Related concepts:

Over-nutrition

Introduction to obesity:

You've probably already heard that we are raising the most overweight, out-of-shape generation of children in history. On March 12, 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released another round of figures. What is amazing is that the problem isn't staying the same, but keeps increasing, year after year. There was no increase between 1960 and 1980, but since 1980, the percent of overweight children has been rising dangerously.

Obesity among children is literally an epidemic. Unless we get kids moving and teach them to enjoy healthy foods, the outlook for their long-term health is bleak. But we can change things. Tobacco use was once thought to be inevitable; now its use has fallen by half. Wouldn't it be wonderful for all of us, children and adults, if weight problems fell by half over the next several years?

What is obesity?

Obesity, or over-nutrition, is the generalized accumulation of fat both beneath the skin and throughout the body. Some children are big, or stocky, because they have large skeletal frames. They are not obese. There are general guidelines for appropriate weight for a given height, but these are only general guidelines.

Obesity is usually caused by an individual's eating more food than is necessary for him or her. Less activity than the individual needs can also cause obesity, but this is less common in children. Whatever the cause, certain children inherit a genetic predisposition to obesity. They may eat the same diets as thinner children, but store more of the calories as fat.

The body stores new fat either by increasing the number of fat cells or by increasing the size of existing cells. It is particularly important to control childhood obesity since new fat cells are primarily formed during childhood. Each year of adding these extra fat cells makes adult obesity more difficult to fight.

Who gets obesity?

Overweight children are not gluttonous or lazy. In fact, many studies have shown that obese children do not eat more calories than their peers. And by measuring caloric expenditure using the double-labeled water method, investigators have shown that obese children actually expend more energy than their non-obese counterparts. Obese children need less food and more activity than their peers.

A variety of hormonal disorders, including problems with insulin, hypothalamic hormones, and pituitary hormones, can cause severe obesity.

There are also a number of rare inherited syndromes (such as Laurence-Moon-Biedl, Prader-Willi, and Cushing) that produce obesity. If a child's height is appropriate or advanced for her age, one of these underlying medical conditions is extremely unlikely. On the other hand, an obese child with slow height growth should certainly be evaluated.

What are the symptoms of obesity?

Is your child overweight? Underweight? A study in the July 2000 issue of Pediatrics shows us that, at least when it comes to teens, both parents and children are surprisingly poor at judging appropriate weight.