What is Childhood Obesity?
Childhood obesity affects more than 30% of children making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. Childhood obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. Today, more and more children are being diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and other co-morbid conditions associated with obesity. A child is defined as “overweight” if their weight-for-age percentile is greater than 95 percent. A child is defined as “at risk for overweight” if their weight-for-age percentile is greater than 85 percent and less than 95 percent.
Causes of childhood obesity include environment, dietary patterns, lack of physical activity, socioeconomic status, heredity and family.
The Centers for Disease Control have identified obesity as a chronic disease, one that can and needs to be managed for a lifetime. Obesity in children is leading to many related diseases such as asthma, Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea.
Our physicians believe that obesity which begins in childhood should be addressed as early in life as possible. The standard programs that are successful for adults will not be as successful in children.