Severe childhood obesity: an under-recognised and growing health problem

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a serious and urgent public health problem. In the last 10 years, there has been a concerted effort in the USA and globally to develop and implement educational, medical and public health interventions designed to attenuate its growth. The success of these efforts was probably responsible for the plateau in the prevalence rate of childhood obesity noted in the last two years. While the attenuation of the overall prevalence of childhood obesity is promising, data from the same cohort reveal a concerning upward trend in the number of children with severe obesity. The consequences of severe childhood obesity can be devastating. When compared to their moderately obese peers, children with severe obesity are at greater risk for adult obesity, early atherosclerosis, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease and premature death. The determinants for severe obesity include the same lifestyle, environmental, familial and societal risk factors reported for overweight or obesity. While all these risk factors must be screened for, genetic influences are distinct considerations that may have greater bearing especially with early-onset obesity. Treatments for severe childhood obesity include lifestyle intervention, specialised low-calorie diets and bariatric surgery. Outcomes of these treatments vary, with bariatric surgery clearly the most successful of the three for both short-term and long-term weight loss. Severe obesity in children and adolescents remains a challenging health condition. The enormous medical, emotional and financial burden these children and their families endure signals an urgent need to further investigate and standardise treatment modalities and improve outcomes.

Hypertension: a weighty problem in children

“…Nevertheless, these findings are in line with the emerging evidence that hypertension in the majority of the population is part of the metabolic syndrome 3. Blood pressure goes up with obesity, even in children 4. Studies in adults with hypertension show that as the body weight goes down, so does the blood pressure 5.…”

Effect of maternal antioxidant supplementation and/or exercise practice during pregnancy on postnatal overnutrition induced by litter size reduction: Brain redox homeostasis at weaning

“…Childhood obesity is a public health concern globally and it impacts on adult health (Gungor, 2014). The consequence of having overweight as a child is the increased likelihood of developing chronic diseases later in life, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome (Bass and Eneli, 2015). The increased weight gain is also related to unbalanced redox systems (Marseglia et al, 2014), that can engender neurodegenerative disorders (Smith et al, 2013; Federico et al, 2012; Uttara et al, 2009).…”

Association between Dental Caries and BMI in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…the risks of morbidity and mortality [Bass and Eneli, 2015]. Dental caries and overweight/obesity are two diseases which share several predisposing factors such as diet, lifestyle, genetics, socioeconomic status, and other environmental factors [Trikaliotis et al, 2011].…”