Abstract
Childhood obesity is a problem of national importance and it requires urgent solutions because if it is disregarded, it will obviously lead to dreadful consequences both fro separate individuals and for the society as a whole. The problem of overweight was caused by several reasons such as consumption of unhealthy food and drinks, lack of physical activity, genetics, etc. These and a range of other issues hold are improved in lifestyles of children in order to promote their social, physical, and mental health.
Key words: childhood, obesity, activity, healthy, food.
Introduction
Childhood obesity is one of the most serious problems which are faced by people today. The reason is that it has numerous consequences for health of people, their financial conditions and development of the society as a whole. The problem of childhood obesity is especially urgent in the United States of America, where the rates of children who are overweight are the highest.
Despite the fact that significant effort is made to improve the situation, still many people suffer obesity and many of them have been dealing with the problem since the very childhood. Thus, a further research is needed to find the ways to solve the problem and contribute to promotion of health and healthy lifestyles all over the planet.
Aim of the research
The research is aimed at examination of the most significant reasons which have lead to high rates of obesity among children. It also provides advice for parents who want to prevent obesity in their children and gives recommendations about possible methods to improve treatment of excess weight.
Method
Literature review, qualitative research, and analysis of the data found were used as the main methods to identify the reasons of childhood obesity, as well as possible ways to contribute to its treatment.
Literature Review
Health related problems are the worst consequences of childhood obesity. It produces immediate and long term risks which later bring diseases and illnesses which are not easy to be treated. According to Daniels, “many obesity-related health conditions once thought applicable only to adults are not being seen in children and with increasing frequency. Examples include high blood pressure, early symptoms of hardening of the arteries, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, polycystic ovary disorder, and disordered breathing during sleep.”
These and many other issues only enhance urgency of the problem as today it is clear that childhood obesity impacts length of life, mortality and morbidity rates. This is why all health care professionals pay attention to the weight of the patients, especially of children, trying to prevent health risks in their adolescence and adulthood.
Numerous researches were also devoted to the affects of obesity and it was claimed that nowadays it has reached the level of epidemic and the experts started questioning whether the health risks in obese children and adults are unique or not. The graph below demonstrates how the rates of childhood obesity increased over the last several decades:
Studies helped to identify that childhood obesity causes great harm to the cardiovascular system, promoting a great range of diseases …