Childhood_Obesity

Childhood Obesity Between 5-25 percent of children and teenagers in the United States are obese. As with adults, the commonness of obesity in the young varies by ethnic group. It is estimated that 5-7 percent of White and Black children are obese, while 12 percent of Hispanic boys and 19 percent of Hispanic girls are obese. Clearly Proving the differences related to ethnic groups. Obesity is defined as an excessive accumulation of body fat, and is present when total body weight is more than 25 percent fat in boys and more than 32 percent fat in girls (Lohman, 1987).Although childhood obesity is often defined as a weight-for-height in excess of 120 percent of the ideal, skin fold measures are more accurate determinants of fatness (Dietz, 1983; Lohman, 1987). Not all obese infants become obese children, and not all obese children become obese adults. However, the commonness of obesity increases with age among both males and females and there is a greater probability that obesity beginning even in early childhood will persist through the life span. Obesity presents numerous problems for the child. In addition to increasing the risk of obesity in adulthood, childhood obesity is the leading cause of “pediatric hypertension, is associated with Type II diabetes mellitus, increases the risk of coronary heart obese, obesity, children, weight, percent, childhood, body, years, physical, education, child, should, risk, psychological, parent, increases, ideal, fat, factors, both, obesity, television, social, self-esteem, programs, problems, opinion, measures, lohman, life, include, hispanic, girls, excess, early, defined