Childhood Obesity Causes

Childhood obesity may not be a widespread phenomenon as yet, but the rapidly increasing numbers do provide us cause to be concerned about. Researches show that kids have lesser obesity associated health problems in comparison to adults. However, there is a high possibility of their growing up into overweight individuals which accentuates the risk of their falling prey to acute illness like heart disease, diabetes and so on at a later stage in life.

Causes

One may query as to what reasons lie behind children turning overweight or obese? The truth is that this condition could be fallout of any one or combination of a number of reasons. The very common ones accounting for childhood obesity are genetic factors, inadequate or total absence of physical activities like exercise, unhealthy eating habits and so on. In few cases, obesity in kids could be a consequence of a medical condition.

The problem of obesity in childhood can also be associated with certain family habits like their eating and activity patterns. Genetic factors can hike up the possibility of a child getting overweight. Two factors that play a vital role in determining a kid’s weight is his or her eating and activity patterns. Due to the popularity of television and video games, many children nowadays in the urban regions especially spend a lot of remaining inactive.

Diagnosis

Whether or not obesity in a kid is really the fallout of a medical condition like endocrine disorder can be established clearly by a physical examination and blood tests. An important point to notice is that although weight problems do occur in families, not all kids from that family will be prone to being overweight. Its, however, a known thing that children whose parents or other family members are obese could be at a greater risk of becoming overweight themselves.

The most reliable source that can confirm whether a child is overweight or not, is the doctor. If you feel that your child is overweight, do not hesitate to consult a child specialist. He or she will record the kid’s weight, height and growing pattern to make sure its falls within the healthy range. Examining obesity in children can be a tad difficult because often children, especially boys, grow up in unpredictable bouts.

Support is the Key

If your child is overweight, then it’s very pertinent that you make him or her aware that you will be supportive. How a child feels about oneself is often conditioned by what‘s their parents' opinion and feedbacks about them. So your acceptance of them at any weight is bound to make them feel good about themselves. It is also suggested that you speak to your children about their weight problem so that they’re able to share their apprehensions with you. The right eating and exercising and follow this.

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