What Is Childhood Obesity?

 Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start children on the path to health problems that were once considered adult problems — diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Many obese children become obese adults, especially if one or both parents are obese. Childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem and depression.

One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the eating and exercise habits of your entire family. Treating and preventing childhood obesity helps protect your child's health now and in the future.

What Is Childhood Obesity?

Children who have a body mass index (BMI) at the same level or higher than 95 percent of their peers are considered to be obese. BMI is a tool used to determine your “weight status.” BMI is calculated using your height and weight. Your BMI percentile (where your BMI value falls in relation to other people) is then determined using your gender and age.

Childhood obesity is a serious health threat to children. Kids in the obese category have surpassed simply being overweight and are at risk for a number of chronic health conditions. Poor health stemming from childhood obesity can continue into adulthood.

Childhood obesity doesn’t just affect physical health. Children and teens who are overweight or obese can become depressed and have poor self-image and self-esteem

Symptoms

Not all children carrying extra pounds are overweight or obese. Some children have larger than average body frames. And children normally carry different amounts of body fat at the various stages of development. So you might not know by how your child looks if weight is a health concern.

The body mass index (BMI), which provides a guideline of weight in relation to height, is the accepted measure of overweight and obesity. Your child's doctor can use growth charts, the BMI and, if necessary, other tests to help you figure out if your child's weight could pose health problems.

When to see a doctor

If you're worried that your child is putting on too much weight, talk to his or her doctor. The doctor will consider your child's history of growth and development, your family's weight-for-height history, and where your child lands on the growth charts. This can help determine if your child's weight is in an unhealthy range.

Causes

Lifestyle issues — too little activity and too many calories from food and drinks — are the main contributors to childhood obesity. But genetic and hormonal factors might play a role as well. For example, recent research has found that changes in digestive hormones can affect the signals that let you know you're full.

Risk factors

Many factors — usually working in combination — increase your child's risk of becoming overweight:

• Diet. Regularly eating high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, can cause your child to gain weight. Candy and desserts also can cause weight gain, and more and more evidence points to sugary drinks, including fruit juices, as culprits in obesity in some people.
• Lack of exercise. Children who don't exercise much are more likely to gain weight because they don't burn as many calories. Too much time spent in sedentary activities, such as watching television or playing video games, also contributes to the problem.
• Family factors. If your child comes from a family of overweight people, he or she may be more likely to put on weight. This is especially true in an environment where high-calorie foods are always available and physical activity isn't encouraged.
• Psychological factors. Personal, parental and family stress can increase a child's risk of obesity. Some children overeat to cope with problems or to deal with emotions, such as stress, or to fight boredom. Their parents might have similar tendencies.
• Socioeconomic factors. People in some communities have limited resources and limited access to supermarkets. As a result, they might buy convenience foods that don't spoil quickly, such as frozen meals, crackers and cookies. Also, people who live in lower income neighborhoods might not have access to a safe place to exercise.

Complications

Childhood obesity can have complications for your child's physical, social and emotional well-being.

Physical complications

• Type 2 diabetes. This chronic condition affects the way your child's body uses sugar (glucose). Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome. This cluster of conditions can put your child at risk of heart disease, diabetes or other health problems. Conditions include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDL ("good") cholesterol and excess abdominal fat.
• High cholesterol and high blood pressure. A poor diet can cause your child to develop one or both of these conditions. These factors can contribute to the buildup of plaques in the arteries, which can cause arteries to narrow and harden, possibly leading to a heart attack or stroke later in life.
• Asthma. Children who are overweight or obese might be more likely to have asthma.
• Sleep disorders. Obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which a child's breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This disorder, which usually causes no symptoms, causes fatty deposits to build up in the liver. NAFLD can lead to scarring and liver damage.
• Bone fractures. Obese children are more likely to break bones than are children of normal weight.

Social and emotional complications

• Low self-esteem and being bullied. Children often tease or bully their overweight peers, who suffer a loss of self-esteem and an increased risk of depression as a result.
• Behavior and learning problems. Overweight children tend to have more anxiety and poorer social skills than normal-weight children do. These problems might lead children who are overweight either to act out and disrupt their classrooms or to withdraw socially.
• Depression. Low self-esteem can create overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, which can lead to depression in some children who are overweight.

Prevention

Whether your child is at risk of becoming overweight or is currently at a healthy weight, you can take measures to get or keep things on the right track.

• Limit your child's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages or avoid them
• Provide plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Eat meals as a family as often as possible
• Limit eating out, especially at fast-food restaurants, and when you do eat out, teach your child how to make healthier choices
• Adjust portion sizes appropriately for age
• Limit TV and other "screen time" to less than 2 hours a day for children older than 2, and don't allow television for children younger than 2
• Be sure your child gets enough sleep

Also, be sure your child sees the doctor for well-child checkups at least once a year. During this visit, the doctor measures your child's height and weight and calculates his or her BMI. An increase in your child's BMI or in his or her percentile rank over one year is a possible sign that your child is at risk of becoming overweight.

• Respect your child's appetite; children do not have to finish everything on their plate, or finish the entire bottle.
• Wait at least 15 minutes before offering a second serving.
• Avoid buying snacks with lots of sodium and foods and drinks with extra sugar.
• Provide your child with a healthy diet, 30% or fewer calories from fat.
• Provide enough fiber.
• Limit the amount of high-calorie foods kept in the home.
• Make fresh fruits and vegetables available.
• Enjoy physical activities as a family (walking, playing outdoor games, etc.).
• Limit TV and non-school-related media viewing. Do not watch TV during meals or snacks.
• Do not reward completion of meals with sweet desserts.
• Replace whole milk with skim milk at about 2 years of age, or at 1 year of age if you are concerned about obesity.
• Encourage your child to participate in active play.