Over the last three decades, the global prevalence of childhood obesity has risen dramatically. The increasing incidence of diseases in youngsters, such as type 2 diabetes, is thought to be a result of the obesity epidemic. Obesity in children can be caused by a variety of factors, many of which act in concert. Obese parents are the most significant risk factor for child obesity. The environment and genetics of the family may reflect this. Other causes could include psychological aspects, a child’s body type, as well as the increase in meal portion size, and a decline in children’s physical activity. According to one study, children who spend three or more hours per day on electronic devices had a 17-44% increased chance of being overweight or a 10-61% increased risk of being obese.
Childhood obesity can harm practically every organ system and lead to major repercussions such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance/diabetes, fatty liver disease, and emotional problems. According to one study, being overweight or obese between the ages of 14 and 19 was linked to an increased adult mortality rate (from the age of 30) from a variety of systemic disorders. It is frequently accompanied by dietary deficits. Lower vitamin D levels in children have been linked to higher BMI and obesity. Iron deficiency is at least twice as common in overweight/obese children as it is in normal-weight youngsters. Obesity promotes the release of hepcidin, a peptide hormone generated by the liver and adipocytes, which reduces iron absorption from the stomach.
Many factors, most of which act in concert, raise your child’s risk of becoming overweight:
Genetics
Childhood obesity is frequently the result of a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. When enough calories are available, polymorphisms in multiple genes affecting appetite and metabolism predispose people to obesity. Weight is influenced by around 200 genes that determine activity level, food preferences, body type, and metabolism. Obesity and diabetes are more likely when two copies of the FTO allele are present.
Overeating
Obesity is commonly induced by eating too much and exercising insufficiently. If you ingest a lot of energy, especially fat and sugar, but don’t burn it off through exercise and physical activity, your body will store a lot of it as fat. Overeating causes weight gain, especially if you eat high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, sugary drinks, ice cream, butter, brown sugar, oils, sauces, peanut butter, whole milk, mayonnaise, cakes, doughnut, muffins, pancakes, waffles, and other bread. Foods high in fat or sugar have high energy density.
Simple Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels, causing the pancreas to release insulin, which stimulates fat tissue growth and weight gain. Simple carbohydrates contribute to weight gain because they are absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream than complex carbohydrates, resulting in a higher insulin release after meals. This means that simple carbs cause a spike in blood glucose, providing a quick source of energy for the body.
Complex carbohydrates have longer chains of sugar molecules than simple carbs. The body turns these sugar molecules into glucose, which it needs for energy. Because complex carbs have longer chains, they take longer to break down and supply more energy to the body than simple carbohydrates. Simple carbs have very little nutritional value and should be avoided at all costs.
Lack of Physical activity
Children’s physical inactivity has been demonstrated to be a severe cause, and children who do not engage in regular physical activity are more likely to become obese. Researchers used an accelerometer to monitor each child’s level of physical activity over a three-week period to study the physical activity of 133 children. Obese children were found to be 35 percent less active during the school day and 65 percent less active on weekends than non-obese youngsters. Many teenagers do not get enough exercise because they spend too much time doing sedentary activities like surfing the internet, talking on the phone, playing video games, or watching television. Technology has a significant impact on children’s activity levels.
Family Practices
Family habits have evolved dramatically in recent decades, and several of these practices play a substantial role in childhood obesity. With fewer mothers breastfeeding, more newborns grow up to be obese who are raised on infant formula instead. Researchers gave a home eating questionnaire to 18,177 kids aged 11 to 21, and discovered that four out of five parents allowed their kids make their own meal choices. They also found that adolescents who ate four to five family meals per week were 19 percent less likely to report poor vegetable consumption, 22 percent less likely to report poor fruit consumption, and 19 percent less likely to report poor dairy food consumption when compared to those who ate three or fewer meals per week.
Medications
Some antidepressants, anticonvulsants, diabetes drugs, hormones like oral contraceptives, and most corticosteroids are all linked to weight gain. The reason for weight gain with drugs varies depending on the prescription.
Psychological Factors
Emotions have an impact on some people’s eating habits. Many people overeat in response to negative feelings like boredom, sadness, anxiety, or anger. While most overweight persons have no more psychological problems than people of normal weight, roughly a third of obese people have binge eating disorders.
Maternal Body Mass Index
The BMI of the mother is a significant predictor of childhood obesity.
Children of mothers with pre-pregnancy obesity, as defined by a BMI of 30kg/m2, are known to have higher growth rates and are more likely to be obese.