Childhood obesity is not a reference to pleasantly plump babies or cherub-shaped toddlers. Most children will start life with the fat we expect to see in babies. These children will grow taller and lose their “baby fat” as they begin to walk, run, and be more active.
Children who are considered obese are those who have a BMI (body mass index) greater than 80% and are considered obese. This means that a child who weighs more than eighty percent of his peers who are the same height, age, and sex, is overweight.
Many people say that it is okay to be overweight before puberty because when a person reaches puberty, they will automatically start to lose the extra pounds. This happens to some people, but it is not what happens to all. A young man who considers himself obese is 70% more likely to be obese as an adult.
The long-term effects of childhood obesity can be divided into physical and mental effects. The long-term effects of childhood obesity can physically shorten an individual’s life expectancy and can reduce the expected quality of life. Mentally, obesity can cause great unhappiness in an individual’s life.
The physical effects caused by obesity include (but are not limited to):
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Type II diabetes
• Heart disease such as coronary artery disease
• Gallbladder problems such as gallstones
• Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of the cartilage and bone that the body’s joints are made of)
• Breast cancer
• Colon cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Strokes
• High cholesterol
• Sleep apnea
• Difficulty breathing
• Early death
• Back pain
• Difficulty getting pregnant, problems with menstruation
• Yeast infections
Mental health problems that are caused by excessive amounts of weight include (but are not limited to)
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Mood disorders and suicidal thoughts
• shame
Being overweight not only affects a person’s physical and mental state, it also affects their quality of life. Some of the life-altering effects of this condition include (but are not limited to):
• Inability to walk without pain and discomfort. This pain and discomfort can include joint pain, back pain, or shortness of breath.
• Difficulty finding clothes that fit well
• The inability to sit in some chairs. Most chairs found in public places are designed to hold someone 250 pounds or less. An obese person may not be able to fit in chairs in restaurants and waiting rooms.
• Vehicle seat belts may not fit properly for the obese individual.
• Obese people may have to pay for 2 seats on a plane or bus when they travel.
• They may have a hard time finding a bathroom scale to weigh them.
• They often feel lonely due to their lack of self-esteem and social embarrassment.
All the long-term effects of excess weight create a higher medical cost in the United States and around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control, $ 190.2 billion is spent each year treating obesity-related diseases in the United States alone. That breaks down to 21% of the money spent each year by the US on related medical issues is money spent due to obesity. The CDC.gov estimates that 14 billion of those dollars are spent treating medical conditions suffered by obese children.
The only way to stop obesity is to never start. Everyone needs to worry about this problem for things to change. Some of the things that could be done to stop this epidemic include (but are not limited to)
• Increased education for parents and guardians
• Changes in the foods offered at popular restaurants where children eat frequently.
• A campaign to promote physical activity for young people and decrease the amount of time they spend watching television and playing video games.
• Insurance companies that offer reduced rates to families that fit the appropriate BMI chart for their ages, genders, and heights.
It will take a community effort to make the necessary changes to prevent this condition from killing so many people prematurely.