Childhood Obesity - Symptoms and Causes - Case Study Example

The "epidemic" in childhood obesity has been attributed to various factors. The main factors are poor dietary patterns, lack of physical activity and the lack of proper information on how to have good health. It is not surprising to note that dietary patterns have changed significantly over the past few decades. In earlier days malnutrition and undernutrition were commonly heard but now these terms have been replaced by overnutrition (Kendall, et al. 2006). Children are fond of chocolates, ice creams, and soft drinks, adding more calories and fewer nutrients to diets.

The explosive proliferation of fast-food restaurants also supports "oversize".The second most important reason for childhood obesity is the lack of physical activity. Increases in television and computer game use have led to a sedentary lifestyle among children. Most of the parents are working and they are unable to find the time or energy to cook nutritious meals or supervise outdoor playtime (Paxson, et al. 2006). Even in the school's emphasis on physical activities is lacking. Children enjoy watching television, playing computer games and the internet.

In fact, these activities are often accompanied by eating snacks that again accumulate in the body due to lack of physical activity. Lack of knowledge on how to obtain optimum health is another significant problem. Today there are a lot of sources such as advertisements, television shows that promote unhealthy eating habits among children who are easily misled. It is the responsibility of parents, teachers and the society as a whole to educate the kids and create awareness among them on good health.

Obesity in general and childhood obesity, in particular, have serious adverse health consequences. Obesity causes many health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep disorders, liver disease, orthopedic complications, and mental health problems are just some of the health complications of carrying excess weight. In obese children, these health problems such as heart disease begin, almost invisibly, earlier in life than they do in normal-weight children.

Even if the disease is not diagnosed until adulthood, it begins taking its physical toll sooner, perhaps resulting in more complications and less healthy life. In the current status, there are possibilities that given the increasing prevalence of severe childhood obesity, children today may live less healthy and shorter lives than their parents (Olshansky, et al. 2005).