Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height. Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start children on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem and depression.
One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the diet and exercise habits of your entire family. Treating and preventing childhood obesity helps protect the health of your child now and in the future.
Symptoms
Not all children carrying extra pounds are overweight or obese. Some children have larger than average body frames. And children normally carry different amounts of body fat at the various stages of development. So you might not know just by looking at your child if his or her weight is a health concern.
Your child's doctor can help you figure out if your child's weight could pose health problems. To do this, your child's doctor will calculate your child's body mass index (BMI). The BMI indicates if your child is overweight for his or her age and height.
Using a growth chart, your doctor determines your child's percentile, meaning how your child compares with other children of the same sex and age. So, for example, you might be told that your child is in the 80th percentile. This means that compared with other children of the same sex and age, 80 percent have a lower BMI.
Cutoff points on these growth charts, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), help identify overweight and obese children:
BMI-for-age between 85th and 94th percentiles — overweight
BMI-for-age 95th percentile or above — obesity
Because BMI doesn't consider things like being muscular or having a larger than average body frame and because growth patterns vary greatly among children, your doctor also factors your child's growth and development into consideration. This helps determine whether your child's weight is a health concern.
When to see a doctor If you're worried that your child is putting on too much weight, talk to his or her doctor or health care provider. He or she will consider your child's individual history of growth and development, your family's weight-for-height history, and where your child lands on the growth charts. This can help determine if your child's weight is in an unhealthy range.
Causes
Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the time it's caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little.
Far less common than lifestyle issues are genetic diseases and hormonal disorders that can make a child more likely to be obese. These diseases, such as Prader-Willi syndrome and Cushing's syndrome, affect a very small number of children. Most of the time, eating and exercise habits play a larger role.
Risk factors
Many factors — usually working in combination — increase your child's risk of becoming overweight:
Diet. Regularly eating high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, can easily cause your child to gain weight. Loading up on soft drinks, candy and desserts also can cause weight gain. Foods and beverages like these are high in sugar, fat and calories.
Lack of exercise. Children who don't exercise much are more likely to gain weight because they don't burn calories through physical activity. Inactive leisure activities, such as watching television or playing video games, contribute to the problem.
Family history. If your child comes from a family of overweight people, he or she may be more likely to put on excess weight, especially in an environment where high-calorie food is always available, and physical activity isn't encouraged.
Psychological factors. Some children overeat to cope with problems or to deal with emotions, such as stress, or to fight boredom. Their parents may have similar tendencies.
Family factors. If many of the groceries you buy are convenience foods, such as cookies, chips and other high-calorie items, this can contribute to your child's weight gain. If you can control your child's access to high-calorie foods, you may be able to help your child lose weight.
Socioeconomic factors. Children from low-income backgrounds are at greater risk of becoming obese. It takes both time and resources to make healthy eating and exercise a family priority
Complications
Childhood obesity can have complications for the physical, social and emotional well-being of your child.
Physical complications
Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes in children is a chronic condition that affects the way your child's body metabolizes sugar (glucose). Type 2 diabetes is caused in part by a poor diet, and can often be reversed by eating healthier foods and exercising.
Metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome isn't a disease itself, but a cluster of conditions that can put your child at risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or other health problems. This cluster of conditions includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and excess abdominal fat.
High cholesterol and high blood pressure. Your child can develop high blood pressure or high cholesterol if he or she eats a poor diet. These factors can contribute to the buildup of plaques in the arteries. These plaques can cause arteries to narrow and harden, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke later in life.
Asthma and other breathing problems. The extra weight on your child's body can cause problems with the development and health of your child's lungs, leading to asthma or other breathing problems.
Sleep disorders. Sleep apnea, a condition in which your child may snore or have abnormal breathing when he or she sleeps, can be a complication of childhood obesity. Pay attention to breathing problems your child may have while sleeping.
Early puberty or menstruation. Being obese can create hormone imbalances for your child. These imbalances can cause puberty to start earlier than expected.
Social and emotional complications
Low self-esteem and bullying. Children often tease or bully their overweight peers, who suffer a loss of self-esteem and an increased risk of depression as a result.
Behavior and learning problems. Overweight children tend to have more anxiety and poorer social skills than normal-weight children have. At one extreme, these problems may lead overweight children to act out and disrupt their classrooms. At the other, they may cause overweight children to socially withdraw. Stress and anxiety also interfere with learning. School-related anxiety can create a vicious cycle in which ever-growing worry fuels ever-declining academic performance.
Depression. Low self-esteem can create overwhelming feelings of hopelessness in some overweight children. When children lose hope that their lives will improve, they may become depressed. A depressed child may lose interest in normal activities, sleep more than usual or cry a lot. Some depressed children hide their sadness and appear emotionally flat instead. Either way, depression is as serious in children as in adults. If you think your child is depressed, talk with him or her and share your concerns with his or her doctor.
Preparing for your appointment
Your child's family doctor or pediatrician will probably make the initial diagnosis of childhood obesity. If your child has complications from being obese, you'll likely be referred to additional specialists to help manage all your child's conditions.
Because appointments can be brief, and there's often a lot of ground to cover, it's a good idea to be well prepared for any appointments you have with your child's health care team. Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what you can expect from your doctor.
What you can do
Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. If your doctor is going to test your child's blood sugar or cholesterol, your child may need to fast for four to eight hours. When you're making an appointment, ask if any type of fasting is necessary.
Write down any symptoms your child is experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated.
Ask a family member or friend to join you, if possible. Managing childhood obesity requires you to retain a lot of information, and it can sometimes be difficult to soak up all the information provided during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you missed or forgot.
Bring a notebook and a pen or pencil, to write down important information.
Write down questions to ask your doctor.
Bring any growth measurements you may have recorded at home to show your child's doctor.
Record a typical week of meals that your child eats to show your child's doctor.
Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions can help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out. For childhood obesity, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
What other health problems might my child have?
What are the treatment options for my child?
Are there medications that might help manage my child's weight and other health conditions?
How long will treatment take?
What can I do to help my child lose weight?
Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me?
What Web sites do you recommend visiting?
In addition to your prepared questions, don't hesitate to ask questions during your child's appointment.
What to expect from your doctor During your appointment, your doctor or other health provider is likely to ask you a number of questions about your child's eating, activity, mood and thoughts, and any symptoms your child might have. You may be asked such questions as:
What does your child eat in a typical day?
How much activity does your child get in a typical day?
What are the factors that you believe affect your child's weight?
What diets or treatments, if any, have you tried to help your child lose weight?
What other medical conditions, if any, does your child have?
Do you have any family members with weight problems?
Are you ready to make changes in your family's lifestyle to help your child lose weight?
What do you think might prevent your child from losing weight?
What medications does your child take?
How often does the family have meals together? Does the child help prepare the food?
Does the child, or family, eat while watching TV or using a computer?
What you can do in the meantime If you have several days or weeks before your child's scheduled appointment, you can start making some changes on your own to your family's eating and activity levels as you begin the journey to lose weight. Start preparing healthier meals for your family, and encourage your child to be active by taking walks, going for bike rides, or playing sports.
