Causes of Childhood Obesity

Many factors can contribute towards your child to get obese. Here is a list of factors that may, individually or collectively, be the reason for your young one to be obese;

Unhealthy Diet: Unhealthy eating is the major stimuli in childhood obesity. Eating high-calorie foods (such as food fast food, pastries, lots of sweets and sweet desserts, unhealthy snacks sold in vending machines) drinking lots of sodas and sugary drinks, are the reason for your kid to gain weight.

Less Physical Activities: Inactive leisure activities such as watching TV or playing video games, also contribute to the problem of childhood obesity. Kids who do not participate in sports are at greater risk of getting obese, as they are not burning their calories.

Family Environment: If your child comes from a family with several overweight people, it is more likely to gain weight, especially in an environment where high-calorie foods are always available and where physical activity is restricted. Families with excessive use of ready to cook food like cookies, potato chips and frozen pizzas are also at greater risk of making their kids obese.

Medical Reasons: Some rare genetic diseases often cause childhood obesity at birth, like Prader-Willi syndrome, Bardet-Biedl syndrome and MOMO syndrome. Cushing's syndrome (a condition where the body contains excessive amounts of cortisol) and hypothyroidism can also influence childhood obesity.

Psychological Reasons: Some children over-consume to help manage problems or to cope with emotions (such as stress, overcome boredom, reduce anger, take comfort in sorrow).Their parents could present similar trends.