Effects on health
Psychological
The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. Obese children often experience bullying by their peers. Some are harassed or discriminated against by their own family. Stereotypes abound and may lead to low self-esteem and depression. Physical
Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders. Some of the other disorders would include liver disease, early puberty or menarche, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, skin infections, and asthma and other respiratory problems.The early physical effects of obesity in adolescence include, almost all of the childs organs being affected, gallstones, hepatitis, sleep apnoea and increased intracranial pressure. Overweight children are also more likely to grow up to be overweight adults. Obesity during adolescence has been found to increase mortality rates during adulthood.A 2008 study has found that children who are obese have carotid arteries which have prematurely aged by as much as thirty years as well as abnormal levels of cholesterol. Long-term effects
Children who are obese are likely to be obese as adults. Thus, they are more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults. According to an article in The New York Times all of these health effects are contributing to a shorter lifespan of five years for these obese children.
Surgery
As of 2015 there is not good evidence comparing surgery to lifestyle change for obesity in children, though there are a number of high quality ongoing studies looking at this issue. Bariatric surgical procedures are increasingly used amongst adolescents with severe adolescent obesity to promote weight loss. Epidemiology
From 1980 to 2013, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children increased by nearly 50%. Currently 10% of children worldwide are either overweight or obese. In 2014, the World Health Organization established a high-level commission to end childhood obesity.With more than 42 million overweight children around the world, childhood obesity is increasing worldwide. Since 1980, the number of obese children has doubled in all three North American countries, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Although the rate of childhood obesity in the United States has stopped increasing, the current rate remains high. In 2010, 32.6 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds were overweight, and 18 percent of 6- to 9-year-olds were obese. Canada
The rate of overweight and obesity among Canadian children has increased dramatically in recent years. In boys, the rate increased from 11% in the 1980s to 30% in the 1990s. Brazil
The rate of overweight and obesity in Brazilian children increased from 4% in the 1980s to 14% in the 1990s. In 2007 the prevalence of children overweight and childhood obesity was 11.1% and 2.7% in girls, 8.2% and 1.5% in boys, respectively. United States
The rate of obesity among children and adolescents in the United States has nearly tripled between the early 1980s and 2000.