10 Ways to Raise Food-Smart Kids Slideshow Pictures Quiz: Childhood Obesity 1741118 Parenting and Healthy Eating Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD, is a U.S. board-certified Pediatric Endocrinologist. After taking his baccalaureate degree from Yale College, receiving his doctoral degree and residency training in pediatrics at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), he completed fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Obesity in Children Causes

Children who regularly consume more calories than they use will gain weight. If this is not reversed, the child will become obese over time. Consumption of just 100 calories (the equivalent of 8 ounces of a soft drink) above daily requirements will typically result in a 10-pound weight gain over one year. Many different factors contribute to this imbalance between calorie intake and consumption.

• Genetic factors
  
  
  • Obesity tends to run in families.
    
    
  • A child with an obese parent, brother, or sister is more likely to become obese.
    
    
  • Genetics alone does not cause obesity. Obesity will occur only when a child eats more calories than he or she uses.
    
  
  
• Dietary habits
  
  
  • Children's dietary habits have shifted away from healthy foods (such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) to a much greater reliance on fast food, processed snack foods, and sugary drinks.
    
    
  • These foods tend to be high in fat and/or calories and low in many other nutrients.
    
    
  • Patterns associated with obesity are eating when not hungry and eating while watching TV or doing homework.
    
    
• Socioeconomic status
  
  
  • Low family incomes and having nonworking parents are associated with greater calorie intake for activity level.
    
    
• Physical inactivity
  
  
  • The popularity of television, computers, and video games translates into an increasingly sedentary (inactive) lifestyle for many children in the United States.
    
    
  • Children in the United States spend an average of over three hours per day watching television. Not only does this use little energy (calories), it also encourages snacking.
    
    
  • Fewer than half of children in the United States have a parent who engages in regular physical exercise.
    
    
  • Only one third of children in the United States have daily physical education at school.
    
    
  • Parents' busy schedules and fears about safety prevent many children from taking part in after-school sports programs.
    
    
• Certain medical conditions can cause obesity, but these are very rare. They include hormone or other chemical imbalances and inherited disorders of metabolism.
  
  
• Certain medications can cause weight gain by altering how the body processes food or stores fat.