Today, obesity has become an epidemic which is on the rapid rise. Leave alone adults, obesity is not even sparing children. The general definition of obesity is the accumulation of the body fat. Though, there is no specific definition of childhood obesity like the definition of adult obesity.

In the past couple of years, we have witnessed the population of obese children skyrocketing. So far, we have been ignoring the issue, but now, the time has come to tackle this matter with grave seriousness. For it is provoking our children to greater health risks like hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases etc. obesity is also associated with depression. An obese child goes through a lot psychological and physical pressures and is likely to suffer from depression.

There are a number of causes of childhood obesity. To list a few:

1) Lack of physical exercise is one major cause among children. They are so engrossed in the hi-tech world that they either sit in front of television for passing time or play computer games.

2) Excessive intake of fast food diet. Most children skip their breakfast to maintain their weight. But they do not realize the fact that by skipping breakfast they are getting more prone to obesity. As this increases the probability of eating more during lunch or dinner.

3) Obesity maybe a genetic disorder as well. Those children, whose parents are obese, are more likely to suffer from obesity. A pregnant mother, who is overweight, gives birth to an obese infant, due to lack of exercise.

4) The diet of the children is also one of the major causes. As far as the diet of the children is concerned, the children has made a major shift from healthy foods like fruits to processed snacks which has high calorie and fats in large quantities.

5) Obesity is sometimes associated with depression. It can either lead to depression or vice versa. When a child is depressed and frustrated, he/she might try to overcome it, by over eating which may lead to obesity.

6) Lifestyle of the family and the child also contributes to child obesity. Modernization has brought a great deal of changes to our day-to-day life. With the invention of motor cars, we are saved from walking down to school which otherwise would have been an exercise.

7) Children from low economic families are prone to consume more calories.

According to a report that was released recently, there was no rise in the population of obese children and teenagers.

Parents should keep a strict watch on their children’s eating habits. And the children must be educated about the calorie value of food.