EC Paediatrics

Childhood and youth obesity has increased significantly in recent decades. Since 1998, it has been considered a global public health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO). Around 30% of children between 7 - 11 years of age will have obesity or overweight and later metabolic syndrome in adulthood. It is a standardized and globally accepted measure of excess weight in children aged 2 years or older using body mass index (BMI) = weight (Kg)/height² (m)). Weight Categories adopted between 2 - 20 Years (International Obesity Task Force) are: Underweight/Thinness = BMI < 5^th percentile for age and gender. Normal weight = BMI between 5^th and 85^th percentile for age and gender. Overweight = BMI between 85^th and 95^th percentile for age and gender. Obesity = BMI greater than the 95^th percentile for age and gender.

Obesity can be classified as: Endogenous (less than 5% of cases) secondary to genetic or endocrine alteration and exogenous or nutritional (95% of cases). Environmental, genetics, endocrine pathology and metabolic predisposition are the main etiologies.

Nowadays, we give importance to lack of hours of sleep as a risk for obesity. Children who fall asleep earlier have a lower risk of becoming obese in adolescence. The habit of sleeping after 9 pm increases the risk of obesity to 23%. The reason why this happened is because cortisol and other hormones decreased the level of leptin and as consequence increase the level of ghrelin, leading to a stage that we start to fill hungry and need to eat a great amount of carbohydrates, causing overweight and obesity later.

The main measures to reduce the risk of obesity are: breast feeding, decrease food intake, eat correct amounts of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids and other mineral salts, drink water and avoid other caloric drinks rich in sugar, sleep well and not after 9 pm and finally practice regular exercise. The better way to avoid obesity is prevention!

 Keywords: Obesity; Diet; Exercise; Sleep

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