European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND ITS IMPACT: A CRITICAL CONCERN FOR CHILD HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES

Ghazala Nathu*., MD, MS, PhD, FACB and Adila Nathu., MD, PhD

ABSTRACT

Childhood obesity is growing like an epidemic in America. It has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The percentage of children ages 4 -12 years who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2020.[29] Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water or a combination of these factors, while obesity is having excess body fat.[4,28] Obesity is risk factor for cardiovascular diseases like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, Pre diabetic factor for type 2 diabetes, bone and joint disabilities and sleep apnea. Along with physical disabilities, it also incurs Psychological, emotional, mental and behavioral instabilities leading to poor self-esteem, mental issues and poor health habits. Factors causing obesity is imbalance between energy consumption and energy expenditure and there are many contributing sub factors to it. Many government, public and private sectors are running successful programs to control obesity at school level on daily basis like “Gimmie 5”, “Let’s Move!” is a national campaign that was introduced by Michelle Obama in 2010, and The National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) is the product of a private-public sector collaboration that creates policies, programs, and initiatives aimed toward activity for the American population.

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