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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffMany factors — usually working in combination — increase your child's risk of becoming overweight:
- Diet. Regularly eating high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, can easily cause your child to gain weight. Loading up on soft drinks containing sugar, candy and desserts also can cause weight gain. Foods and beverages like these are high in sugar, fat and calories.
- Lack of exercise. Children who don't exercise much are more likely to gain weight because they don't burn calories through physical activity. Inactive leisure activities, such as watching television or playing video games, contribute to the problem.
- Family history. If your child comes from a family of overweight people, he or she may be more likely to put on excess weight, especially in an environment where high-calorie food is always available and physical activity isn't encouraged.
- Psychological factors. Some children overeat to cope with problems or to deal with emotions, such as stress, or to fight boredom. Their parents may have similar tendencies.
- Family factors. If many of the groceries you buy are convenience foods, such as cookies, chips and other high-calorie items, this can contribute to your child's weight gain. If you can control your child's access to high-calorie foods, you may be able to help your child lose weight.
- Socioeconomic factors. Foods that won't spoil quickly, such as frozen meals, crackers and cookies often contain a lot of salt and fats. These foods are often less expensive or an easier option than fresher, healthier foods.
References
- About BMI for children and teens. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_BMI/about_childrens_BMI.html. Accessed March 28, 2012.
- Flegal KM, et al. Characterizing extreme values of body mass index-for-age by using the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2009;90:1314.
- Ford ES, et al. Concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol among children and adolescents in the United States. Circulation. 2009;119:1108.
- The fourth report on the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure in children and adolescents. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/hbp_ped.htm. Accessed March 28, 2012.
- Barlow SE, et al. Expert committee recommendations regarding the prevention, assessment and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity: Summary report. Pediatrics. 2007;120:S164.
- Shrewsbury VA, et al. The role of parents in pre-adolescent and adolescent overweight and obesity treatment: A systematic review of clinical recommendations. Obesity Reviews. 2011;12:759.
- Baur LA, et al. Assessment and management of obesity in childhood and adolescence. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2011;8:635.
- Ibele AR, et al. Adolescent bariatric surgery. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2011;91:1339.
- Dunican KC, et al. Pharmacotherapeutic options for overweight adolescents. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2007;41:1445.
- Woo T. Pharmacotherapy and surgery treatment for the severely obese adolescent. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 2009;23:206.
- Meridia (prescribing information). Abbott Park, Ill.: Abbott Laboratories; 2010. http://www.meridia.net/. Accessed March 28, 2012.
- Xenical (prescribing information). Nutley, NJ.: Genentech, Inc.; 2012. http://www.gene.com/gene/products/information/xenical/. Accessed March 28, 2012.
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