Obesity among children and adolescents is alarmingly increasing throughout the world. Factors such as lifestyle, lack of physical activity, unhealthy food choices, family eating habits, metabolism, genetics, and environment are seen to contribute much to the situation.

Childhood and teen obesity is a worldwide problem. According to the reports gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO) the number of overweight children and adolescents in the world has tremendously increased in the past few decades. Vast majority of these obesity cases are found in developing countries. While, in developed countries, the same issue has doubled in recent years.

What is obesity and why is it happening?
Gaining a few extra pounds does not necessarily mean your child is or will be obese. A child or teenager is considered obese only when his weight reaches at least 10 percent higher than what is appropriate for his height and body type. The rise in the number of overweight children is an alarming issue because it entails health problems that can eventually lead to social and psychological complications. Obese children are more likely to be teased and bullied at school or by their peers. The tendency for them to develop low self-esteem or body image problems is also very likely to occur. And overweight children would, most often, become overweight adults.

Obesity in children usually starts when they are between 5 and 6 years old or during their teens. It is caused by important factors, such as: Eating unhealthy foods.
Parents’ lack of information or knowledge about sound approaches to nutrition is one of the major contributing factors to the issue. Because of this, they easily become passive targets of aggressive marketing on energy-dense, high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt foods, and laboratory-enhanced beverages that the media pound them with day in and day out.

Poor availability and affordability of healthy foods are the other major problems, especially in developing countries and poor families. Granting that parents are aware of the effects of unhealthy foods, they are still impelled to feed their children with what is cheap albeit poor quality, but readily available in their area. Also, there is a long standing cultural belief among many rural people that “a fat baby is a healthy baby”; and so, they are inclined to overfeed their children.

Lack of physical activity or sedentary lifestyle. Children and teens of the present generation are less active than those in the past - say, in the 1970s or 1980s. The advent of video and electronic games, and a wide range of high-tech television shows has robbed many children of active play time. The passive aspect of television viewing and video game play takes away true physical activity. And this is a common problem in both developed and developing countries.

Studies reveal that children who watch television for a minimum of five hours each day have greater risk of getting overweight than those who watch two hours or less. Also, children living in highly urbanized areas, where space is very limited, don’t have much choice to get involved in physical activities. Family eating habits or family history of obesity. A family’s eating patterns largely influence a child’s concept of healthy weight. Some overweight parents may even be less concerned about their children getting obese. Genetics. Certain gene abnormalities can cause childhood obesity. In this case, parents have to be conscious about making healthy food choices for the whole family.

Other factors that can contribute to obesity among children and adolescents include: medical condition; stressful situations like death in the family or a loved one, or divorce of parents; family problems; depression, and; low self-esteem.

Health issues
There are a number of serious conditions that may result from being overweight, among which are:
●Cardiovascular disease. Overweight youngsters are more prone to develop cardiovascular disease, like high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
●Cardiomyopathy. This is a chronic disease of the heart muscle, which occurs when the heart has to exert extra effort to pump blood.
●Prediabetes. Overweight teens may develop prediabetes, a condition where his blood sugar levels show a high risk for development of diabetes.
●Type 2 diabetes. While this condition is more prevalent among adults, recent studies have found a significant number of youngsters being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
●Bone and joint problems
●Sleep apnea
●Social and psychological problems like stigmatization, and poor self-esteem
●Various types of cancer, such as: cancer of the colon, breast, kidney, pancreas, endometrium, gallbladder, esophagus, thyroid, ovary, prostate, and cervix.

How to manage obesity
Of course, the first thing you should do is to consult with your family physician to determine the cause of your child’s or teen’s obesity. If physical disorder is not a problem, the primary ways to manage your excess weight are to reduce consumption of high-calorie foods and to actively get involved in physical activities. Everyone in the family should make adjustments in terms of eating habits.
It would be even better if you eat your meals as a family instead of doing it while watching television or before the computer. Most importantly, you have to cut on fatty foods, refrain from eating junk and fast foods, and limit unhealthy snacking.

Another effective way to lose weight is by getting actively involved in physical activities. I emphasize on the word ‘actively’ to mean continuing participation of the entire body. You don’t need to go to the gym, if you don’t feel like it. A regular habit of walking around your neighborhood is already a good start.

I’m inclined to suggest - out of personal conviction - that you try bouncing on a trampoline. It’s fun! You won’t feel like you’re exercising at all. You see, the word ‘exercise’ has a stigma attached to it - that it’s boring, uninteresting, or anything dull! So, I refrain from using it to convince people, including to you, to get involved in physical activities. You may want to buy your own trampoline and set it up at home, if you have enough space. But, I also recommend that you visit an indoor trampoline park. There, you would be more encouraged to jump because you’d be jumping with several other people and share the laughter and fun with them.

Since obesity affects more than one member of the family, you can make it a family habit to go trampoline jumping together. Make it your time to bond. Bouncing on a trampoline for half an hour can burn 160 calories, promotes metabolism, and; stimulates your lymphatic system and consequently detoxify your body. Trampoline jumping is low impact on your joints and body. You can significantly reduce the stress of your weight-bearing joints by up to 80%. This means that even the elderly member of your family can jump safely on it. At the same time, trampolining helps strengthen your heart and increases your energy and vitality. The indoor trampoline park is one of the latest craze and growing attractions in the entertainment industry. It started in the United States some 8 years ago, and quickly spread to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Another fun way to get rid of your children’s excess weight is to let them go biking at the park with their friends, or with the family itself. This way, they and you can meet new friends, and broaden horizons. But the keys to all these efforts to reduce or get rid of obesity in your family are motivation and support.