Effects on Health

There are many known medical conditions that can be attributed to childhood obesity. One of the most prevalent ones is diabetes. More and more children are getting diagnosed with this harmful disease. According to a CBS news report, children with diabetes get all of the symptoms that an adult would have. It puts them at a much greater risk for cardiac complications, kidney problems, and can greatly harm their eyesight. Children that are considered overweight are also a greater risk for developing asthma. The Center for Health Care in Schools states that the risk of new-onset asthma is higher among children who are children who are overweight. Another illness that overweight children can incur is cardiovascular disease. The Center for Health Care in Schools stated that approximately 60% of obese children aged 5-10 years old had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor. Other conditions that can arise are sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels.

Emotional Effects

The complications arising from obesity in children is not only limited to medical reasons. There are many other sufferings that children who are obese have to deal with on an every day basis. The main thing that they must deal with is esteem issue. Society paints us a picture of a "perfect" person and children strive to be that person. Children who are overweight are more at a risk of getting ridiculed from their peers. This can make the child seem shy, lonely, depressed, or even violent. In a report put out by the Center for Health Care in Schools, it states that the likelihood of a severely obese child having an impaired health related quality of life was 5.5 times greater than a healthy child and is similar to a child diagnosed with cancer. Also studies show that overweight children are also more likely to smoke and consume alcohol. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

How do you know if your child's weight gain is normal and when it's leading to childhood obesity? Children, unlike adults, need extra nutrients and calories to fuel their growth and development. So if they consume about the number of calories they need for daily activities, growth and metabolism, they add pounds in proportion to their added inches. But children who eat more calories than they need gain weight beyond what's needed to support their growing frames. In these cases, the added weight increases their risk of obesity and weight-related health problems.

Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start kids on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. One of the best strategies to combat excess weight in your children is to improve the diet and exercise levels of your entire family. This helps protect the health of your children now and in the future.