The latter study also found that if overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.A study has also found that tackling childhood obesity will not necessarily lead to eating disorders later in life.A review of secular trends in the number of overweight or obese children have come to the conclusion that prevalence had increased during the past two decades in the most industrialised countries, apart from Russia and Poland, and in several low-income countries, especially in urban areas. Prevalence doubled or tripled between the early 1970s and late 1990s in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, the UK, and the USA. By 2010, more than 40% of children in the North American and eastern Mediterranean WHO regions, 38% in Europe, 27% in the western Pacific, and 22% in southeast Asia were predicted to be overweight or obese. However, that 2006 review pre-dates recent data, which, although still too soon to be certain, suggest that the increase in childhood obesity in the US, the UK, and Sweden might be abating.3–5 A British longitudinal study has found that obesity restricted to childhood has minimal influence on adult outcomes at age 30.
Less children go outside and engage in active play as technology, such as television and video games, keep children indoors. Rather than walking or biking to a bus-stop or directly to school, more school-age children are driven to school by their parents, reducing physical activity. As family sizes decrease, the childrens pester power, their ability to force adults to do what they want, increases. This ability enables them to have easier access to calorie-packed foods, such as candy and soda drinks. The social context around family meal-time plays a role in rates of childhood obesity

Social policies
Different communities and nations have adopted varying social practices and policies that are either beneficial or detrimental to childrens physical health. These social factors include:
the quality of school lunches
the emphasis of schools on physical activity
access to vending machines and fast-food restaurants
prevalence of and access to parks, bike paths, and sidewalks
government subsidies for corn oil and sugar
advertising of fast-food restaurants and candy
prices of healthy and unhealthy foods
access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food

Advertising
Advertising of unhealthy foods correlates with childhood obesity rates. In some nations, advertising of candy, cereal, and fast-food restaurants is illegal or limited on childrens television channels. The media defends itself by blaming the parents for yielding to their childrens demands for unhealthy foods. Socioeconomic status
It is much more common for young people who come from a racial or ethnic minority, or for those who have a lower socioeconomic status, to be overweight and to engage in less healthy behaviors and sedentary activities.