Childhood and Adolescence Overweight Obesity
| Obesity can be described as an increase in the body weight resulting from an excessive deposition of fat in the adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is considered as the energy reservoir in the body that stores fat. |
However, the size of this tissue increases whenever there is excess intake of food -- much more than the body’s energy demands.
The most widely accepted criterion for determining childhood obesity is BMI or body mass index. The BMI values have been prescribed depending on the age of the child. A child or a teenager is considered obese if his / her BMI is more than the prescribed limit. However, BMI is not always indicative of obesity, particularly in infants, children and adolescents. Other significant parameters that help in determining childhood obesity include growth charts that contain weight-for-age and weight-for-height values.
There are multiple causes of obesity. Most prominent among these include genetic abnormalities, endocrinal factors, compulsive eating disorder and stagnated lifestyle. As per the available research data, irregularity in around 23 genes is responsible for causing obesity. Apart from that, intake of food with high levels of dietary fat and decreased importance towards exercises are known to have significant influence in gaining weight.
Childhood and adolescence obesity causes a variety of medical complications. These include increased risk of heart stroke, cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance and diabetes, abnormal glucose tolerance, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis, hypertension and lipid profile abnormalities. Obesity during adolescence also causes an increased risk of asthma and other respiratory disorders such as upper airway obstruction and chest wall restriction.
Obesity in children can be treated through a careful monitoring of dietary habits. Replacing junk food with a nutritional diet and encouraging physical activity are useful solutions for managing the problem of childhood and adolescent obesity.
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