What are the consequences of childhood obesity?

Obesity has become no less than an epidemic today; a cause of concern not only in India but globally. And, if you think only adults are the victim of it, take a look at these numbers. According to WHO, around 41 million children under the age of 5 and over 340 million children & adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016. Isn’t it alarming? If we fail to take immediate action, we will be putting our future generation at risk of some serious health disorders like heart diseases, diabetes and many more. Also, did you know that obesity in children is strongly linked to stress, depression and low self-esteem?

To know more on consequences of childhood obesity and its treatment, let us first understand how to identify obesity in children.

Identifying childhood obesity

Like in adults, in children too, body mass index (BMI) is used to diagnose overweight and obese conditions. However, in children, weight and height is measured in percentile. Your child’s paediatrician will refer a growth chart and accordingly calculate your child's percentile. For example, if your child’s BMI is in the 80th percentile, what it means is that compared with other children of the same gender and age, 80 percent have a lower BMI. Below are the indicators to identify if your child is overweight or obese.

• Between 85th and 94th percentiles — overweight
• 95th percentile or above — obese
• More than 1.2 times the 95th percentile — extremely obese.

However, BMI is not the only parameter that is considered. Your child’s paediatrician will also consider other factors like his overall growth and development, his eating habits, diet & calorie intake, physical activity performed every day, your family's history of obesity and weight-related health problems like diabetes and his overall health when diagnosing obesity.

Consequences of childhood obesity

Overweight and obese children are at high risk for a number of health complications like:

Physical Complications

1. High cholesterol & High blood pressure: Children can develop high blood pressure or high cholesterol because of excess body weight. This can also lead to heart attack and stroke later in life.
2. Diabetes: Type 2diabetes is commonly linked to obesity and children who do not do enough exercise are prone to developing diabetes as they age.
3. Metabolic syndrome: This causes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, and low HDL (good cholesterol). Obese children are more prone to it.
4. Asthma: Children who are overweight are more likely to have asthma, sleep disorders, and other health problems
5. Early puberty or menstruation: Childhood obesity can cause hormonal imbalances that can lead to early onset of puberty.

Emotional Complications

We often tend to ignore the emotional complications in children who have childhood obesity. Some of the emotional complications are:

1. Low self-esteem: Child who is obese is at risk of overall low self-worth in comparison to other children. This low self-esteem may cause the child to engage in risky behaviours like use of alcohol or even drug abuse. Low self-esteem can increase the likelihood that the child will allow others to abuse her/him physically and emotionally.
2. Depression: Obese children are at increased risk of depression. Unsuccessful diet attempts may cause the child to feel as though the situation is hopeless. Depression is often the result of bullying as well. In severe cases, depression can lead to suicide attempts.
3. Behavioral or learning problems: Overweight children tend to have more anxiety and weaker social skills than normal children. This may give rise to behavioral and learning problem at school or at home.

Obesity treatment in homeopathy

Homeopathy can effectively treat childhood obesity holistically. Homeopathic medicines for obesity increase the child’s metabolism without any side-effects. They also help treat any associated complaints, physical as well as emotional, that may arise due to childhood obesity.

Homeopathic medicines are individually selected based on the specific reasons that cause childhood obesity in children. There are specific homeopathic medicines like Phytolacca, which have proven efficacy for years in reducing body fat without any side-effects. Besides medicines, lot of attention and guidance is required in diet, physical activity and handling the child’s temperament, with which a homeopaths are well-versed.

So, what are you waiting for? Consult the expert homeopaths at Dr Batra’s® to treat weight issues with your children.