What are the causes and/or effects of obesity in children?

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There have been increased cases of obesity among children especially in United States of America , United Kingdom and Australia in the past years . Obesity is one of the easiest medical problems that can be identified and noticed , yet not easy to treat . There are over 300 ,000 deaths reported every year which are directly as a result of weight gain that can be caused by taking a poor diet , and not doing exercises . The cases of obesity have eaten the national economic budget , as

a lot of money is spent on dealing with obese cases . Children who are overweight have higher chances of being obese adults if this is not contained immediately

There are many causes of obesity in children , some of which might be very complex cases . However , one thing that is clear is that when a person takes in food that has more calories than the body can burn up then the person will basically become obese . The cases of overweight children is increasing and has become a concern both in the health field and as well as a social problem

The figure below shows overweight and Obesity , by Age : United States 1960-2004

Source : Weight Control Information Network

The most common causes of obesity among children can be classified as being genetic , environmental , and behavioral . With genetic , it has been found that when both parents are obese , then the chances of their child being obese are high . One estimate says that heredity contributes between 5 and 25 percent of the risk for obesity (Kendall , Wilken Serrano , para 7 . There has however not been a clear cut different if this is a genetic or an environmental cause . It is assumed that genetic causes play a significant role in contributing to the cases of obesity in children . Whichever the case , parents plays a bigger role in contributing to the child 's obesity . This is because they are the gene donors , and on the other hand , they provide the child with food , and they are the immediate role models of their child . Hence , whatever befalls of a child , a significant portion is contributed by the parents .Looking at the dietary cases , the eating pattern in the US has changed so much in the past years . The current problem in the US is that over nutrition has replaced under nutrition . Kendall , Wilken Serrano argues that although the percent of calories from over the past 30 years , consumption has also boomed , adding more calories and less nutrients to Americans ' diets (para 10 . In many restaurants , the diets are given in large portions which have also contributed to these problems , and especially if coupled with lack of exercise . Although there is contradiction as to whether more energy is consumed in a case of obese than in a non obese case , it is clear that when energy intake is more than what is spend , this will be stored as fat , which will lead to obesity

The parents and children have...