As of April 2011, 15 percent of children in the U.S. were classified as obese, which is an all-time high. By definition, obese children have a body mass index that ranks in the 95th percentile. Being obese predisposes children to a number of debilitating and potentially life threatening illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, heart disease and social and psychological difficulties.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar. While type 2 diabetes is typically seen among adults, childhood diabetes is on the rise with the prevalence of childhood obesity. About 151,000 people under the age of 20 have diabetes. Children are more predisposed to diabetes when they have a significant amount of fatty tissue because the tissue makes the body's cells more resistant to insulin. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include increased thirst and hunger, weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision and slow healing wounds.
Asthma
Obesity can predispose children to asthma and difficulty breathing. Asthma is a inflammatory condition that affects the airways causing shortness of breath, wheezing, tightening of the chest and coughing. Children with higher body mass indexes experience higher rates of asthma. The inability to breath clearly can perpetuate childhood obesity by making it more difficult for children to perform regular and rigorous physical activity.
Cardiovasular Disease
Obese children are more likely to become obese adults. A lifetime of obesity increases the risk that an individual will develop chronic conditions like heart disease. Heart disease prevents an adequate amount of blood and oxygen from getting to the heart due to the narrowing of the blood vessels. Heart disease is life-threatening.
Social and Emotional Difficulties
Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to be teased and discriminated against, which can significantly affect their psychological and social well being. Furthermore, these children are more likely to experience low self-esteem, poor body image, have eating disorders and feel isolated and depressed. According to a quality of life study performed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, very obese individuals had the highest prevalence of depression among patients who had some form of chronic illness. A study performed at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston found that individuals who were obese at the beginning of the study were at increased risk for depression five years later.
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