Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States of American and a growing problem in today's society. It is known that 25% of the children in the United States are overweight and 11% are obese. The problem of being overweight in children has increased from 32% to 33% in children age 6. During the period of 30 years in the United states, childhood obesity has increased by three folds. In 1980, the percentage of children of ages between 6 years and 11 years who were obese was placed at 7%. This percentage increased to 20% in the year 2008 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Childhood obesity has significant impact on both physical and psychological health of the children. A positive energy balance of only 120 kilo calories per day which is equivalent to about one serving of sugar-sweetened soft drink can produce a 50 kilogram increase in body mass over 10 years in children. An energy imbalance may cause weight gain. These statistics indicate that any factors that raise energy intake or decreases energy expenditure by even a small amount will cause obesity in the long-term for children (Lustig, 2001).