What Causes Obesity in Children?

Causes and Reasons

     There are many reasons that contribute to overweight in children. Although there are some that are genetic and hormonal causes, most of the cases are due to overeating and under-exercising. Children are required to take in a certain amount of calories to have a proper growth, but if children are taking in these calories more than what they are burning off, the result will likely be unnecessary weight gaining. The two main causes for obesity in children are:

• Diet: It is quite common nowadays to hear how bad and how much calories are in fast foods, but what most parents don't realize is that fast foods aren't the only ones that can cause weight-gaining in children. The typical school lunches can have an impact on your children's weight in a way that many parents have not noticed. One of the most significant ones is fruit juice. Many do not know that fruit juice beverages contain high amount of added sugars. These added sugars consist of high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, and even raw sugars.                                                                                                                   
  
                                  
  
        Even many of the trusted brands that labeled "100% Juice" can be just as bad as soft drinks.One study shows that on average, fruit juices have “fructose concentration of about 45.5 grams per liter, only a bit less than the average of 50 grams per liter for sodas (Barclay).” It is important to realize that added sugar food or drinks can also cause unnecessary weight gaining. 
        Lack of vegetables and fruits, while consuming large amounts of meats and carbohydrates can also result in children gaining an excess amount of weight. Meats are high in energy and fat content that are associated with higher risk of obesity. Although meat consumptions do not have to be eliminated completely, they should be combined with the correlated amount of vegetables and fruits to compensate for other nutrients and dietary fibers. 
  

  

• Exercise: Eating healthy alone is not enough to control weight gaining. Regular exercises are also needed to burn off the excess calories from food intake. Due to the rapid change in education and technology, children are less likely to participate in physical activities, especially the ones in outdoors. Although many people and children do understand the benefits of physical activities and how they contribute to weight maintaining, many of them still choose to be inactive. From The Physical Activity Council, the data has reported that about 38.7% of children are not up to healthy activity standards. 
  
                                                           
        Research has found that it is possible that the lack of physical activity contributes more to weight gaining than does improper diet for children. Inactivity in physical exercises is a very critical factor in weight gaining, lack of physical activities can result in excess calories or fat not being able to burning off. More importantly, lack of physical activities from early childhood is more likely to lead to lack physical activities in adulthood, thereby carrying obesity through their entire life.  

References:

1. Fruit Juice Vs. Soda?
2. NCMI
3. PHIT America
4. Obesity Prevention Source