Obesity Form

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HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Almost every organ of the body does not work as efficiently when you're overweight. If a child becomes obese their natural bodily processes can be altered. Some of these may be difficult or even impossible to alter once the child reaches adulthood. Fat cells are laid down in the first few years of life. If fat is stored quickly, more fat cells are created. So an obese child can have up to three times as many as a normal child. Eventually, fat cells stop multiplying and an adult has a fixed number for the rest of their life. The existing cells simply swell or shrink to accommodate more fat.

The amount of fat the body wants to store is thought to be proportional to the total number of fat cells. So if you were overweight as a child, your body is programmed to carry more fat. This doesn't mean that you can't lose weight through diet and exercise, but it will be harder. Until recently childhood obesity was essentially considered to be a cosmetic problem. However, the evidence is now emerging that a majority of obese children already have indicators of organic disease. Obesity predisposes us to higher risks of associated diseases. A study in the USA reported that 58% of children with a BMI above the 95th percentile have hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, or insulin resistance, and 25% have two or more of these. The following is a list of the major health problems associated with being overweight.

Cardiovascular disease: Heart disease is the number one cause of death in many countries in the West including the United States (500 000 people annually). Coronary heart disease was once thought to be a disease of the middle aged and elderly. Over the last twenty years it has become increasingly clear that atherosclerosis – damage to the heart arteries begins in childhood.

• Study 1: According to a study (of 497 children) in the August 2005 issue of Paediatrics, 1/3 of children (between 2-18 years old) already have elevated blood pressure. Approximately half of those with high blood pressure were already in trouble with their cholesterol levels. In addition, more than a quarter of overweight youngsters with normal blood pressure already had abnormal cholesterol levels. Not surprisingly, many of these kids already had elevated insulin levels, making it harder for them to loose weight and increasing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
  
  
• Study 2: High blood pressure, high blood glucose, high triglycerides, low HDL, and/or increased waist size are all important heart disease risk factors (that are typically associated with middle age). About 2/3 of teenagers in the U.S. already have at least one of these risk factors, according to a study in the October 19, 2004 issue of Circulation. There was almost 2,000 children aged 12 to 19 who were evaluated during this research project. About 1 in 10 of them had three or more of these dangerous risk factors and therefore were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (also called insulin resistance syndrome) for more information see Diabetes below.
  
  
• Study 3: To support the importance of this information research presented at that 2001 Fall Conference of the American Heart Association’s Council on High Blood Pressure Research showed that blood pressure at age 13 correlated with the degree of hardening of the arteries at age 30. For every 10 mm that the blood pressure was higher at age 13, the arteries were 7 microns thicker only 17 years later. The slow, ongoing damage to the arteries begins at a young age and being overweight was strongly correlated with this damage.

Diabetes: Excess fat reduces the efficiency of insulin, which increases the likelihood of developing diabetes or insulin resistance syndrome. When children (or adults) develop insulin resistance syndrome, their bodies find it easier to store calories than to burn them in other words ‘the fat get fatter’. Those with this syndrome (that is also known as metabolic syndrome) are at very high risk for developing diabetes, heart disease, and unhealthy arteries. One third of children that are overweight or obese have this syndrome. This syndrome makes it harder for these individuals to exercise, and lose weight even if they exercise regularly. There is currently an epidemic of Type 2 or adult onset diabetes among young children and adolescents. Traditionally this was thought of as a disease of the middle aged and elderly. Children who develop diabetes will have to live with it for their entire lives, increasing the chance of medical complications of this disease that include poor circulation, ulcers of the feet, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, kidney problems, eye problems, and the slow deadening of some of their nerves.

• Study 1: Twenty five percent of obese children are already glucose intolerant and at high risk for developing diabetes [Yale University study published in the March 14, 2002 New England Journal of Medicine].

Psychological and emotional problems: Undoubtedly the most common problems suffered by overweight children are psychological. In general, our society and culture rewards leanness and penalizes fatness, particularly in females. Research has shown that obese children are more likely to develop a poor self-image and low self-esteem. These children are prone to social isolation causing them to be less active and choose more sedentary activities, which further increases their weight. Negative body image can cause depression and social problems - overweight children are often teased or bullied which may even lead to 'comfort eating' thereby exacerbating the situation.

• Study 1: A study appearing in the April 9, 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association asked children a variety of questions to learn about their experience of life. The obese children in this survey reported a significantly lower quality of life than other children - a quality of life on par with that reported by childhood cancer patients.

Sleep disturbances, namely sleep apnea: A study showed that thirty-three percent of severely obese people have sleep apnea and severe enough sleep related breathing problems to cause restlessness at night and interfere with the ability to work and think the following day.

Orthopedic problems: Especially in growing children and adolescents, increased weight bearing on the hips and knee bones tends to cause bowed legs, to the extent that the leg bones are more likely to slip out of the hip bones (a condition called slipped femoral epiphysis). Arthritis is more common in obese persons as is leg and back pain.

Increased infections: Obesity can lead to a depressed immune system and affect the ability of white blood cells to multiply, produce antibodies, and rush to the site of an infection. One study showed that fat babies had twice as many infections as slim babies.

Other health problems: Gallstones, asthma, headaches, kidney problems, colon cancer, PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome).

Obesity Takes Years Off Your Life

Study 1

Two national research surveys have shown that severely obese people have a decreased lifespan by an average of 10 years. Body Mass Index (BMI), a measurement that considers your weight compared to your height, was used to determine the level of obesity. A BMI over 45 is considered severely obese. Over 30 is considered obese, and 26 to 29 is thought to be overweight. A BMI of 25 or less is considered healthy. As an example, a 5 feet, 4 inch tall person weighing 262 pounds would have a BMI of 45.

Study 2

A research study in Norway tracked 128,000 residents for 40 years. Those who were very overweight as teenagers had a 30 to 40% higher mortality rate by the time they were middle aged. This trend was more significant for women than men. It was also shown that those who lost the weight had a similar mortality rate to those who were not overweight as teens.

Conclusion

Basically, the risk of most diseases goes up when you're overweight. There’s no escaping it. Every month there is more and more research about the global problem of childhood and adult obesity, and the significant health risks thereof. If your child is overweight, or is heading in that direction, take steps now to improve your child’s future health. In general, medical studies show that leaner people live longer. Get lean for life and you'll enjoy life longer.