The Dangers of Childhood Obesity

There are many causes for childhood obesity, but the most prominent cause is obesity in parents.

When parents are obese their children are already exposed to the idea of obesity being okay, meaning they won't consider it odd to over eat and become much larger than anyone else their age. This predisposition to food is very bad for a child, and most of the time results in childhood obesity, which is much more dangerous than obesity in adults.

Studies have proven that if children are obese then they will more than likely also be obese when they're older. Working to not be obese is something children will struggle with for a long time if they're used to being overweight, but it's always better for them to be of standard weight for their age.

There are many health problems associated with childhood obesity, some occur mentally and some physically.

The first health problems caused by childhood obesity will be psychological. These problems can be cause by bullying at school by piers or even by family members. It's well-known that children often gang up on others with an obvious weakness, and weight is an obvious weakness that many children have.

This bullying can cause serious psychological damage in the form of paranoia, and can even lead to eating disorders like anorexia, having the opposite effect of the childhood obesity and causing even more problems.

Diabetes is a big problem for those suffering with obesity. Diabetes is a condition where people have high blood sugar as a result of their body not producing enough insulin, or the insulin it is producing having no effect on the level of blood sugar there is.

This is a serious condition which can lead to the loss of a foot and permanent damage of someone's sight if people aren't careful.

Cancer is another well-known result of childhood obesity. Cancer kills thousands of people every year, and no matter how much research is made into treatments, the best cure for cancer caused by obesity is prevention of the obesity itself.

If parents make the effort to help their children lose the weight, maybe by losing their excess weight themselves, then they might well save their child's life.

A final, but not the final, result of childhood obesity is cartoid arteries. This is the process of the arteries aging by as much as thirty years due to the higher levels of cholesterol in the body. Exercise and a good diet are the best cures for this and more health conditions childhood obesity causes.

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