Parents are the cause of childhood obesity

What defines Obesity?

Obesity means accumulation of excessive or abnormal fat in our body. In fact childhood obesity is worse because it leads to other diseases like cardiac diseases, Blood pressure , diabetes and certain psychology problems like low self esteem and depression. It creates other health related issues like cardiac diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain type of cancers. To find obesity range, Body Mass Index (BMI) is defined .BMI is determined by kg/m² that is weight in kilograms to be separated by level in meters squared.

If the result is

18.5 to 24.9	Healthy
25.0 to 29.9	Overweight
30 to 39.9	Obese
Above 40	Over Obese

What is childhood obesity?

 If a  kid’s BMI is higher than 95% (95 out of 100) of  their age and sex, they are viewed as overweight or Obese .It is a complex disease when a  child’s weight is above than their natural weight of age and sex.

Obesity is a problem in any case including childhood. Some kids may experience bullying at school, can’t make friends

3 main causes of Childhood Obesity

Diet

The first and foremost reason for obesity is poor diet. Diet is introduced to child by parents so they have to double check before feeding their child. No one change poor eating habits in a single day. Obviously Junk food is tastier than healthy food because it has excessive sugar and oil. It is easy to cook .Fast food is not only the reason of excess weight gain but also good nutritious food is also not healthy when its calories intake is high.

Diet should follow physical activity so that calories can be burnt. Lack of physical activity is also a main cause of Obesity. Nowadays children are not playing physically so fat gets deposited in the body itself. Due to pandemic situation, their screen time got increased and they are idle always which increases the rate of obesity.

Genetic factor

The genetic factor for childhood obesity is that there are some genes that code for fat cells and different hormones. There are also genes that code for digestion and how much energy the body utilizes for every activity.

Some research suggests that there is a genetic component to the child’s weight gain, but other research suggests that genetics is not a very strong predictor of whether or not a child will become obese.

Genetic factor is rare and congenital. It is linked with life threatening syndrome called prader willi syndrome.

Environmental Factors

Childhood obesity is a global epidemic that has been on the rise in recent decades. The current study aims to explore the environmental factors that contribute to childhood obesity.

The study found that there are many factors that contribute to childhood obesity and it is not just about what kids eat and how much they exercise. Factors such as the proximity of fast food restaurants, access to grocery stores, and community design all have an impact on childhood obesity.

Prevention of Childhood obesity – Parental activity

 As discussed above, parents are playing major role in child’s growth physically and mentally. Parents should be aware of what their children are doing including their eating habits. Some parents are bluntly satisfied when their kids are eating junk food saying let them eat at least that but later that is becoming a habit for them. In near future, parents and children are the sufferers.

 Promising a candy or ice cream after a nutritious meal is also a wrong method to make your child to stay healthy. Try to make them understand the healthy benefit of they are eating so that in a longer run it will be helpful.

Most of the parents make dinner time as their screen time so children won’t create any fuss while eating but TV means longer snack time and they are exposed to all unhealthy snack items through advertisements.

Risk factors of childhood Obesity

Cardiac Diseases

Food items that are high in fat and salt might cause cholesterol and blood pressure. Cardiovascular failure and stroke are two possible  complications.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition where your body doesn’t utilize glucose appropriately. It can prompt eyesight issues , nerve malfunction, and kidney failure. Kids and grown-ups who are overweight are can get diabetes. Nonetheless, the condition might be reversible through diet .

Sleep Disorders

Children and teenagers who have obesity may likewise experience the ill effects of sleep issues, like loud snoring and disturbed sleeping pattern. Additional weight in the neck  can disturb their air tract and cause breathing trouble like wheezing, asthma.

 Anxiety

Children with obesity are often ignored in school and other places that create anxiety within themselves. They are bullied for their weight gain. Due to their overweight they can’t do physical activities like other children it impacts their self esteem. In later days their self esteem will be low.

Depression

Obesity is equally linked with physical and psychological factors. When it comes to their mental health, depression is the worst case. They are forced into the state of depression after continuous ignorance from the society because of their obese body structure.

Conclusion

In my opinion, 90% of childhood obesity is due to parents .The reason could be genetic, diet, environment or any other parents are the only person who introduce them to world and to these kinds of factors. So it is parental responsibility to take care of child at any age to save them from all these diseases. Prevention is better than cure. In addition to that, society should also be responsible for selling unhealthy packed and processed food items which creates such kind of deadly diseases in child and adults. In short to summarize, a small change in eating behavior will create a new world breaking all these factors leading to childhood obesity. Hope this article is useful to all. Please leave your comment or experience below to create awareness about childhood obesity.