Introduction
Obesity
is a major challenge in modern history with prevalence rates reaching 42% of
adults and 30% of children, which are very high rates. The problem is that they
are increasing over time, as their prevalence was less than 10% in the 1980s.
These numbers suggest that this problem has recently become more severe without
any statistics indicating a near decline in this disease, which is approaching
being a global pandemic that requires intensive and coordinated international
efforts to contain the disease and prevent its spread.
What
are the causes of obesity in children and adolescents?
While
a small minority of children with obesity can be linked to genes and hormones,
the vast majority of cases are linked to modern lifestyles of high-calorie
processed foods, lack of physical activity, spending a lot of time in front of
screens and high levels of anxiety and stress in the current era, which
suggests a connection between the Internet and social media.
When can we say that this child or adolescent has
obesity?
There
is a measure of obesity called the obesity index. BMI is calculated by dividing
a person’s weight (in kilograms) by the square of his height (in meters). For
example, if a child’s weight is 34 kg and his height is 110 cm, his obesity
index is 28. Now this number is classified as follows:
There is a spectrum of diseases associated with obesity that directly affect the health and lives of those affected, including diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, high cholesterol and blood fats and degenerative joint diseases. There is a link between obesity and high rates of tumors of various types, in addition to the psychological and behavioral effects resulting from obesity, such as dissatisfaction with body shape, anxiety and stress associated with obesity and many other negative effects.
What is the treatment for obesity?
Obesity, like any chronic disease, requires a multidisciplinary medical team to follow up on the various aspects of this disease, most notably diet and calorie restriction, an active lifestyle, staying away from screens as much as possible and detecting diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. and paying attention to psychological and behavioral support to overcome the difficulties of dieting and follow up on progress in losing weight. Newly discovered medications have begun to make their way to be used in children aged 10 years and older and bariatric surgeries have been permitted for children over 12 years of age with extreme obesity that is resistant to available treatments.