Does a three-year-old obese go to eighty? The Problem of Childhood Obesity

Awareness of Childhood Obesity

We usually have the impression that a chubby child is cute. The appearance of a child who has gained weight is also considered to be a process of growing up. However, as the World Health Organization (WHO) defined obesity itself as a disease in 1996, childhood obesity is clearly a problem that needs to be treated.

Due to Westernized diet, the rate of childhood obesity in Korea is increasing. In fact, according to the statistics from 2008~2017, the number of childhood obesity patients increased from 11.2% to 17.3%. In particular, the proportion of highly obese people increased from 0.8% to 2%. That's more than doubled the number of patients.

The Problem of Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has a characteristic problem compared to adult obesity. It can have a permanent impact on adulthood. There are two reasons why.

First, childhood obesity is one of the factors that hinder height growth. You've probably heard the saying that weight gained as a child goes to height. In fact, quite the opposite. On the contrary, childhood obesity puts a strain on the growth plates and joints, and in particular, if it leads to precocious puberty, the height growth may stop due to the effects of hormones.

Second, a significant number of childhood and adolescent obesity transitions to adult obesity. Furthermore, even if you lose weight, the potential for obesity is enormous. This is because when children gain weight during adolescence, the number of fat cells increases. Once this is done, the number of cells does not decrease unless liposuction is performed.

Let's take a look at the actual rate of childhood obesity transitioning to adult obesity. First of all, infants (under 1 year old) are the period when there is a lot of fat synthesis, and fortunately, it has been found that there is almost no association with adult obesity. However, from infancy (1~5 years old), the adult obesity compliance rate rises considerably to about 33%. It is said that 50% of adults become obese from the school age (6~12 years old) and 80% from the adolescent age (13~20 years old) when they enter elementary school. In the end, you can say that "three-year-old obesity goes from being eighty to eighty."

The problems caused by childhood obesity are not only physical, but can also be traumatic for a child, leaving scars on them for the rest of their lives. Parents with children should take childhood obesity more seriously and pay attention to it.