Childhood Obesity. A Big Problem.

Children lack self-control and lose to the marketing of sweets and content. They also repeat their parents' behavior, including eating disorders and a sedentary lifestyle.

Scope of the problem: More than 45 million preschool children and over 200 million schoolchildren worldwide have a diagnosis of obesity.
Growth rates: Over the past decades, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6–11 has increased from 4–7% to 13–15%.
Adolescent group: Among adolescents aged 12–19, the rate has risen to 14–15%.

📋 Modifiable factors
• Family eating behavior: excessive consumption of high-calorie foods, fast food, and sugary carbonated drinks.
• Sedentary lifestyle: lack of physical activity and excessive "screen time" (gadgets, TV).
• Sleep disorders: chronic sleep deprivation disrupts the production of appetite hormones (leptin and ghrelin).
• Socioeconomic environment: lack of safe places for sports and limited access to healthy food in schools or residential areas.

🧬 Genetic and biological mechanisms

• Polygenic inheritance:
Hundreds of minor genetic variants determine the body's tendency to accumulate fat in an unfavorable environment.
• Monogenic mutations:
rare but severe forms of early obesity, most often associated with defects in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene or leptin deficiency.
• Endocrine pathologies: hypothalamic dysfunction, hypothyroidism, or excess glucocorticoids.

🤰 Perinatal factors
• Maternal weight and metabolism: gestational diabetes mellitus and maternal obesity during pregnancy.
• Early feeding characteristics: formula feeding and too early introduction of solid foods. Look at the label of infant formula - you can see more than 50% simple carbohydrates.

What to do:
• Strict but explainable routine,
• Teaching proper eating behavior,
• Correction of psycho-emotional state,
• Interesting physical activity
for the whole family and social circle.

Within 1–2 years after the end of treatment and support programs, more than 60–80% of children return to their original weight or continue to gain it if therapy is discontinued.

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