Studies on childhood obesity and statistics results show that an equilibrated lifestyle for the children and the entire family is the best way to achieve healthy development. Childhood obesity statistics and facts are not a joke or a fancy subject for talk shows, they’re real, and something has to be done to change them.

What Causes Childhood Obesity?

Identifying the childhood obesity causes is a crucial step in preventing more and more children from becoming obese. Children obesity is one of the greatest public health concerns since the condition affects the child’s health and well-being. It is even more critical to determine the causes of obesity since it is difficult to diagnose. Obesity diagnosis is usually established based on the BMI.

The most common causes of childhood obesity in America are calorie-rich diets, sedentary lifestyles, home environment, or sometimes genetics, and other diseases. In most cases, obesity is caused not by only one factor but by more combined factors, making it more challenging to treat.

Some blame the parents for not being able to instill a proper eating habit for their children, and some claim that the school systems do not provide enough healthy food choices in their cafeterias. Even if it is still a great subject of debate, the specialists disagree on what causes childhood obesity.

Most specialists tend to believe that rich calorie foods and drinks have a significant role in this issue. Several studies have proven that especially calorie-dense soft drinks contribute in a major way to excess weight in children. One of these studies followed 30 children attending a summer camp and concluded that children tend to choose whatever has a better taste (sugar drinks in the specific case) over what is healthier (milk).

On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle can be one of the other children’s obesity causes. In the United States, most children are tempted to sit and watch TV, play computer games, or surf the Internet to the detriment of practicing a sport or just doing some physical activity.

What is even worse is that most of these children also consume unhealthy snacks while watching TV and surfing the Internet. The parents could somehow interfere in their children’s activity, but sometimes it is almost impossible due to their busy jobs.

Preventing childhood obesity is not easy, but it is easier than treating it. It may seem that losing a few pounds is not so difficult for children, but in reality, they get used to their unhealthy dietary habits and will tend to gain and gain more pounds instead of losing them.

Any parent should be aware of their child’s eating habits and try to correct them if needed. Controlling the amount of time that a child watches TV, surfs the Internet, plays computer games, and encourages physical activity may be a first step in removing childhood obesity causes.

It is brought to our attention that childhood obesity is a worrying fact in today’s society. The statistics show that worldwide, 10% of children are obese, while in the United States, the rate of overweight and obese children has reached 32%. Also, in the United States, obesity in children has almost tripled between 1980 and 2000. However, in many states, there have been certain measures taken to remove childhood obesity causes, leading to stopping the rates climbing.

Childhood Obesity In America

The last years’ childhood obesity in America statistics are not as positive as Americans would like them to be. Obesity has become a sort of epidemic, and people should focus more on preventing it than letting it expand as it does. At the moment, nearly 20% of the children in the USA are officially obese.

That is a high number as it translates into 2 out of ten children. That could somehow explain the significant number of overweighed persons people meet in the means of transportation, at work, at school, on the street, and so on. Fighting against obesity is a matter of responsibility.

Obesity consists of a lot of fats accumulated in the body. The percentage that makes the difference between a fat person and an obese one is different for boys and girls. For boys, obesity means twenty-five percent of the bodyweight of fat, while for the girls, the percentage is thirty-two.

Unfortunately, the last three decades have shown a significant increase in the number of obese children, and, with all the campaigns, the trend is in continuous growth. The rising obesity phenomenon has become the most prominent problem pediatric doctors face at the moment in the USA. American obesity statistics show that they deal with over 25 million children suffering from it.

Probably the most blamable for this crisis are the parents of these children who tend to neglect their families’ lifestyles and eating habits and the need for exercise when children and teenagers are growing up. Studies have shown that chances for a child who has obese parents to become obese are seventy-five percent higher than otherwise. An equilibrated diet and avoiding sedentary activities are the perfect recipes to prevent childhood obesity.

