Why Childhood Obesity is a Concern

Childhood obesity is a growing concern among everyone. As children continue to gain excessive weight their weight seems to be on the brink of obesity. So who cares right? After all they’re just kids and will most likely grow out of it? What’s a little baby fat here and there? This article will give you more insight as to why childhood obesity is a concern and why it can’t be ignored.

Some effects of obesity
Obesity has reached such an epidemic proportion that world health officials have decided that they need to take a more aggressive approach. The effects of childhood obesity can be devastating in all aspects of life. Here are just some of the effects of childhood obesity:

1. Socioeconomics

Hospital bills associated with overweight or obese children and youth have more than tripled over the last two decades. They have risen from about $35 million in the early 1980s to $127 million. It can also have devastating effects on your local doctor’s bill as obesity can lead to various types of diseases:

· Heart disease
· High blood pressure
· Some forms of cancer
· Increased chances of adult obesity
· Increased chances of type II diabetes and asthma
· And even sleep problems

Let’s take a closer look at type II diabetes. One of the biggest concerns in recent years in terms of obesity has been the rising number of children found with type II diabetes. This has mainly affected adults up until just recently. Today almost 25 percent of children struggle with obesity and will continue to struggle into adulthood. Type II diabetes is an extremely serious condition as it is very difficult to treat. It can even cause the body to develop an insulin resistance.

2. Physical and psychological effects of obesity

Another major concern with children who are obese are the physical and psychological ramifications that come along with it. The biggest problem being low self esteem and issues of discrimination. Although we would like to believe that children are friendly, the truth of the matter is that most are not. When it comes to obese children in the schools, some students can be utterly cruel. A study was done on obese children and how they would rate their quality of life; their scores were as low as cancer patients going through chemotherapy. And other studies have been conducted in which children were asked to fill out questionnaires about their abilities to perform tasks, keep up with the rest of the school, sleep, and playing sports. Again, the scores were much lower than the average child. Along with physical limitations obese children are at a great risk for developing psychological and several different eating disorders. The effects of childhood obesity can be devastating.

So why should childhood obesity be a concern? As children become more obese the likelihood of them losing that weight grows lower every day. Their self esteem decreases, they have a high chance of acquiring several different physical conditions that can hinder their health, and their actual life span can be shortened by five years. The ever increasing need for childhood obesity concern is evident in the scary statistics and growing number of obese children all over the country. If left ignored there’s no telling what could happen to our future generation.