#Childhood Obesity, Causes & Solution

**What is obesity?**

Obesity is the state of health in which our body accumulates excessive fat which causes a harmful impact on the health. It's the result of the intake of more calories than the requirement. When the consumption of  calories is greater than the burning of the same people starts obsessing. Increasing obesity leads to the growing weight.

Once it was believed that obesity is the issue of high income nations. With the passage of time this notion disappeared into the smoke. Now OBESITY is one of the major problems of the developing and the develoed countries. In lower  and middle income countries it’s limited within a society or class or area,  but in high income countries it has no boundary. 

**Causes of Obesity**

As individuals we've a bent to rationalize our inclination to be overweight or obese. We often blame such things as heredity, or glandular imbalance, and while this stuff often do make a difference, the first cause for many obesity is sort of simple. A person gets  overweight when he or she consumes more calories than they burn.

To be honest, there are two important causes resulting overweight are diet and activity level. And it is clear that in countries with a high obesity level, both factors are astonishingly strong. Western diets are going with more fat and sugar than ever before, while people are generally becoming more idle and getting less workout — sitting infront of computers throughout the day, and before the TV all night.

**Obesity in children**

Obesity in children has become a fashion in many countries. For example, it is measured that obesity in children and adults in the US has increased by more than 30% over the last 10 years alone.

The reasons are obvious. Children are subjected to the fatty lifestyle from all sides. Many families have substituted high fat, high sugar food and soft drinks for normal well-balanced meals or simply stopped preparing meals at home.

 The quantity of the proportion of foods that children consumed from retaurants and fast food counters jumped by nearly 300% between 1977 and 1996.

Children are also the prey of a constant display of advertising that promotes highly processed junk food. And in many cases the traditional physical activity that has been a neighborhood of childhood for several generations has been partly or completely replaced by indoor and sedentary activities like playing video games or watching TV.

**Child Obesity & world*

Weight gain and obesity are growing health problems in India.The International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) have found that 200 million school going children are either overweight or obese. Ogden et al reported that the share of obese children within the US (6-11 yr age group) was 7 per cent in 1980 which increased to twenty per cent by 2008.As per the data released by the National Family Health Survey India in 2014 more than 41 Million children under the age of five were overweight. And the rate of obesity doubles in every 10 years. Half of the children who were overweight lived in Asia.

 ** Obesity & Children's Health**

Today obesity is a major threat to a healthy life. Overweight and obesity kills more people then underweight.

 It acts as a factor for non communicable diseases such as –

 High B.P. and Cholesterol multiple the chance of heart attack and stroke.

 High risk of impaired glucose resistance diabetes type 2.

 Joint hazards & musculoskeletal disorder. 

 Psychological problems such as anxiety and depression.

 Lower self-esteem and lower quality of life.

 Social problems like stigma & bullying.

**Obesity & Future Risks**

Obese children are prone to early adulthood. And adult obesity is associated with several types of cancers, heart disease and diabetes type 2.

If obesity is not handled timely, the risk factors in adulthood are likely to increase by leaps and bounds. A timely cure can provide a better, happier and longer life.

**Consequences of childhood obesity**

Obesity is never a good thing. But obesity in children is especially bad. Once fat cells are created within the body they can't be gotten obviate by normal dieting or increased physical activity. So an obese child generally carries their obesity forward to adulthood.

On the opposite hand, if a toddler learns good habits for diet and exercise as children, they're going to very likely carry these habits and this data into adulthood also .

**Fighting Childhood Obesity At Home**

It is an undeniable fact that folks are generally getting fatter in many western societies. This is obvious in the selection of diet books and fitness equipments. But while most folks know it would be good to lose a touch of weight, we are only vaguely conscious of the staggering levels of “obesity” in our societies. We are even less conscious of the impact this is often having on our youngsters , and therefore the widespread existence of childhood obesity.

**What Can be Done about Childhood Obesity?**

It is up to oldsters and other adults to show responsible alternatives to the obese lifestyle.

 Parents must first become conscious of the issues with their own personal and family eating habits and activity levels, then they need to make adjustments which will have a positive lifelong impact on their children.The most important cum common strategies for preventing obesity are :-

1. Healthy eating behaviors.

2. Regular physical activity.

3. Reduced sedentary activities, such as - watching television and videotapes, and playing computer games.

4. Spreading awareness about the bad impacts of the overweight and obesity. 

 Finally, the world is madly chasing beauty. Everybody wants to be looked smart. Good health is prased and looked for. Obesity is censorious, a stumbling block on the way to good-look. We must find out the ways and means to loose some pounds. Anything excessive is harmful; excess fat is deadly. We must get rid of it to ensure a healthy, wealthy and happy life.