Essays on Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being.

Childhood obesity can be brought on by a range of factors which often act in combination. "Obesogenic environment" is the medical term set aside for this mixture of elements. The greatest risk factor for child obesity is the obesity of both parents. This may be reflected by the family's environment and genetics. Other reasons may also be due to psychological factors and the child's body type.

The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. However it can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders. Some of the other disorders would include liver disease, early puberty or menarche, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, skin infections, and asthma and other respiratory problems.

Black and Latino youths have substantially higher rates of overweight and obesity than do their White peers.
An overweight adolescent has a 70 percent chance of becoming an overweight or obese adult.
Since 1980, the obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled.
Children with obesity have three times more healthcare expenditures than children at healthy weights, costing an estimated $14 billion every year.