35% of parents thought that their childs school was not teaching them enough about childhood obesity, and over 5% thought that childhood obesity was the greatest risk to their childs long-term health.A Northwestern University study indicates that inadequate sleep has a negative impact on a childs performance in school, their emotional and social welfare, and increases their risk of being overweight. This study was the first nationally represented, longitudinal investigation of the correlation between sleep, Body Mass Index (BMI) and overweight status in children between the ages of 3 and 18. The study found that an extra hour of sleep lowered the childrens risk of being overweight from 36% to 30%, while it lessened older childrens risk from 34% to 30%.A 2018 Cochrane review on the impact of physical activity, diet and other behavioral interventions for improving cognition and school achievement in children and adolescents found that school and community-based programs as part of an overall prevention program were beneficial.Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults. For example, one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years. Another study found that 25% of obese adults were overweight as children.
It is the first time in two centuries that the current generation of children in America may have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Causes
Childhood obesity can be brought on by a range of factors which often act in combination. "Obesogenic environment" is the medical term set aside for this mixture of elements. The greatest risk factor for child obesity is the obesity of both parents. This may be reflected by the familys environment and genetics. Other reasons may also be due to psychological factors and the childs body type. A 2010 review stated that childhood obesity likely is the result of the interaction of natural selection favouring those with more parsimonious energy metabolism and todays consumerist society with easy access to energy dense cheap foods and less energy requirements in daily life.Factors include the increase in use of technology, increase in snacks and portion size of meals, and the decrease in the physical activity of children. A study found kids that use electronic devices 3 or more hours a day had between a 17- 44% increased risk of being overweight, or a 10- 61% increased risk of obese (Cespedes 2011).Childhood obesity is common among children from, low-income, African American and Hispanic communities. This is mainly because minority children spend less time playing outside the house and staying active. Some contributors to childhood obesity is that parents would rather have their children stay inside the home because they fear that gang, drug violence, and other dangers might harm them.