In the past 3 decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents. This review article highlights the health implications including physiological and psychological factors comorbidities, as well as the epidemiology, risk factors, prevention, and control of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States.Ĭhildhood and adolescent obesity have reached epidemic levels in the United States, affecting the lives of millions of people.
A combination of both primary and secondary prevention is necessary to achieve the best results. Primary prevention methods are aimed at educating the child and family, as well as encouraging appropriate diet and exercise from a young age through adulthood, while secondary prevention is targeted at lessening the effect of childhood obesity to prevent the child from continuing the unhealthy habits and obesity into adulthood. While a complete picture of all the risk factors associated with obesity remains elusive, the combination of diet, exercise, physiological factors, and psychological factors is important in the control and prevention of childhood obesity thus, all researchers agree that prevention is the key strategy for controlling the current problem.
Due to the increase in the prevalence of obesity among children, a variety of research studies have been conducted to discover what associations and risk factors increase the probability that a child will present with obesity. The association between obesity and other conditions makes it a public health concern for children and adolescents. Obesity can affect all aspects of the children including their psychological as well as cardiovascular health also, their overall physical health is affected. Currently, about 17% of US children are presenting with obesity. Childhood and adolescent obesity have reached epidemic levels in the United States.
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