Causes Of Childhood Obesity
In the United States, more than one child in five is overweight and this number continues to grow every year. Just in the last two decades this number...
In the United States, more than one child in five is overweight and this number continues to grow every year. Just in the last two decades this number has grown by more than 50 percent and the number of “obese” children has doubled! The causes of childhood obesity are varied but the most common causes are genetic factors, bad eating habits, lack of physical activity and basically a combination of all these things.
In some rare cases a medical issue such as an endocrine disorder can cause a child to become overweight.
By taking your child to a physician, you can rule out this type of problem.
If you suspect there is a medical issue, bring your child in right away and the doctor will perform a complete physical exam and also take some blood tests.
Lifestyle Factors
A child’s complete diet and also his activity level both play an extremely important role in determining the child’s weight. The surge in popularity in the last 10 years of video games, computer games and to some degree television, has contributed to our children’s inactive lifestyles.
In fact, the average child in the U.S. spends close to 30 hours a week watching TV. This is time that are kids could be spending in some sort of physical activity such as sports. If your child wants a video game console, I would recommend the Nintendo Wii because of the Wii Fit which combines gaming with fitness.
Genetic Factors
Children whose parents or siblings are obese may be at an increased risk themselves of becoming overweight. But not all children that come from a family that has weight issues will grow up to be overweight. Even though genetic factors do play a role in increasing the odds of a child being overweight or obese, shared family traits and behaviors such as bad eating habits and low activity levels will also play a part in body weight.
There are many causes of childhood obesity and each part plays a role in a child becoming overweight. If you think that your child is overweight or is in danger of becoming overweight, it is very important that you talk to your doctor because the child’s physician is the best person to determine if your child has a weight problem. The physician will determine if the child is overweight by considering height and growth patterns to see if your child is in a healthy range.
Because children grow in unpredictable spurts, it is often difficult to assess if a child is overweight. This is why it is best for the child’s physician to make a determination if the child will develop into a normal weight range. If it is determines that your child is overweight, the doctor will more than likely recommend some eating & activity changes for your family.
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