOD (Polycystic Ovary Disease)
PCOD is very commonly related to obesity. Girls who are obese in their childhood are highly
prone to PCOD.
Fatty liver disease
Obesity and high cholesterol intake result in fat deposits on the liver, which can cause heavy
damage to the liver by causing scarring and liver cirrhosis.
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Social Impact
The problem of low self-esteem is often seen in children suffering from obesity. This condition
may also lead to depression at a very young age. In addition, children with obesity have to face
bullying that will minimize the children's social interaction.
Academics
Due to obesity and health problems related to it like asthma, diabetes and sleep apnea, children
are more likely to miss school and also this will affect their performance badly.
Prevention from obesity
Obesity can be prevented by regularly doing physical activities and adopting healthy eating
habits. Children have to move towards healthy snack options containing a negligible amount
of fat and cholesterol like air-popped chips, yogurt with low fat, and low-fat vegan milk.
Parents need to build a habit of children towards these healthy food options. Also, there is a
requirement to minimize the food reward culture to prevent obesity in children. Obesity can
also be caused by sleep imbalance(Zhu et al., 2019).
Conclusions
The growing problem of obesity in children can be reversed if everyone focuses on the causes.
Many components play a crucial role in childhood obesity. In schools, there is a need to
promote a significant amount of physical activity and eating habits. Many of the problems
associated with obesity can be overcome if families enforce a healthier lifestyle at home. If
children learn about physical exercises, healthy eating habits and making choices of food with
high nutritional value will help them in the long term in other aspects of life and will be
beneficial for the upcoming generations. Learnings at their homes eventually activate them to
make the right decisions over food and motivate them to become active. If everyone focuses
on these, then over time, we will see a healthier society with significantly less amount of
childhood obesity.
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References
Guo, Y., Yin, X., Wu, H., Chai, X. and Yang, X., 2019. Trends in overweight and obesity
among children and adolescents in China from 1991 to 2015: a meta-analysis.
International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(23), p.4656.
Sanyaolu, A., Okorie, C., Qi, X., Locke, J. and Rehman, S., 2019. Childhood and
adolescent obesity in the United States: a public health concern. Global pediatric health,
6, p.2333794X19891305.
Spinelli, A., Buoncristiano, M., Kovacs, V.A., Yngve, A., Spiroski, I., Obreja, G., Starc,
G., Pérez, N., Rito, A.I., Kunešová, M. and Sant’Angelo, V.F., 2019. Prevalence of severe
obesity among primary school children in 21 European countries. Obesity Facts, 12(2),
pp.244-258.
Zhu, Z., Tang, Y., Zhuang, J., Liu, Y., Wu, X., Cai, Y., Wang, L., Cao, Z.B. and Chen, P.,
2019. Physical activity, screen viewing time, and overweight/obesity among Chinese
children and adolescents: an update from the 2017 physical activity and fitness in
China—the youth study. BMC public health, 19(1), pp.1-8.