OBESITY IN CHILDREN

Is obesity a disease?

Obesity in Children

Introduction

Obesity is a medical state characterized by excess adipose, or fat tissue enough to cause various adverse health effects. With advancement have come increased access to food supplies and decreased requirement for physical activity in daily life. The consequential disproportion in caloric intake and outflow has caused a vivid boost in the level of obesity, in both developing and developed countries. This new worldwide epidemic fetches with it an increased risk of various serious adverse health consequences, including type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart disease (Goldfield, G. S., & Epstein, L. H. 2002).

Obesity is generally defined in terms of the body mass index (BMI), calculated by dividing an individual's body weight in kilograms by the square of his or her height in meters. Obesity is generally defined by a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater. The American Gastroenterological Association uses the following BMI values to categorize a person's adiposity: overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m2), class I obesity (BMI 30.0-34.9 kg/m2), class II obesity (BMI 35.0-39.9 kg/m2), and extreme or class III obesity (BMI >40 kg/m2). A normal BMI falls in the range of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2while a BMI less than 18.5 kg/m2 is considered to be underweight. Absolute BMI cutoffs are not used in children aged 2 to 19. Rather, a child is considered to be overweight if his or her BMI is greater than the 95th percentile of BMI for age and gender. Similarly, he or she is considered to be obese if over the 99th percentile (Golan, M. and Weizman, 2001).

Discussion

Main victims of obesity

As per the recent research, it is observed that the major victims of obesity are the children. This childhood obesity leads to adulthood obesity which has serious effects. Therefore causes of childhood obesity must be identified and cured.

Obesity in children

Childhood obesity is a severe trouble in the world because of its connection with harmful social and physical outcomes and its increasing prevalence in current years. Although various planned methods for determining childhood obesity exist, the most extensively used is to define childhood obesity as equal to or above the 95th percentile on the body mass index (BMI) (Dietz, W. H. 2002).

Causes

There are various casus of obesity in children. Unhealthy food habits, youth physical activity and heredity are some of the causes of obesity.

Childhood obesity has numerous possible causes, which can be best understood by taking into consideration the collective effect of societal, genetic, and behavioral aspects. The risk for childhood obesity may be augmented by two significant trends in society. The first issue deals with consumption. Junk foods are frequently consumed in place of usual food. Not astonishingly consuming junk food directs to a sense of starvation both mentally and physically, as the feeling of contentment and satiation that comes after a nutritious food is missing. Intake of meal at frequent intervals other than regular times also causes the digestive system to get affected.

The next societal trend is that the standard of living of the children is more ...