Childhood Obesity in Canada - Article Example

The present research has identified that obesity initiates at childhood. This fact did not go unnoticed as Mayo Clinic rightly points out that obesity in children is a serious concern nowadays specifically as it leads to several chronic diseases and exposes the children to diseases like high blood pressure and cholesterol as well as diabetes. The problem gets more critical since the growth of children varies with each child, therefore it is difficult to estimate when a child can be considered as obese or overweight.

Moreover, obesity can make a child suffer from loneliness and depression resulting from low self-esteem. In Ontario, the situation has taken an alarming shape with 30 percent of youth and children exhibiting weight problems which means one out of every 3 children are suffering from obesity. The problem is even more acute for boys than girls and in aboriginal children. In a 2004 record obesity, specialized doctors in Canada had mentioned that one out of four 2 to 5-year-old children was suffering from overweight or obesity and that was estimated to increase by the end of 2014.

Further estimates have been made that by 2040, 70 percent of current obese children will grow up to become overweight adults. Currently, the principal goal of Canadian Pediatric Weight Management Registry is to examine which intervention programs are most effective in controlling obesity. The dramatic increase in the number of overweight and obese children in Canada has issued this warning. In fact, from 1981 the figure has almost tripled in 2012 with 26 percent of children in Canada between the age of 6 and 19 suffering from overweight or obesity.