Child Obesity

Obesity in a child and the health problems that it generates, is becoming a worldwide problem.

Magazines like Time and Newsweek feel the problem of childhood obesity is so important that both have placed stories on obesity in children on the cover.

The problem of obesity in children is difficult, political, and covers such subjects as the fast food industry, the adding of enzymes, steroids and other non-natural ingredients to foods such as milk, and the placement of vending machines in schools, movie theaters and malls.

Childhood obesity and health, and child obesity statistics now dominate conversations within the World Health Organization, the US Department of Health & Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control.

Child Obesity Statistics Don’t Lie

Statistics gathered by use of clinical studies and trials show that for the past 30 years, the number children that are overweight worldwide has doubled.

Consider child obesity in America.

In the United States alone, over thirty per cent of the children studied from ages six to nineteen are considered overweight. Fifteen per cent of those overweight in the study, were also listed as obese.

Many health problems surface in obese and overweight children.

High blood pressure and diabetes are just two serious health problems that often show up with obesity in a child. Conditions like these are now treated with medications which until recently had only been used in adults.

Studies of child obesity statistics show that individuals who are considered overweight as children will, most likely, face obesity as adults.

What Must Be Done?

The first thing to consider is to understand what childhood obesity is and how it relates to an unhealthy lifetime. More than just controlling diet with diet programs like Weight Watchers or the Atkins Plan, children must be taught how to “eat smart.”  Obese children must also be helped to reduce or eliminate refined foods that are high in carbohydrates from their diet. Children that are obese also need regular physical exercise. In addition, there may be psychological factors that need to be addressed properly.

Much needs to be done to bring child obesity statistics back to reasonable levels.