4 Main Problems Caused by Obesity in Children

Medical Video: Obesity - The Center for Children's Health - CCHAPS

Childhood is a period of growth where the body undergoes stages of adjusting for nutritional needs and organ formation before further development in adolescence to adulthood. More weight and obesity are health problems because the body has energy storage in the amount of abnormal body fat. If this happens to children, it will cause an imbalance in improper physical intake and development.

Obesity in children is influenced by various factors, especially factors of parenting and patterns of giving food intake. The body of children who still need to adjust their food intake will save a lot of energy in the form of fat if it is not balanced with sufficient consumption and physical activity. If the intake pattern cannot be balanced, the child will be obese.

In general, obese children experience growth disorders and are characterized by excess fat that can clearly be seen on the surface of the body that exceeds the proportion of height and age. As a result there are health complications caused by imbalance of the endocrine system and disorders of the cardiovascular system, as well as bone and muscle growth that is not optimal. Besides that, it is also often found that obese children experience social and psychological problems.

1. Health complications

In general, health complications due to obesity in children are closely related to the development of degenerative diseases, including:

Symptoms of prediabetes. This condition causes the child's body to not digest glucose optimally and increase glucose levels in the blood. If this condition continues then at the age of adolescence the child can suffer from diabetes mellitus.
Metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of symptoms of the development of degenerative diseases such as high blood pressure, high levels of "bad" or LDL cholesterol (low density lipoprotein) and low "good" cholesterol or HDL (high density lipoprotein) and fat accumulation around the child's stomach.
Asthma symptoms. Children who are obese are more at risk of developing asthma. According to the researchers, one of the causes of this is obesity can cause inflammation in the cardiovascular system where fat tissue around the pulmonary blood vessels causes the lungs to be more sensitive to external air stimulation and cause asthma symptoms.
Sleep disturbance. Also known as sleep apnea which is a respiratory disorder that stops for a moment due to accumulation of fat in children who are obese.
Hepatic steatosis. The condition of the liver is fatty or also known as fatty liver disease is a cause of fat buildup in the body and in blood vessels. Although it does not cause serious symptoms at a young age, it can cause liver damage.
Puberty early. It is a symptom that is more experienced by women because it is characterized by early menstruation. This is a sign of hormonal imbalance which can later cause women's health problems after adulthood.

2. Disorders of musculoskeletal growth

Excessive weight will interfere with the growth of bones, joints, and muscles in children. In childhood, bones and joints are experiencing growth so they do not have optimal shape and strength, if a child experiences excessive weight it will damage the area of bone growth and can injure the bone.

Here are some risky bone health disorders experienced by obese children:

Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). It is a condition of the thigh bone (femur) that retreates backward due to the area of bone growth that cannot hold back weight In serious cases the legs that experience this disorder cannot hold the slightest weight.
Blount disease. This disorder is characterized by bent legs due to hormonal changes and pressure that is too heavy on the feet that are experiencing growth so that they experience disability.
Fracture. Children who are obese are at risk of experiencing fractures due to excess body weight and bones that are not too strong due to rare physical activity.
Flat feet. Is the term to describe the condition of the feet that are easily tired so that they do not travel long distances.
Impaired coordination. Children who are obese tend to find it difficult to move their limbs and have poor body balance abilities such as being unable to jump and stand on one leg.

3. Problems in social interaction

Children who are obese tend to be stigmatized and less accepted in the social environment of their age. They also tend to experience negative views, discrimination, and behavior bully by his friends because of their body condition. Obese children also tend to be marginalized in games that require physical strength, because they move tend to be slower than other children their age.

Poor social conditions like this also have the potential to encourage them to withdraw from the environment and prefer to stay at home. With a smaller number of friends, there will be less activity outside the home and more time spent on solo activities, thereby reducing their time for physical activity.

4. Psychological disorders

Psychological disorders of obese children are a result of social stigma and discrimination, including:

Minder - is a tendency to feel inferior and even lose self-confidence as a result body image which are owned.
Behavioral problems and learning disorders - children overweight tend to have the ability to interact and have anxiety and tend to withdraw in the social environment, such as the school environment. This can have an impact on academic abilities at school.
Depression - caused by the accumulation of psychological problems triggered by social interaction. Not only withdrawing, children who are depressed will lose enthusiasm for activities. The problem of depression in children is as heavy as depression in adults.

The impact of excessive body fat on children not only affects health and growth but also limits the child to interact and the mental growth of children who are less than optimal.

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