Energy Imbalance

Any quick answer to the question, "what causes child obesity?"
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Childhood obesity, in simple term is a result of energy imbalance i.e. energy consumed is more than energy used. Obesity is a result of taking in extra calories, decreasing physical activity (calories used) or both. (see childhood obesity & physical activity). This over a long period of time will end in body contour changes, increased weight gain and eventually child obesity.

► A calorie can be defined as a unit of energy supplied by food. A calorie is a calorie regardless of its source. Whether you’re eating carbohydrates, fats, sugars, or proteins, all of them contain calories. ► Energy balance is like a scale. To remain in balance and maintain your body weight, the calories consumed (from foods) must be balanced by the calories burned by normal physical activity, daily activities, or exercise.

During periods of food shortage our early ancestors depended on alarming physiologic processes to slow down weight loss. Storing excess fat is one of these protective mechanisms utilized when food was scarce. Now that food production processes have been developed, most industrialized countries do not have the same food scarcity problems our ancestors once had. These same manufacturing processes that have increased food shelf life and increased the amount of food (see childhood obesity & food) available to us also remove healthy nutrients(see childhood obesity & nutrition) such as fiber and leave the tasty salts, sugars, and fats in place. To review, children and obesity with less exercises (see childhood obesity & exercise) in everyday life due to technological advances and food shortages no longer an issue, energy imbalances accumulate day after day results increasing child obesity.

Facts are partial on particular foods or dietary patterns (see childhood obesity & diet) that contribute to unnecessary energy consumption in children and teens. Large portion sizes for food and beverages, eating meals away from home, frequent snacking on energy-dense foods and consuming beverages having high sugar and high calorie increases child obesity(see childhood obesity fast food). Children may not compensate at meals for the calories they have consumed in sugar-sweetened drinks, although this may vary by age. Liquid forms of energy may be less satiating than solid forms and lead to higher calorie intake.Also, these days advertisements (see childhood obesity advertising) are more focused in high calorie foods. Which means more chance of calorie intake causing obesity in children.With these increases in weight, will come increased health problems(see childhood obesity effects) which are serious health risk not only for children but for adults as well. Overall there are a variety of factors that play a role in child obesity. This makes it a complex health issue to address. Genetics and the environment may increase the risk of obesity in children.

Behavior (the choices a child makes in eating and physical activity) and environment play a large role in influencing obesity in children which are the greatest areas for prevention and treatment actions. (see childhood obesity treatment)

Tips for parents ► What can you do as a parent or guardian or caregiver to help preventing childhood obesity? We have some ideas in our Childhood Obesity Prevention section.

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