Childhood Obesity and What You Can Do About It

CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

A child is considered obese if their body mass index (BMI) is higher than 95% of their peers. The BMI is an informative tool that can help you determine your child’s "weight status," It is calculated using their weight and height. You can then use this value to determine where your child’s BMI falls compared to other children of the same gender and age – BMI percentile.

Childhood obesity is a serious health issue that affects children and adolescents. It is especially problematic because being overweight often starts children on the path of health issues that used to be found only in adults. It can also result in mental health issues.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR CHILD IS OBESE

Some children naturally have larger than average body frames. Hence, not every child with extra weight is overweight or obese. Furthermore, children do not have the same amounts of body fat at every stage of their development. All these make it challenging to know when your child's weight is a cause for concern.

But the BMI is a great indicator that can help you know whether or not you should worry about your child’s weight.

CAUSES OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Many factors affect your child’s weight, including genetics, lifestyle, and psychological factors. For instance, a child with obese parents is more likely to be obese too.

Typically, these factors work in combination to increase your child’s risk of obesity. However, the primary cause of childhood obesity is a combination of excessive eating and insufficient physical activity.

Unhealthy Diet

An unhealthy diet where your child regularly consumes foods with high amounts of calories, fat, sugar, and minimal nutrients can make them gain weight quickly. According to various surveys, the typical culprits include fast foods, baked products, soft drinks, and candy. Some health reports also show that 52% of adolescent boys and 32% of adolescent girls drink at least 24 ounces of soda daily.

Convenience foods like canned pasta and frozen meals can also contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Parents’ inability to afford or make healthy meals also plays a role in childhood obesity.

Insufficient Physical Activity

Poor physical activity level is another major cause of childhood obesity because children who are not physically active do not burn many calories. The excess calories are then stored as fat, which can result in weight gain.

Spending too much time on sedentary activities, like video games and watching television, reduces your children's physical activity levels. It also exposes them to ads for unhealthy food products that are often rich in fat and sugar.

Genetics

If you have many overweight people in your family, your child is more likely to gain weight easily. The weight gain is even easier if your child has easy access to high-calorie foods and is not encouraged to be physically active.

Socioeconomic Factors

Certain communities have limited access to essential resources and supermarkets. This may cause them to buy convenience foods that don't spoil quickly, like frozen meals and cookies. Unfortunately, these foods contain high amounts of fat and sugar, which increases the risk of obesity.

Furthermore, people living in low-income communities may not have a safe place to exercise, which reduces their physical activity levels.

Certain medications

Some medications can increase your child's risk of becoming obese. Such drugs include gabapentin, prednisolone, lithium, paroxetine, and amitriptyline.

Psychological Issues

Children that experience personal or parental stress, depression, or boredom are at a higher risk of obesity. Mainly because some children tend to eat more to cope with these negative emotions. The risk is even higher if the parents exhibit similar patterns, that is, eating to cope with negative emotions.

HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Obesity poses a serious threat to your child’s well-being. It puts them at a higher risk of developing health issues than their peers with healthy weights.  It can affect their physical, social, and emotional well-being. The resulting health issues can even continue into adulthood.

Physical Health Issues

Some of the serious associated health risks of childhood obesity include:

Type 2 Diabetes

This disease impairs your child’s ability to properly metabolize glucose, which causes their blood sugar levels to rise. If left untreated, diabetes can result in devastating complications like kidney dysfunction, nerve damage, and blindness.

Fortunately, you may be able to reverse diabetes in obese children through healthy lifestyle changes.

Cardiovascular Disease

An unhealthy diet consisting of foods rich in fat and salt can increase your child's blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This can cause plaque to build up in their arteries, which increases your child's risk of cardiovascular disease and its complications, including stroke and heart attack.

Asthma

This is a chronic inflammation of the airways, and it is more common in overweight children. In fact, obesity often coexists with asthma, even in adults.

