Obesity in children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Obesity in children - Essay Example Obesity and overweight increase the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes in addition to psychological problem. Obesity results from ingestion of too much energy through food as compared to the total expenditure. Various genetic and medical factors increase the risk of obesity. Various programmes all over the world are working towards reducing the prevalence of obesity and overweight in children. Obesity and overweight in children has become a recognizable major health issue which might define as â€Å"an epidemic disease† in health field. The statistics on childhood obesity are alarming.See figure 1. According to reports by the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of overweight children below five years of age, in the year 2010, was over 42 million and around 35 million of these were from developing countries (WHO, 2014). In the past thirty years, childhood obesity has more than tripled in adolescents and doubled in children (CDC, 2013). The percentage of obese children in the 6-11 years age group in the United States increased from 7% to 18% from 1980 to 2010 (CDC). Over the same period, percentage of obese adolescents in the 12-19 age groups increased from 5% to 18%. Childhood obesity is among the most serious public health issues of the twenty first century. It is a global issue. It was earlier thought to be confined to high-income developed countries but has steadily been affecting urban populations in middle and low income countries as well. Overweight and obesity in children are likely to persist in adulthood. Obesity is the fifth leading risk factor for global deaths – each year, around 2.8 million adult deaths are linked to overweight and obesity. According to estimates, 23% of ischemic heart disease burden, 44% of diabetes burden and 7-41% of cancer burden are attributable to obesity and overweight (WHO, 2014). Representative data on childhood obesity is available for many developed