Childhood obesity can have serious medical consequences if left untreated

Some children will become obese with the slightest over-indulgence in food. In many children, once fat cells are formed they cannot be decreased. Consequently, obese children are more likely than children of ideal body weight to be obese as adults. People who become obese during childhood may have up to 5 times or more fat cells than individuals who maintained a normal body weight during childhood.

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Because the number of fat cells cannot be decreased, weight can be lost only by significantly decreasing the amount of fat in each cell. Obesity results from consuming more calories than the body uses. The number of calories needed varies from person to person, depending upon age, sex, physical activity, and the metabolic rate (the rate at which the body burns calories). Thus, the amount of fat in fat cells can be decreased by lowering the daily caloric intake and increasing physical activity.

Childhood obesity can lead to serious medical and psychological consequences. Because obese children tend to become obese adults, they are at risk for developing serious health problems. They may escape these health problems during childhood. However, if steps are not taken to prevent them from becoming obese adults, they are at risk for developing hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease. Obese children may suffer from severe anxiety due to social isolation, stigmatization, and discrimination by their peers. Often, obese children are teased by children whose body weight is normal.

A lack of physical activity is also a significant factor in causing obesity. Researchers have found a direct correlation between the degree of obesity and the number of hours children spend watching television. However, a lack of exercise is only partly to blame. Unhealthy eating habits in children can set the stage for adult obesity. Many children consume large amounts of junk food such as sugar rich sodas and various high calorie, high carbohydrate snacks (chips, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and crackers). Children love to snack between meals and while watching television.

High calorie, high carbohydrate snacks have very little nutritive value. A child who has a genetic predisposition for becoming obese, does not engage in regular physical activity, and over-indulges in eating high calorie, carbohydrate foods has the potential of becoming morbidly obese by early adulthood. Thus, obese children need support and guidance from their parents. The parents of obese children should always help them develop healthy eating habits and encourage them to increase their physical activity.

The parents have the responsibility of making sure that the entire family is on a healthy diet. Parents of obese children must offer them healthy food choices as well as limit the amount of high calorie, high carbohydrate snacks made available to them.

Because children are still growing, treatment of childhood obesity should be focused on the prevention of weight gain. All diet plans should provide adequate nutrition for growth and development. The diet should be rich in essential vitamins and minerals, high in protein, low in fat, carbohydrates, and calories. The diet should also contain high amounts of calcium. Calcium is essential to the development of strong bones and teeth in children.