The childhood obesity rates in America have grown above all expectations. It will continue this way because research shows that parents don’t encourage their children to exercise by their example. Only thirty percent of the children have physical training in elementary school, while only twenty percent have an extracurricular exercising program.

Of course, exercises alone can’t do too much in their fight against obesity; they must be sustained with a healthy diet that excludes junk food, sweets, fats, and foods rich in cholesterol, eating on the rush, and so on. Parents should be more attentive to such details when they’re with their children.

Even if American obesity statistics are not very optimistic for the future, things can still be changed as soon as people understand that being obese is a problem for self-image and self-esteem and a health-related issue.

Obesity affects the heart and the blood pressure, the joints and the lungs, as the weight puts tremendous pressure on them. Obesity can also lead to type II diabetes, liver issues, and high cholesterol levels. And the worst of all is that childhood obesity in America statistics show that the chances are high for an obese child to become an obese adult unless measures are taken.

Facts And Figures

Childhood obesity is a serious matter that countries worldwide are confronting is proven by the childhood obesity facts and statistics. This article will show you just some of the facts on childhood obesity to understand better how alarming the situation is. Some time ago, obesity was more associated with adults than with children or adolescents. But over the years, things have changed.

Moreover, obesity in children has more than tripled in the past 30 years. If in 1980 the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years was 6.5%, in 2008 it reached 19.6%. Regarding adolescents, the prevalence of obesity in teenagers aged 12 to 19 has increased from 5% to 18.1% in the same period. The childhood obesity statistics and facts can show a clear image of how bad things are.

Regardless of the physical effects of obesity, many more severe complications can be brought by obesity. By physical effects, consider “the way you look” for the moment. Most children will be somewhat worried about how they look than their health, or at least they should be. Studies have proved that children who come from families with other obese members do not seem to be too focused on their appearance. But more than this, obesity has a great impact on children’s health.

The doctors are increasingly concerned about the constantly increasing number of children or adolescents who have type 2 diabetes mainly due to being overweight. Also, obese children are much more at risk of developing certain heart conditions due to high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The heart has to overwork, and this usually results in heart-related medical conditions.

Still, the specialists are not yet sure whether obesity is a risk factor for heart diseases if the child loses weight by the time he becomes an adult. Anyhow, it was brought to our attention that more than 70% of those who are obese during childhood will remain the same in their adulthood. That is maybe one of the essential facts on childhood obesity. Thus, obesity is related to heart diseases in adults who have been obese when children is not a question. It is a serious matter since most of these children remain obese even when they grow up.

Obese children are facing another health-related severe problem, and this is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a medical condition in which the patient suffers from interruption of breath while sleeping and which in rare cases can provoke difficulties in learning and memory. Other important child obesity facts are the liver diseases that obese children are at higher risk of developing orthopedic problems or asthma.

Once again, childhood obesity facts prove that children must follow much healthier diets and have more active lifestyles to be healthier adults and live everyday lives as they should with no medical illnesses caused by obesity.

What can be done?

Childhood Obesity Programs

Along with the worrying statistics for the USA as far as obesity is concerned, many childhood obesity programs have appeared to advise parents and prevent children from becoming overweight. Unfortunately, studies show that over 25 million obese children live in the US and that obesity has become the biggest pediatric problem for doctors all over the country. That is why pediatric dietitian services are more and more popular.

Parents Responsibilities

Firstly, parents should pay more attention to what their children eat and do in their spare time. If parents conclude that it is already late and that their child tends to become obese, there are some tips to help him start losing weight. They should discuss with him, explain the problem, listen to his opinion, and emphasize with him.

Parents should also explain to him the risks of obesity and the disadvantages he will face in time. They should keep a positive attitude towards the entire weight loss process, but they should get involved and make it look like a family action. Sometimes, overweighed children have low self-esteem, and parents can greatly help improve it.

They can also send their child to a special summer camp where he can meet other children who have already lost pounds or have faced the same situation and learn a lot about his condition. Many children have said that childhood obesity programs motivate and make them realize they must solve the problem.