For long, obesity was considered to be an ailment which affected only the adults and the elderly and children and youngsters usually were not believed to fall victims to it. but in the present era if a survey is done in some of the leading nations in the world, especially those in the west, it will be alarming to find that childhood obesity is a shining reality and in fact in the united states of America and in the different European countries, obesity is regarded as a disease that is slowly assuming epidemic proportions with about 15% of the youngsters in America recorded as immensely overweight. While some of the prevalent causes that contribute to childhood obesity is quite well-known it is interesting to study the several unknown or lesser known causes in order to ensure that obesity in children be countered from the very beginning. Medical science has stated through various researches and experiments that genetic and biological factors may often play a very important role in contributing to childhood obesity. In fact researchers have revealed that an infant who weighs more than what is considered normal for a new born it is likely that he will be overweight in his growing years as well. Moreover, the parents too have a vital role to play in facilitating obesity among children. This is because children having obese parents have a greater possibility of being obese in their later years than those kids having parents who are not obese and weigh normal. Lack of proper and adequate physical activity has been noted as one of the dominating factors contributing to obesity. And this has been further facilitated by the increased consumption of unhealthy fast foods which are rich in taste but high in caloric content as well thus contributing to obesity. With computers and television replacing physical activity, the youngsters today are easy victims to this menace named obesity.
In certain cases it has been noted that certain illnesses and developmental factors have contributed greatly in making a child overweight and these syndromes may also be influenced by hormonal factors as well. Psychological factors like stress may force one towards obesity and more often obese children are subjected to taunts and teasing from their counterparts which may affect them adversely. Therefore it is by countering these factors that one can ensure a healthy child free from the clutches of obesity and recognizing these factors early one can prevent obesity. In the later stages, losing weight would be the only option for the welfare of the child.