With obesity rates continuing to soar in the West it is perhaps not surprising that we are seeing a growing number of overweight children. Of course the effects of childhood obesity are all too obvious, but precisely what is it that causes childhood obesity?

The simple answer is that there is no one cause of child obesity and there are a variety of things which give rise to obesity in our children.

It is generally the case for instance that a child whose parents are overweight or obese will be overweight or obese which suggests that there may well be an inherited or genetic element to obesity. However, although this is an area that is currently being studied, no clear genetic link has so far been discovered and it is felt much more likely that it is the diet and eating habits within the family that lead to obesity and not genetics.

We have witnessed a considerable change in eating habits in the last few years with fast food restaurants appearing on every street corner, junk food widely available and the shelves of our supermarkets lined with ‘convenience’ foods which are more often than not very high in sugar. The days when we sat down to home cooked meals are long gone in the majority of households and have been replaced by take-away food or microwave meals. In fact, all too many parents are now opting to take their children out for a pizza instead of preparing meals at home not just because it is easier than cooking a meal but also because it saves a lot of washing up!

We have also seen a very marked drop in activity levels for many groups of children, spurred on in no small measure by the arrival of computers, video games consoles and now the ubiquitous mobile phone. Of course, as activity levels have dropped so children have lost their god given ability to burn off the calories gained from eating a growing quantity of junk food.

The Internet, magazines, television and other forms of media also play an important role as they all but dominate our childrens’ lives and fast food, junk food and candy manufacturers are not slow in jumping onto this particular bandwagon and take full advantage of the advertising opportunity provided by the media. Many people would argue that advertising has done more to encourage the rise in childhood obesity than almost anything else in the last few years.

There are also many psychological factors at play in the world today and many children today will simply eat whenever they get bored. Additionally, they will turn to food when they find themselves angry, stressed, depressed or anxious.

Right now a great deal of medical research is being directed towards the cause of child obesity and its treatment and much of this is aimed at finding a solution to the problem using diet and exercise once confronted with an obese child. However, with childhood obesity continuing to grow at an alarming rate, and with the obvious dangers of child obesity, perhaps it is now time to attack the roots of the problem and to stop our children from getting obese in the first place.

Tags: child obesity, fat, Health, obese, Obesity, overweight, teen obesity, teenage obesity, weight loss