What causes childhood obesity?

In recent decades, obesity has reached epidemic proportions, worldwide and in all age groups. Childhood obesity is now considered the most common nutritional disorder in childhood. In 1998, the World Health Organization has declared childhood obesity a “global epidemic” where more than 22 million children under the age of 5 years old are overweight or suffering from obesity. More than two thirds of these children will become obese adults and have their life expectancy reduced by 50 to 20 years.

The physical effects of childhood obesity are manifested in physical activity, respiratory problems and difficulties in sleeping. Obese children are not only more susceptible to asthma, as to sleep apnea. According to the British Medical Association, the primary cause for the increase in obesity is related to the energy balance, where kids eat lots of food in contrast with a reduced physical activity.

Childhood obesity can jeopardize the whole development of the person and work mainly for the emergence of other diseases. Someone who is overweight and has a greater chance of developing diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure. The practice of sports and a balanced diet can minimize the problem.

Ideally, experts say, is that a child consumes a couple thousand calories a day, and half of them, is covered by carbohydrates, fat and a third by the rest of proteins. But instead of eating bread, rice and vegetables, the kids are eating candy, soft drinks and snacks.

A healthy diet is replaced by chips, roasted meats, and other things that do nothing to help health because parents do the will of the children and give them to eat these things without any control on the pretense that such things are nice to them. But the truth is that they are slowly killing the children because of lack of education that these parents don’t have when it comes to good food.

A sedentary lifestyle facilitated by technological advances (computers, television, video games, etc..), Make the children to not have to do any physically work at all. Today, unlike some years ago, the children due to urban violence at the request of their parents stay at home with activities that do not encourage them to do physical activities like running, playing ball, play tag, etc..,

In addition to being too much of fatty foods and lack of physical activity, anxiety, depression, hormonal or genetic factors may be the cause of childhood obesity.

The best way to combat childhood obesity is to prevent it, by adopting a healthy and balanced diet and regular practice of physical exercises. Very restrictive diets are not recommended for children, because there body is growing and the lack of some nutrient may affect your training. Not only the child but the whole family needs to have a food and a healthier lifestyle. Because Children need to learn from examples.