Obesity is one of the big problems of humanity in today's era.... Digital, convenient and sedentary life along with the consumption of fatty foods and fast foods has caused the prevalence of weight gain in adults and even children.... Child obesity is a dangerous and growing global problem that children all over the world are struggling with.

Weight gain in children must be controlled, otherwise it will lead to more serious problems such as diabetes and blood pressure.... In the continuation of this article from GCORP LLC magazine, we are going to talk more about childhood obesity and its control strategies.... If you don't know how you can control this issue...

How common is childhood obesity?

Obesity is known as one of the most common chronic childhood diseases.... According to studies by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted from 2017 to 2020, obesity affects about 19.7% of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years, that is, nearly 15 million children and adolescents in the United States.

Child obesity affects the following age groups:

• 12.7 percent of children aged 2 to 5.
• 20.7 percent of children aged 6 to 11.
• 22.2 percent of teenagers aged 12 to 19.

What is the cause of childhood obesity?

Child obesity is currently on the rise in all countries of the world and has become a dangerous epidemic... Overweight at any age causes serious problems for people's health and can be the cause of dozens of other dangerous diseases.

Learn more:What is abdominal obesity?.. Simple tricks to have a flat stomach

Many researches have been done on the cause of obesity in children.. The following are the most important reasons for overweight in children:

Learn more:24 common diseases of children

1... wrong food patterns in the family

The most important cause of overweight in children is improper nutrition in the family environment.... During childhood, parents are responsible for feeding the child... So if they do not do enough in this matter, the child will become overweight.... For example, when parents do not have a specific time to eat or each of them eats somewhere, the child is exposed to overweight.... because this issue psychologically causes stress and bulimia in the child.

2... Improper nutrition

The foods that a child consumes during the day directly affect his weight... When parents do not monitor food properly and include many unhealthy foods in their diet, the child becomes fat... Consuming high-fat foods, fried foods, fast foods, and ready-made foods cause overweight in children.

3... excessive consumption of sweets

Another factor that causes obesity in adults and children is the high consumption of all kinds of sweets.... Children love sweet foods and parents should monitor the consumption of these foods.... All kinds of chocolates, pastilles, soft drinks, cakes, fruit juices, etc., if consumed in large quantities, cause weight gain in children and even diabetes in them

4... eating unhealthy snacks

Children need at least three snacks a day.... These snacks should be healthy foods, vegetables and fruits.... Consuming harmful foods such as chips, crunchy, puffs, chocolate, etc... as snacks is another reason for obesity in children.... These foods have low nutritional value and should not be consumed excessively>

Learn more: Healthy nutrition for children

5... Family disease history

Sometimes the child's diet is completely healthy and the parents carefully monitor their child's nutrition, but the child is still overweight.... In these cases, another factor called family history and genetics causes obesity.... Children whose parents were overweight in childhood are more at risk of becoming overweight.... Genetics is the cause of five percent of overweight cases in childhood.>

6.... psychological factors

When a child is not in a good mental and emotional condition, the possibility of gaining weight increases.. Stress, anxiety, worry or fear in children causes obesity.. because in these conditions, they turn to bulimia.

Know more:Is diabetes in children curable?... + Symptoms of diabetes in children

7... Inactivity

One of the other factors that cause obesity in children is inactivity.... Modern living conditions have caused children today to be less active than children in the past.... Children these days are more interested in computer games, and in addition, living in apartments has limited their activities...

Learn more:What is obesity and how should it be treated?

8... getting a disease

Some diseases caused by hormonal imbalance are the cause of overweight in children.... These diseases include:

• Hypothyroidism
• Tumor in the hypothalamus gland
• Growth hormone deficiency
• Cushing's syndrome
• Bardt Biddle syndrome
• Prader Willi syndrome
• Congenital deficiency of leptin (PCSK1)
• Alstrom syndrome

9.... taking medicine

Sometimes overweight in children is caused by taking the following drugs:

• Gabapentin
• Propanolol
• Lithium
• Prednisolone
Amitriptyline

Effects of obesity in primary school children

Obesity in children has dangerous consequences.... The most important complications of overweight children are:

• You suffer from type 2 diabetes
Cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• joint pain
• Decreased height growth
• Decreasing the child's self-confidence
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
• Stress and anxiety

Learn more:What is powdered milk for weight gain?.. + nutrition tips for weight gain

What to do with childhood obesity?

Methods to treat obesity in children are as follows:

See a nutritionist

The first step to treat overweight in children is to see a nutritionist... To get a diet from a nutritionist, you can use GCORP LLC's online appointment and visit service.

Food control

If your child is a picky eater and is very fond of junk food, you can prevent him from gaining weight by limiting these foods.

Regular review

To control the child's weight and health factors, you should visit the doctor regularly every 6 months.

Sports

Daily light exercise or activity on the sports field helps to reduce the child's weight.

Using healthy foods

Substitute healthy and homemade foods for prepared foods and all types of fast foods.

Learn more:The relationship between overweight and mental disorders and everything you need to know

Enough sleep

Lack of sleep causes hormonal imbalance and overweight in children... Make sure your child gets enough sleep during the day.

What is the best medicine for childhood obesity?

Sometimes, in addition to the diet, the doctor also prescribes medication to reduce the child's weight... These medications should not be taken or stopped without a doctor's prescription... Some of them are:

• Lipase inhibitor and sibutramine drug
• Serotonin and noradrenaline inhibitor drug
• Metformin for blood sugar control

Prevention of childhood obesity

In addition to medical treatment, there are some simple preventive tips that help control weight in children. With the help of the following solutions, overweight in children can be prevented to some extent:

• Reduce the consumption of prepared foods such as noodles, sausages, sausages, etc.
• Limit the hours of computer games.
• Register the child in sports classes.
• Encourage the child to play with peers and be physically active.
• Take the child to the park and play area for at least one hour a day to be active.
• Reduce pizza, dumplings, hamburgers, fries, etc.
• Control the consumption of sweets, cakes and cookies.
• Use low-fat dairy products.
• Use vegetable oils for cooking.
• Substitute low-fat, boiled or steamed foods for high-fat foods.
• Use healthy homemade sauces instead of prepared sauces...

Concluding remarks

Obesity and overweight is a very serious problem that affects people of different ages... The main reason for overweight children today is lack of exercise and high use of fast foods.... In this article from the GCORP LLC medical journal, we talked about the causes, complications and solutions for dealing with obesity in children.

Remember that the first step in treating overweight in children is to see a nutritionist and you should not look for traditional and home remedies... You can easily get the best online nutrition advice for your child through GCORP LLC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: my.clevelandclinic | mayoclinic