Overweight and Obesity in Children

These words - 'overweight' and 'obese' - don't tell the full story. This isn't just about inches and pounds or how our kids look. It's about how our kids feel, and how they feel about themselves. It's about the impact we're seeing on every aspect of their lives.” – Michelle Obama, Former First Lady of the United States.

Pediatric obesity is the largest nutritional disorder among children and teens everywhere. According to an article entitled ‘Pediatric Obesity: Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment’ written by Shumei Xu and Ying Xue, “Approximately 43 million individuals are obese, 21–24% of children and adolescents are overweight, and 16–18% of individuals have abdominal obesity” (15).

While studies have demonstrated that there is the dominance of obesity among specified ethnic groups, many other aspects can affect the outcome of a child becoming obese. Environmental factors like economic status, genetic predispositions, and food security can increase the risk of obesity in children and adolescents. The negative side effects of pediatric obesity that often trail into adulthood include but are not limited to the development of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, kidney, and liver disease, and can potentially trigger a predisposition to insulin resistance.

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Obesity in children is considered a major health concern on a global scale; according to The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the prevalence of obesity is rapidly rising in all the pediatric age groups (both males and females of various ethnic and racial groups).

Factors such as environment, genetics, poor eating habits, metabolism, and overall lifestyle play an important role in the development of pediatric obesity.

By overeating, the body digests more calories than it can burn; by lack of exercise, the body cannot properly burn the intake of calories. A combination of these two things can lead to obesity. According to authors Xu and Xue, the symptoms of obesity include “…breathing disorders, sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, certain types of cancer such as prostate, bowel, breast and uterine, coronary heart disease, diabetes (type 2 in children), depression, liver and gallbladder problems, gastroesophageal reflux disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and joint diseases such as osteoarthritis, pain in knees and lower back” (16). While some may suggest that obesity can be offset through consumption of fewer calories accompanied by an increase in physical activity or even the use of dieting programs, environmental and behavioral factors like intake of fast foods and genetic predisposition can often combat these solutions and therefore contribute further to pediatric obesity. In severe cases, bariatric surgery is performed for the treatment of childhood obesity.

Society needs to pay attention to the rapid advancement of pediatric obesity for a variety of reasons; one of those reasons being the burden it has placed on the healthcare system.