Family & Pregnancy

You may recognize that childhood obesity is unhealthy and of course undesirable for
the life and well being of the child it is associated with. You may not realize just how
deep the problem runs. All of the problems that an adult can experience as a result
of being overweight becomes a potential risk to a child carrying around extra weight.

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Not only that but if there is some hereditary conditions for which the child is predisposed
to, that increases the risk of that health condition even more. The chances
of a child gaining weight with parents who are overweight goes up exponentially.
Once the extra weight is on, the chances of developing undesirable and often scary
health conditions increases. This is particularly true when you look at the fact that
children will oftentimes have a more difficult time losing any extra weight by the time
they reach adulthood. The sooner they gain the extra weight, the less likely they are
to lose it, and the more likely they are to develop health conditions as a result of that
extra weight.

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The mental implications of being overweight as a child are quite obvious and rather
painful. Children suffering from obesity not surprisingly have low self esteem. This
can be simply because they do not feel good about themselves and aren’t happy
with what they see when they look in the mirror, or it can deeper than that. Children
that are overweight often bear the burden of being ridiculed by other children and
this can truly impact how a child perceives themselves. Low self esteem may seem
like something that can quickly be reversed, but these feelings can run deep and
carry well into adulthood. Confident children usually grow into self assured and
successful adults. It’s easy to see how a low self esteem can develop in obese
children, and how it can create bigger problems later on. Though as parents we do
our best to reassure our children when they feel down and to make them feel
confident and loved, carrying around extra weight can often send a contradictory
message that speaks louder.
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Low self esteem is only part of the problem, and only a mental aspect One of the
more common health conditions that we see develop in obese children is Type II
Diabetes. This condition is often hereditary so any predisposition to this will create
an even greater risk. This condition comes about in response to carrying around the
extra weight as it prevents the production of the proper amounts of insulin. In a
healthy individual, insulin is produced by the body to help cells absorb the glucose
we eat and turn that into energy. Type II Diabetes prohibits that and means that
insulin is not produced at the levels that it should be, therefore interrupting natural
functions. This means that children will have to take insulin in themselves, and the
chances of this condition reversing itself are very low. This is a condition that can
carry with that child throughout their whole life and puts them at danger of having
kidney damage and other problems that run much deeper.
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The health risks don’t stop there though as obese children are at risk for a wide array
of conditions. They run the risk of developing high blood pressure and high
cholesterol in adulthood or in extreme cases, in adolescence or even in their
childhood years. This can be rather alarming as the statistics behind high blood
pressure and high cholesterol are often associated with much older patients, and
these often stay with the child throughout their life. Either of these can pave the way
for more serious health problems that include heart disease or even pulmonary
problems whereby the patient can’t breathe properly. Carrying around the extra
weight can make simple activity such as climbing a flight of stairs rather difficult and
leave a child feeling winded. Not only can this extra weight interfere with the
incorporation of regular physical activity into a healthy lifestyle, but it can also lead to
pulmonary problems. Simple activities such as breathing or sleeping can become
very difficult due to the extra strain put on the lungs and the entire body. The simple
act of sleeping can become difficult when there is so much strain put on the body
from all the extra weight being carried around.