Reasons of Obesity in Children

Obesity in children or childhood obesity is considered to be the most multifaceted issue and a secondary medical condition. In this condition, the children who are obese have a weight more than their age. The extra pounds in children are most often leading to different health issues.

People consider it as a result of overeating. In this era, children are more towards junk food and avoid healthy home-made food. Also, it could be transmitted genetically in children. The easy way to determine the weight in the children is by using Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile, which measures the weight according to the height and ideal weight according to the age.

There might be several causes of obesity in children that could only be identified by doctors and professionals. If parents are noticing any abnormal weight gain in their children, they should concern their pediatrician.

Genetic Factors

The chances of a child becoming obese are high if one of the parents is obese. Genes have a significant role in childhood obesity. In human populations, genetic changes happen very slowly, which causes obesity development. Genes give instructions to the body as a response to environmental changes. The increase in food intake and hunger shows the variants of genes in our body, which subsidizes obesity. If you want to control obesity in your child, consult with a pediatrician, and properly tell him about the family history.

Environmental Factors

The changes in society are increasing the occurrence of obesity in children, according to WHO. Societal factors in childhood obesity are due to the easy access to ready-made frozen food and high caloric junk food. As the convenience of life is preferred over everything, and that’s why children are away from the homemade healthy meal.

Moreover, the other significant factor that falls in environmental issues is the non-availability of good places for exercise like parks and playground.

These reasons make the children, and the parents confused about taking the right decision for healthy food and physical activity. Thereby, it is recommended to the parents to contact the childcare centers and communities.

Psychological Causes  

Apart from other factors, children who do not have any genetic issues are most probably going through psychological stress that leads them to over-eating. Whenever any stressful situation occurs, handling the anxiety becomes hard, which commonly heading to irregular food habits. Usually, the children having obesity have depression when they are unable to control their emotions they are more likely to over-eat.

Diet 

The risk of becoming obese is high when children are not getting a healthy diet. Fast food, chips, cookies, baked snacks, desserts, and candies are more likely to increase weight in children. Moreover, all the sugary drinks are high in calories and must be avoided. For children, a healthy diet is important to get rid of the medical conditions that with time leads to severity. Adding vegetables, fruits, low-fat, and foods that are rich in protein will help the metabolism work normally and sheds the extra amount of pounds and calories in the body.