A recent study showed that about 38% of asthmatic adult Americans are obese. The study also found obesity to be a possible risk factor for asthma in obese people. However, the exact link between obesity and asthma is still unclear.

Sleep Disorders

Obese children may experience sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing stops and starts during sleep. It can also cause excessive snoring. These disorders happen because the excess weight in their neck can block their airways.

Joint issues

Carrying excessive weight puts extra stress on your child’s joints and may cause them to experience knee, back, and hip pain. It can even result in stiffness, limited range of motion, and joint injuries.

On the bright side, losing excess weight can help them overcome these joint issues.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Childhood obesity can cause fat to accumulate in your child’s liver and cause NAFLD. This condition does not always cause symptoms, but it can result in liver scarring. If left untreated, NAFLD can result in liver failure.

Social and Emotional Health Issues

Beyond affecting physical health, childhood obesity can also cause children to have low self-esteem, depression, or anxiety. This is because overweight children are often teased and bullied by their peers.

WHEN TO SEE YOUR PEDIATRICIAN

You should see your child's doctor if you're worried that your child is gaining too much weight. The doctor will do a thorough status and history check, including:

• Growth and development history
• Family’s weight-height history
• Body Mass Index
• Check where your child falls on the growth or BMI percentile chart
• Other tests, if necessary

They will then determine if your child’s weight poses any health threat.

In addition, you should ensure that your child visits their doctor for wellness checks at least annually. This helps keep track of your child’s health and weight. A significant increase in your child’s BMI over a year may indicate a risk of becoming overweight.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT CHILDHOOD OBESITY

The best solution to childhood obesity is to address the major causes of poor diet and physical activities. Treating childhood obesity helps protect your child’s current and future health.

Healthy Diet

It is very essential that you change your child’s eating habits. Some helpful tips to help improve your eating habits include:

• Limit soft drinks and sweets in your home. Note that even drinks made from 100% juice can still contain lots of calories. Instead, drink water or low-fat milk with your meals.
• Cook your meals and reduce fast-food consumption. Cooking your meals and eating together will help you eat healthier and improve your family's time together.
• Plan your meals and snacks with fresh food items, like fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products, rather than processed foods or salty snacks.
• Keep healthy snacks handy. Examples include fruits with low-fat yogurt, whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk, baby carrots, air-popped popcorn without butter.
• Reward good behavior with non-food items.

Increase Physical Activity

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, children should get at least an hour of exercise daily to stay healthy. A higher level of physical activity can help your child lose weight safely and prevent excessive weight gain in the future.

Physical activity doesn’t have to come from organized workouts, as this can be unappealing to children. But playing hopscotch may be more appealing to an 8-year old than jogging around the block. You can even encourage your child to participate in a sport they’ve expressed interest in.

Furthermore, you can also spend more time doing activities that your entire family can enjoy together. This not only helps you bond, but it also helps your child learn good habits. Swimming, hiking, or even playing tag can help your child to stay active and healthier.

Remember to vary these activities, so your child doesn't get bored.

Reduce Screen Time

Children who spend hours daily on smartphones, video games, or watching television have higher tendencies to be overweight. Various studies attribute this tendency to two reasons. One, your child spends less time on physical activities. More time in front of the TV also makes more time for snacking and exposure to sugar- and fat-rich food ads.

Adequate Sleep

Studies indicate that insufficient sleep may increase your child’s risk of becoming obese. This is because sleep deprivation causes some hormonal imbalance that increases appetite. You should, therefore, ensure that your child gets adequate sleep.

Set a Good Example

Children often practice what they see happening around them. So, you should make a healthy diet and regular physical activity a family thing. This way, your child will not feel singled out, and the entire family will be healthier.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Childhood obesity is a serious health issue. But with proper support, education, and lifestyle changes, obese children can lose excess weight. The support should come from adults in their lives; parents, teachers, and other caregivers.

You can help your children live healthier by preparing healthy meals, encouraging them to stay active, and teaching them better ways of coping with problems.