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Risk Factors and Implications of Childhood Obesity

  • Metabolism (M Dalamaga, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Obesity Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review summarizes our current understanding of factors associated with childhood obesity, including latest prevalence rates, effectiveness of intervention strategies, and risk for concomitant disease later in life.

Recent Findings

Obesity has reached global dimensions, and prevalence of childhood obesity has increased eightfold since 1975. Interventions for obesity prevention have mainly focused on behavioral settings to date, i.e., interventions that have focused on behavioral changes of the individuum such as increasing daily physical exercise or optimizing diet. However, effects have been very limited worldwide and could not stop the increase of obesity prevalence so fare. Thus, community-based/environment-oriented measures are urgently needed, such as promotion of healthy food choices by taxing unhealthy foods, mandatory standards for meals in kindergarten and schools, increase of daily physical activity at kindergartens, and schools as well as ban on unhealthy food advertisement for children.

Summary

Restructuring obesity interventions towards community-based/environment-oriented measures to counteract an obesogenic environment is mandatory for sustainable success and to stop the obesity epidemy. There is need to move fast, as already moderate overweight before the start of puberty is associated with significantly increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in midlife.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics I/Pediatric Endocrinology, University Hospital of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Susann Weihrauch-Blüher

  2. Center for Social-Pediatric Care/Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Susanna Wiegand

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  1. Susann Weihrauch-Blüher
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Correspondence to Susann Weihrauch-Blüher.

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Conflict of Interest

Susann Weihrauch-Blüher and Susanna Wiegand declare they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Metabolism

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Weihrauch-Blüher, S., Wiegand, S. Risk Factors and Implications of Childhood Obesity. Curr Obes Rep 7, 254–259 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0320-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0320-0

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