What People Need to Realize About Childhood Obesity
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There has been a steady increase in childhood obesity in the United States and it continues to baffle and confound professionals of every stripe. Of course, it doesn’t help the fact that almost all liquid beverages (and even solid foods) sold within the United States contain high levels of fructose corn syrup. But that is an issue for another time. What makes childhood obesity sad is that the kids who suffer from it seem like they haven’t been given a fair shot at life, and that’s terrible. Kids with childhood obesity are forced to deal with emotional abuse in the form of taunts and harsh words from their peers and physical problems like constant joint and back pain, arthritis and sometimes even Type II diabetes. This is a hard and terrible subject and we’ll look at it some more in this article.
For kids, teens and adults who suffer from obesity, Type II diabetes is a real threat. Of course, it does make a certain sum of sense that it might happen. Type II is different from Type I in that sometimes Type II diabetes can be prevented. Risk factors for Type II diabetes include weight problems like obesity and a prolonged sedentary lifestyle. For those who are obese, their bodies are under a lot of extra pressure to produce more insulin. There is obviously, in this situation, a far greater amount of person who needs the hormone. Over time the body becomes more and more resistant to the insulin it produces and that is when Type II diabetes happens. Widespread research has proven that kids who suffer from obesity are far more likely to suffer from sleep apnea than kids who aren’t obese. This condition is alarming because it leads to the blocking of a child’s airway while he or she is sleeping. Kids who are overweight and obese are more likely to snore too but, according to researchers, that is actually deceiving. It’s also possible that the snoring is a symptom of something called OSA or obstructive sleep apnea. One possible approach to the problem is a procedure called an adenotonsillectomy which is meant to treat the condition specifically in young people.
You can probably guess that there is a serious social stigma that gets assigned to obese kids and teenagers. Even just going to school each day has to be a terrible experience. The effects of chronic teasing, comments and even bullying will certainly cause life-long psychological scars or even severe damage. Every person is going to have a different response to this. The ripple effects of being obese are huge and serious, and we seriously think many obese teens and adults may seek counseling so they can deal with the damage done. There is a real problem with kids and teens who suffer from obesity that affects other people too. You should also think about this in terms of the cost it puts on society. Obese kids will usually become obese adults, and there are costs associated with medical, lost time from work, etc. This proves that obesity is really a problem for society even though that isn’t at the forefront of most peoples’ awareness.