CHILDHOOD OBESITY MULTIPLIES BY TEN IN THE LAST 40 YEARS

In the last 40 years, the number of obese children and young people between the ages of five and 19 has multiplied by 10. This represents a total of 129 million obese children and adolescents worldwide. A truly malnutrition crisis, which WHO and various academic institutions in the United Kingdom have alerted in a study published in The Lancet.

For several years, Europe and the United States have been handling high levels of childhood obesity, although their growth has stagnated to the detriment of developing countries, whose obesity rate rises alarmingly.

The study figures

The work presented has taken into account more than 2,000 studies on the body mass index of 128 million people, including adults, youth and children. The purpose was to measure the rates of overpressure, obesity and malnutrition in 200 countries between 1975 and 2016.

Obesity figures divided by countries warn of risk of obesity due to malnutrition suffered by children from America, Europe, part of Asia and Oceania.

Childhood and youth obesity of men, dated 2016

Child and youth obesity of girls, dated 2016

In general percentages, The region of the world with the highest rate of childhood obesity is Polynesia, where 30% of children and adolescents are obese. It is followed by Saudi Aurabia, with 20% obesity and Greece with 16%. In China, Thailand, Malaysia, Libya, Egypt and Iraq the percentage amounts to 15%.

In other countries such as Italy, Hungary, Australia, Turkey, Finland and Poland, childhood obesity rates are around 13-14%.

In our country, the rate of obese children is 12.9%, while girls are around 8.2%. This difference by sex is also notable in other countries.

If we analyze the data in the American continent, we observe that more than 23% of children and adolescents in the United States are obese, followed by Argentina with 21% and Mexico, where almost 17% of the child population is obese. Canada, Venezuela, Brazil and the Dominican Republic also reflect really worrying data.

The report notes that while The increase in body mass index of children and adolescents has stagnated in recent years in many countries With high incomes, the figures are still high, and in other continents such as Asia, the tendency for childhood obesity no longer correlates with that of adults.

Sudden changes in the food market and processed food with low nutritional value could be the causes, according to this study, of the alarming rates of obesity in the world

Diseases associated with obesity

The study highlights several diseases or problems associated with obesity, some of which we have also tried on numerous occasions:

Psychosocial problems that can lead to depression and even abandonment of studies
Increased risk of infectious diseases
Fertility problems
Problems during pregnancy, including maternal mortality, complications in childbirth, premature delivery and intrauterine growth retardation.
Heart diseases
Chronic diseases such as diabetes

Keys to fight obesity

It is very important that parents become aware of the serious health problems that can lead to childhood obesity, and we get involved and take care of the feeding of our children; from the example and the correct information.

Avoid junk food, reduce the consumption of sugar to the maximum (paying special attention to this ingredient hidden in much of children's food) and increase the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables, would be First steps to prevent childhood obesity.

Bet on breastfeeding, avoid certain drinks during the baby's first year of life and restrict them to the maximum during your childhood, ensure proper rest and sleep, and encourage the practice of exercises and outdoor games, are other the keys that we must put into practice to lead a healthy life.

And finally, let's not forget that women should also take care of ourselves during pregnancy, control what we eat and eat a healthy and balanced diet. Otherwise, we will not only be putting our health at risk, but, as we have seen, being overweight may have a negative influence on childbirth, in addition to predisposing our baby to suffer from developmental problems and other diseases.