Obesity among children

Obesity is a worrying health problem. It stems from excessive accumulation of fat in one's body and causes unhealthy weight gain. Having an excessive weight or obesity can have an adverse effect on one's physical and mental. The rate of fat accumulation is measured according to one’s age and BMI level.

Factors of  obesity

Nowadays, obesity is increasingly widespread in our country,especially among children. Most of the world’s population including Malaysia practices unhealthy lifestyle due to rapid development. There are various factors that can contribute to obesity problem including imbalance, unhealthy eating habits in front of television, inactive lifestyle and food environment

The factor which can cause obesity disease is unhealthy or uneven food intake in front of television. This unhealthy food intake will contribute to obesity. For example, less nutritious foods such as snacks are known to contain a variety of chemicals that can cause illness and excessive consumption, especially when watching television will contribute to obesity. In this age, most children have changed their eating habits from nutritious foods to fast food, processed snacks and high-sugar drinks. Food intake is often taken when in front of television. For examples of such foods are like fast food and also soft drinks.

Besides that, culture can also influence behavior that contributes to obesity problems. Some communities receive overweight as normal and it encourages excessive consumption of food. This behavior is reinforced with family support, parents, socioeconimic environment, and others.

How to overcome the problem of obesity among children?    

Obesity increases the risk of developing a variety of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and others. In order to address obesity problems among individuals in the country, healthy food selection plays an important role in the life of every individual. This is because the poor and unequal dietary choices will contribute to the risk of obesity and will contribute to other chronic diseases.

Therefore, balanced dieting practices should be applied to each individual, especially children. Nutrition is also very important in determining overall growth. Hence, parents are the best idol in educating and implementing healthy eating habits to their children. This is because, children will observe what the parents do and not what their parents say.