Do you often wonder why some children are extra big or obese and some are not? Perhaps, you may not also know that obesity can pose some health challenges to children the same way it does to adult.
What, therefore, is obesity? “Obesity is a form of malnutrition and a subject of public health importance in which the body weight is out of proportion to the person’s age and height due to excess fat accumulation in the body,” said Dr. Kate Kan, a pediatric specialist, adding that obesity is associated with a lot of problems, medical and psychological.
According to health experts, Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure used to determine childhood overweight and obesity. While overweight is defined as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and below the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex.
BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters. For children and teens, BMI is age and sex specific and is often referred to as BMI for age.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. The health body also describes it as a global problem steadily affecting developing countries as well. This is particularly seen in families living in the urban setting.
Globally, in 2015 the number of overweight children under the age of five, was estimated to be over 42 million. Almost half of all overweight children under five lived in Asia and one quarter lived in Africa, according to WHO.
The major concern associated with this condition is that overweight and obese children are likely to remain the same throughout their teens and well into adulthood. They are also more likely to develop disease like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age. Being Overweight and obese comes with a multitude of related diseases all which are largely preventable. Childhood Obesity needs to be prioritized because the consequences of not doing so will be too high a price to pay, according to advice by medical experts.
All over the world, governments are looking into it, trying to find solutions, educate people more on it and how to prevent it. Michelle Obama, the immediate past First Lady of the United States created a MOVE campaign where she got kids to move doing fun activities like dancing. “Childhood obesity isn’t some simple, discrete issue. There’s no one cause we can pinpoint. There’s no one programme we can fund to make it go away. Rather, it’s an issue that touches on every aspect of how we live and how we work,” she said during one of her speeches on the issue.
Here in Africa, Nigeria to be specific, you find child obesity is higher amongst families living above the average income. This is sometimes seen as a sign of affluence that your child can afford to eat whatever he or she wants, and the kids end up having to deal with this scourge. Some parents are waking up and trying to do something about it – Lisa Ling, an American journalist said “It is said the way to prevent obesity is not to allow kids to become overweight in the first place. But it takes a multi-pronged approach that has to start with parents.”
Parents need to make better food choices for their kids and educate them on it as well, as some children are too young to understand the consequences. They should also learn to disassociate food from wealth as this will lead into a pit filled with emotional and financial burdens of poor health.
These are causes of obesity in kids as outlined by Dr. Kan.
1. Diet – Excess intake of high calorie food content such as carbohydrates and excess fats.
2. Sedentary lifestyle – The inactivity rate in kids is higher, kids are spending more time in front of the television, playing video games or just fiddling with their phones, playing with toys in one place
3. Certain disease conditions
4. Hereditary
5. Some drugs have also been known to cause obesity in kids.
How do we prevent this rapidly spreading disease and save our children from a life time of obesity related illnesses? The answer is simple. Dietary modifications and physical activity. Replace the junk foods with healthier options, vegetables and complex carbohydrates.
Avoid or limit the intake of fried foods and sodas that children these days love. Go to snacks should be fruits and unprocessed drinks as opposed to the numerous other unhealthy options. Outdoor activities should be encouraged with children. Keeping the activity fun will motivate them and keep them going back for more. Activities such as bike riding, swimming, skating, dancing or just simple good old “Go outside and play” will go a long way.
Reducing TV watching time to replace them with these activities will also limit the sedentary life style. Dr Kan added that the above prevention tips will reduce the risk of obesity in children that are genetically predisposed.
Obesity especially in children cannot be allowed to go unchecked any longer. It has gone on long enough and there’s no telling the extent of damage it can do to the leaders of tomorrow if it’s allowed to continue its rampage. It is time for parents and the society alike to rise up and do what needs to be done.
