Child obesity is major health risk

Overweight children risk ill health as adults

Child obesity has tripled in the last three decades and it has frightening health implications for our kids. We’re already seeing the results – the number of tweens taking medication for Type II diabetes caused by obesity more than doubled between 2002 and 2005 alone.

Now the long-term risks of implications of obesity are becoming clearer than ever. Several studies have indicated that overweight children already show risk factors for cardiovascular problems (such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels) – now new US and European research suggests that they’re more likely to develop heart disease in later life.

The European study, originating from Center for Health and Society in Copenhagen, suggests that the more your child weighs in relation to her height the higher her risk is of developing heart disease as an adult.

Some studies have estimated that 80% of overweight teens grow into obese adults

The Swedish research is backed up by a new study from the University of California/San Francisco and Columbia University Medical Center which used adolescent obesity rates from the year 2000 to predict that 44% of women and up to 37% of men will be obese by 2020. It suggests that today’s overweight teenagers face a higher risk of heart problems as adults and are likely to die before they reach 50 years of age.

There is one bright aspect to the new studies: the Swedish research found that children who were still heavy as they approached their teens were more at risk, suggesting that early intervention to monitor children at risk of continuing obesity and prevent further weight gain could be the solution to maintaining their health and wellbeing. It’s clearer than ever that a better diet and more exercise are the solutions to curtailing the obesity epidemic among children.

 

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