Child Obesity

Introduction

Obesity is a complex disease characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the body weight gain and its consequences. Obesity results from an imbalance between consumption and energy expenditure, but is also associated with social, behavioral, cultural, physiological, metabolic and genetic. It is accompanied by problems of excess body weight among which are: difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, drowsiness, orthopedic problems, skin disorders, excessive sweating, swollen feet and ankles, menstrual disorders in women and increased risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, asthma, cancer and gallbladder disease (Birch 540).

Childhood Obesity

Many experts worldwide, defining obesity is difficult because as mentioned previously, there are many factors that cause and vary between populations.

It is important to know that it is normal after four months of age has a large amount of fat, which decreases steadily between two and six years and increase about seven years. However, if a child is obese between six months and seven years of age, likely to remain obese in adulthood is 40%. If a child is obese between ten and thirteen years, the odds are 70%. This is because fat-storing cells are multiplying at this stage of life which increases the possibility of the child to be obese as an adult. One child (6 to 19 years) is considered obese when their weight exceeds 20% over ideal weight for their age, height and sex.

One of the best parameters for assessing overweight or obesity is the body mass index. Body mass index (BMI) is a ratio between weight and height. BMI indicates the risk of diseases related to overweight and obesity, likely to remain obese as an adult and most importantly, the emergency medical care (Dietz, 466).

Information Regarding Child Obesity

One of every 4 to 5 children is obese, while one out of every 3 is at risk of homelessness. Children who are obese at the age of 6 years have a 27% chance of being obese as adults. Children who are obese at age 12, this probability increases to 75%. One in ten children is obese to reach 10 years. An obese child is 6.12 more likely to have diabetes mellitus and 9 times more likely to be hypertensive at an early age that children are not obese. 43% of which are located between 3 and nine years later also suffer. 86% of those who reached puberty in that condition are highly likely to remain so for the rest of his life. Children with overweight are 15% of orthopedic disorders, difficulty to be erected, altered alignment of the spine and limbs because of the large abdominal fat deposits. At puberty, with 20% overweight, no pulmonary restriction, decreased diaphragmatic movement, ventilation and oxygenation are less superficial. When you exercise, the child gets tired quickly because the heart beats times per minute than normal, inadequately ventilated lungs and if the activity continues, there may be cramping, pain, liver friction with ribs (horse) and further complications

(Golan, 104).

Reasons for Child Obesity

The main reasons for which a child is obese include (Dietz, 466): ...