Childhood obesity – a major problem of public health

Abstract

Background: The rate of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing in all countries. Overweight in children represents a very dangerous tendency because for long term it may cause serious health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, various forms of cancer and other major chronic diseases, which are generating premature mortality and long-term morbidity. Material and methods: It has been carried out a secondary study, a narrative review of scientific bibliographical sources dedicated to the problem of obesity in children. The analysis is based on 50 literary sources of foreign authors (USA, Great Britain, Romania, Russia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Germany and Italy) and international organizations, published in the period 2000-2014. Results: Globally, it is estimated that 170 million children under 18 years old are overweight. About 60% of obese children become obese adults. In the Republic of Moldova the statistical records on overweight and obesity among children are incomplete. Many studies show that obesity in children is characteristic for school age, being registered a rate of 10-30%. In order to determine if the excess of adipose tissue can cause health problems it is necessary to calculate the BMI 2-20 years/age/sex according to nomograms CDC 2000 and perform additional investigations: abdominal, tricipital and subscapular skinfold measurement, abdominal circumference, hip circumference, relation between abdomen and hip circumference, determination of adipose tissue percentage by advanced methods, evaluation of nutrition, physical activities and family background. Obesity in children is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea syndrome, depressions, some forms of cancer, behavioral problems at school and low self-esteem. The performed studies show that the obesity occurred in childhood leads to the decrease of life expectancy due to the complications it determines. Conclusions: Overweight children face multiple health problems, social and psychological problems. The problem of obesity has a major contribution to the global burden of chronic diseases, with serious social and psychological implications. Thus, research on overweight and obesity in children, with a stress on prevention, has a high priority.