9 Facts About Childhood Obesity Every Parent Should Know About

Childhood obesity has become a huge concern for a lot of parents in recent years. If you take a look at the data of India around 8%-10% of children are obese in every school. Obesity from childhood can not only hinder a child’s life in the early years but also later on in the adult years. So many children are required to go through obesity treatment just to have a normal life. Parents should be concerned about how to prevent this problem for their children. Here are 9 facts that will make you understand more about childhood obesity.

India Will Have 27 Million Obese Children by 2030

This is one of the most concerning facts that has made all health practitioners worry. Even though the number of obese children might be compared to other countries like the US, but this number keeps increasing every day. This is why it is being predicted that by 2030, there will be at least 27 million obese children or maybe more. This is indeed a horrifying fact as it concerns our whole future generation.

Childhood Obesity Reduces Life Expectancies

Obesity takes up our years of living. This is why it is more troublesome for a child to be obese as it reduced the average life expectancy by five years.

Childhood Obesity’s Main Cause is Lack of Exercise

Children are supposed to be active as childhood is when they grow strong and healthy. One of the best ways to become healthy and fit is a lot of physical activities. But this has changed over the years a lot where children only know to communicate through phones and play using video games.

Television’s Correlation with Childhood Obesity

TV has an extra effect on a child’s weight gain. It has been seen that children, in general, watches 4-5 hours a day watching TV. Experts are also saying that watching too much TV can have long-lasting effects. The weight gained by watching TV can be hard to lose and can affect a child’s adulthood.

Unnecessary Snacking Leads to Weight Gain

The most poisonous thing in a child’s life is snacks. Most snacks are nowadays filled with fats that can lead to a lot of weight gain. Kids, nowadays, tend to have three snacks per day which lead to consumption of an additional 200 calories.

Obese Children Might End Up Missing School

A healthy body is the key to a healthy mind. If a person is not physically healthy, then their mind can never focus on one thing. Obesity is one of the main reason for a child’s lack of concentration. Obesity also brings a lot of peer pressure in a child’s mind. There is always a fear of being bullied or teased by other kids in the school.

The Risk for Heart Disease Increases for Children with Obesity

The risk of heart disease increases in children quite rapidly. Diseases like high cholesterol, high blood pressure is common in 70% obese youths. Every year more than 10000 additional cases of coronary heart are added all over the world.

Childhood Obesity Also Leads to Asthma

Overweight and obese children are also prone to asthma. 52% out of all children and teenagers has an increased risk of asthma all over the world. Asthma hinders a child’s normal ability to do physical activities which can lead to more weight gain.

Childhood Obesity and Diabetes

Earlier diabetes used to be a problem only in adults. But that has changed due to the increase in obesity in children. It is no longer an adult’s disease. At least 45% of children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have it due to obesity.

So, if you are noticing your child is going down the same path too, then take necessary steps to reduce all the risks of obesity. If you are a child is already obese, then obesity treatment might be the best way to a normal life.