In a country like ours where people follow absurd eating habits to make their child “healthy”, it is rather hard to grasp when that tendency snowballs into the problem of child obesity. Of course, a chubby child is admirable but the same chubbiness can be a cause of concern if it moves to the teenage and older stages of life. Obesity among children has already risen to alarming levels and it has even reached epidemic levels in both developed and developing countries.

One has to debunk the myth that obesity is a cosmetic problem alone. The repercussions of unhealthy weight trickle down to adult age. Fat children end up being obese adults which leads to a host of medical conditions that pose serious risks.

Moreover, they have a negative impact on one’s mental health as well. The sheer trauma of being body shamed could be too much to bear for many out there.  Such is the severity of childhood obesity that children are being recommended the same medication as their parents to control their levels of blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol.

It must be noted that childhood obesity is a result of multiple factors that contribute to the abrupt weight gain among young children. In this direction, the research has shown that there is a direct relationship between birth weight and BMI. A major reason for an increased BMI is the malfunction of the glands and the resultant changes in metabolism also result in an increased BMI.

The persistent factors that contribute to obesity

Obesity has multiple contributing factors even though the exact mechanism of development is not entirely understood.

In recent times, the primary reason for obesity has been largely attributed to environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and cultural context. Obesity sprouts with the intake of excess calories in the form of sugar-based food and beverages, increased portion sizes, and so on. This only leads to a steady decline in physical activity.

The doctors at the Center for diagnostic imaging even believe that the problem of obesity can eventually give rise to health issues that are not just based on BMI imbalance. Chronic problems like asthma, joint pain, type-2 diabetes, chronic heart disease, high cholesterol, and so on.

It is therefore important to know about the major health problems associated with obesity among children.

• Diabetes:

Diabetes and more specifically type-2 diabetes transpires when the body is incapable of metabolizing glucose properly. Diabetes is so severe of a medical condition that it can impact and even damage the nerves, kidneys. Obese children are more likely to be prone to diabetes. Only a change in diet and lifestyle may reverse this condition.

• Heart Disease: 

Being overweight spikes the level of cholesterol and high blood pressure and adds to the dangerous possibility of heart disease in the future for obese children. As such, foods containing high fat and salt shall elevate cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

• Asthma: 

It is a respiratory disorder that causes chronic inflammation of the airways in the lungs. Obesity has been linked with asthma since has been linked to asthma as a comorbidity.

• Joint Pain: 

It is obvious that the excess weight of the body would be too much for the bone joints to bear. This amounts to pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion.

• Conclusion

Not all children appear to be grossly overweight. Some children put on weight at certain sections of the body which causes an imbalance in the BMI level. Another thing to note is that the children typically have varying levels of body fat depending on their developmental stage. Hence it is important to consult the doctors to determine the BMI of the children, a metric that defines the height-weight ratio in various age groups.