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submitted: Aug 27th 2008 | by: DonaldSaunders | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 502 | |

As obesity rates continue to rise in In the US and UK particularly it is no surprise that we are seeing a rising number of overweight and obese children. But just what causes obesity in children?

As is frequently the case there is no one cause of child obesity and there are a variety of things which account for obesity in our children.

For example, it is often the case that a child whose parents are overweight or obese will be overweight or obese which suggests that there could be a genetic or inherited component to obesity. However, though this is an area which is now being studied, no clear genetic link has been discovered yet and it is felt far more likely that it is the diet and eating habits of the family which cause obesity and not genetics.

In the past few years there has been a considerable shift in eating habits with fast food restaurants springing up on every corner, junk food widely available and the shelves of our supermarkets packed with so-called 'convenience' foods that are often extremely high in sugar. The days of home cooked meals are far behind us in most homes and have been replaced by take-away food or microwave meals. In fact, more and more parents are now opting to take their children out to eat rather than to prepare meals at home not only because it is simpler than cooking a meal but also because it saves a lot of washing up!

Additionally, we have experienced a very significant drop in levels of activity amongst many groups of children, fueled in no small measure by the arrival of video games, home computers and now the ever present mobile phone. Not surprisingly, as activity levels have dropped so children have also lost their god given ability to burn off the calories gained from eating an increasing amount of junk food.

The Internet, television, magazines and other forms of media also play an important part as they all but dominate our childrens' lives and junk food, fast food and candy manufacturers are not slow in jumping onto this bandwagon and take full advantage of the advertising opportunity which the media provides. A lot of people argue that commercials have done more to fuel the increase in child obesity that almost anything else in the past few years.

There are also clearly many social factors at play in today's world and a lot of children nowadays simply eat if they are bored. They will also turn to food if they are angry, stressed, anxious or depressed.

Right now a lot of medical research is being directed towards the causes of child obesity and its treatment and most of this is focused on solving the problem using a combination of diet and exercise once confronted with an obese child. However, with child obesity continuing to grow at an alarming rate, perhaps it is now time to tackle the roots of the problem and to stop our children from becoming obese in the first place.

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Visit GastricBypassFacts.info for the latest information about child obesity including a number of obesity articles

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