Why is Childhood Obesity on the Increase?

The main reason for the increase in childhood obesity is the fact that more and more children are consuming an excessive number of calories. Time-constrained parents are feeding their children on calorific junk food and failing to encourage them to exercise. These children grow up thinking it is normal to eat whenever they feel like and sit around playing computer games all the time so that, unsurprisingly, many of these obese children turn into obese adults. This has serious implications for the obese individuals concerned and for society at large, which is why there is so much concern about rising obesity levels throughout the world.

It might be tempting to say that child obesity is on the increase because health professionals have just got better at measuring it. In the past, nobody even knew what was meant by Body Mass Index (BMI) let alone knew what their actual BMI was. Nowadays, most people are aware that their BMI determines whether they are overweight or not by taking into account their weight in relation to their height. Consequently, this measure is often used to determine whether children are overweight, and in some cases schools will regularly weigh their students and provide a report for parents, telling them whether their children need to lose weight or not.

It is obviously impossible to determine the exact number of obese children on the planet, but there is no getting away from the fact that however weight has been measured over the years, a growing number of children are developing health problems because of their weight. There are obese children who are developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes because their poor lifestyle choices have caused them to put on so much weight that it is affecting their whole body. Thus, it is not only that obese children have a good chance of turning into obese adults that is a cause for concern, when young children are already developing health problems because of their weight.

Although parents obviously don't want to see their children developing a weight problem, it is sometimes hard to say no, especially when many parents are themselves trying to lose weight. There are many parents who are not able to spend as much time with their children as they would like and so it is not only a case of feeding their children quick and easy-to-prepare meals; they 'treat' their children to junk food, which eases some of their parental guilt. As far as exercise goes, many parents are anxious about letting their children play by themselves, whilst having no time or inclination to accompany their children outdoors either.

It is therefore evident that parents have a key role to play in tackling childhood obesity, since it is they who feed their children and who are their main role models. Of course, living in a society where there is so much pressure on parents to work long hours in order to provide a comfortable lifestyle for their family certainly doesn't help the situation. Parents are often in a difficult position, because they can't afford not to work or to cut back on work, even though this means they have less time to be with their children and to encourage their children to make the kind of choices that will ensure they remain slim and avoid developing weight-related health issues.