Is your Child Obese???? A big Reason to worry

HI STEEMIANS
TODAY I SAW NEWS ON CHILD OBESITY.. IT IS THE BIG REASON TO WORRY. SO I SEARCH ABOUT THIS.. SO WANT TO SHARE THIS..

Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern.The term overweight rather than obese is often used in children as it is less stigmatizing.

Childhood obesity

Children with varying degrees of body fat.
BMI for age percentiles for boys 2 to 20 years of age.

BMI for age percentiles for girls 2 to 20 years of age.
Body mass index (BMI) is acceptable for determining obesity for children two years of age and older.It is determined by the ratio of weight to height.
The normal range for BMI in children vary with age and sex. While a BMI above the 85th percentile is defined as overweight, a BMI greater than or equal to the 95th percentile is defined as obesity by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has published tables for determining this in children.
The US Preventive Service Task Force reported that not all children with a high BMI need to lose weight though. High BMI can identify a possible weight problem, but does not differentiate between fat or lean tissue. Additionally, BMI may mistakenly rule out some children who do have excess adipose tissue. It is therefore beneficial to supplement the reliability of a BMI diagnosis with additional screening tools such as adipose tissue or skin fold measurements.

Effects on health
Psychological
The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. Obese children often experience teasing by their peers.Some are harassed or discriminated against by their own family. Stereotypes abound and may lead to low self-esteem and depression.
Physical
Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders. Some of the other disorders would include liver disease, early puberty or menarche, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, skin infections, and asthma and other respiratory problems.
The early physical effects of obesity in adolescence include, almost all of the child’s organs being affected, gallstones, hepatitis, sleep apnoea and increased intracranial pressure.Overweight children are also more likely to grow up to be overweight adults.[ Obesity during adolescence has been found to increase mortality rates during adulthood.
A 2008 study has found that children who are obese have carotid arteries which have prematurely aged by as much as thirty years as well as abnormal levels of cholesterol
Endocrine
Impaired glucose tolerance
Diabetes mellitus
Cardiovascular
Hypertension
Hyperlipidemia
Increased risk of coronary heart disease as an adult
Gastroentestinal
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Cholelithiasis
Respiratory
Obstructive sleep apnea
Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
Musculoskeletal
Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE)
Tibia vara (Blount disease)
Neurological
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension
Psychosocial
Distorted peer relationships
Poor self-esteem
Anxiety
Depression
Skin
Furunculosis
Intertrigo
Long-term effects
Children who are obese are likely to be obese as adults. Thus, they are more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults. According to an article in The New York Times all of these health effects are contributing to a shorter lifespan of five years for these obese children. It is the first time in two centuries that the current generation of children in America may have a shorter lifespan than their parents.
Causes
Childhood obesity can be brought on by a range of factors which often act in combination. “Obesogenic environment” is the medical term set aside for this mixture of elements.The greatest risk factor for child obesity is the obesity of both parents. This may be reflected by the family's environment and genetics.Other reasons may also be due to psychological factors and the child's body type.
A 2010 review stated that childhood obesity likely is the result of the interaction of natural selection favouring those with more parsimonious energy metabolism and today's consumerist society with easy access to energy dense cheap foods and less energy requirements in daily life.
Factors include the increase in use of technology, increase in snacks and portion size of meals, and the decrease in the physical activity of children. A study found kids that use electronic devices 3 or more hours a day had between a 17- 44% increased risk of being overweight, or a 10- 61% increased risk of obese.
Childhood obesity is common among children from, low-income, African American and Hispanic communities. This is mainly because minority children spend less time playing outside the house and staying active. Some contributors to childhood obesity is that parents would rather have their children stay inside the home because they fear that gang, drug violence, and other dangers might harm them.
Genetics
Childhood obesity is often the result of an interplay between many genetic and environmental factors. Polymorphisms in various genes controlling appetite and metabolism predispose individuals to obesity when sufficient calories are present. Over 200 genes affect weight by determining activity level, food preferences, body type, and metabolism.Having two copies of the allele called FTO increases the likelihood of both obesity and diabetes.
As such, obesity is a major feature of a number of rare genetic conditions that often present in childhood:
Prader-Willi syndrome with an incidence between 1 in 12,000 and 1 in 15,000 live births is characterized by hyperphagia and food preoccupations which leads to rapid weight gain in those affected...
In children with early-onset severe obesity (defined by an onset before ten years of age and body mass index over three standard deviations above normal), 7% harbor a single locus mutation.
One study found that 80% of the offspring of two obese parents were obese in contrast to less than 10% of the offspring of two parents who were of normal weight.The percentage of obesity that can be attributed to genetics varies from 6% to 85% depending on the population examined.
Family practices
In the recent decades, family practices have significantly changed, and several of these practices greatly contribute to childhood obesity
With a decreasing number of mothers who breast-feed, more infants become obese children as they grow up and are reared on infant formula instead.
Less children go outside and engage in active play as technologies, such as the television and video games, keep children indoors.
Rather than walking or biking to a bus-stop or directly to school, more school-age children are driven to school by their parents, reducing physical activity.
As family sizes decrease, the children's pester power, their ability to force adults to do what the want, increases. This ability enables them to have easier access to calorie-packed foods, such as candy and soda drinks.
the social context around family meal-time plays a role in rates of childhood obesity
Social policies
Different communities and nations have adopted varying social practices and policies that are either beneficial or detrimental to children's physical health. These social factors include:
the quality of school lunches
the emphasis of schools on physical activity
access to vending machines and fast-food restaurants
prevalence of and access to parks, bike paths, and sidewalks
government subsidies for corn oil and sugar
advertising of fast-food restaurants and candy
prices of healthy and unhealthy foods
Advertising
Advertising of unhealthy foods correlates with childhood obesity rates.In some nations, advertising of candy, cereal, and fast-food restaurants is illegal or limited on children's television channels.The media defends itself by blaming the parents for yielding to their children's demands for unhealthy foods.
Socioeconomic status
It is much more common for young people who come from a racial or ethnic minority, or for those who have a lower socioeconomic status, to be overweight and to engage in less healthy behaviors and sedentary activities.
Prevention
Schools play a large role in preventing childhood obesity by providing a safe and supporting environment with policies and practices that support healthy behaviors. At home, parents can help prevent their children from becoming overweight by changing the way the family eats and exercises together. The best way children learn is by example, so parents need to lead by example by living a healthy lifestyle.

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