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Childhood obesity has been of medical interest for more than 150 years and has become a major health concern for physicians, parents, and health agencies around the world. The number of children diagnosed with obesity and/or obesity-related diabetes has been continuously increasing over the past 20 years globally.¹

Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of premature death and disability in adulthood. Overweight and obese children are more likely to stay obese into adulthood and to develop non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age. For most NCDs resulting from obesity, the risks depend partly on the age of onset and on the duration of obesity. Obese children suffer from both short-term and long-term health consequences. ²

The most significant health consequences of childhood overweight and obesity, that often do not become apparent until adulthood, include:

1. Cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke)
2. Diabetes
3. Musculoskeletal disorders, especially osteoarthritis; and
4. Certain types of cancer (endometrial, breast and colon).²
5. Obese children are at a higher risk for accelerated development of vascular disease, which is aggravated by the worsening of risk factors secondary to obesity. The disease accounts for the majority of deaths due to myocardial infarction and stroke. First vascular abnormalities, inflammatory changes and plaque development can be observed in children already in the first year of life. Among all cardiovascular risk factors, obesity is of particular importance since it aggravates several other risk factors such as arterial hypertension, insulin resistance/diabetes, or dyslipidemia.¹
6. Recently, many interactions have been reported between life-span regulating genes and adipose tissue functions. Thus, obesity can be considered a process which is compatible with accelerated aging which may explain the accelerated atherosclerosis development in children and young adults with obesity.¹

Dr. Mohamad Bahjat

Pediatrician 

¹https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full

²https://www.ceidss.com/about-childhood-obesity-2