Childhood obesity is an epidemic. Today more than ever before children are struggling with weight gain and the subsequent health effects. Why is obesity on the rise? The answers are both simple and complicated.

•  Too Much Sugar

Take a look at the foods in your cupboard and refrigerator. Chances are that sugar is a major ingredient in most of them. It’s hard to get around it because often sugars are disguised in our foods.

Added sugars in beverages such as fruit juices are so unnecessary because there is already a good amount of naturally occurring sugar in them. Many children consume several glasses of juice and/or soda each day, adding up to thousands of calories from drinks alone. An extra thousand calories a day results in one extra pound of weight in just under four days.

Then pile on the sugars that are added to pasta sauces and condiments such as ketchup, and you’ve added a lot more unnecessary sugars, (never mind the calories).

As an aside, I recently picked up a bottle of Hunts tomato ketchup and found that it boldly displays on the label that it does not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.  This is a great start Hunts!  It seems that some of the food manufacturers are starting to see that we know what they are doing.

Remember, you’ll find sugars added to foods that you normally don’t even think twice about, such as  in processed meats.

•  Not Enough Fruits, Vegetables and Lean Protein

The truth is that many children don’t eat at home any more. They’re eating breakfast at McDonalds and lunch at Del Taco.  Meals often come from a box or bag if they are prepared at home. These foods are shockingly short on nutrients. They’re also dangerously high in fat, sodium and sugar. A child eating three of these meals a day will definitely gain extra weight.

•  Overeating

Everyone loves to snack, but if the snacks are full of fat like you’ll find in potato chips, or are full of sugar like cookies, then your  child is consuming tons of calories but receiving very little food value or nutrients. Lack of nutrient rich food spells disaster for your child because they will be hungry again in a very short  period of time.  This is s cycle, and when this cycle is activated, children end up consuming way too many calories.  They then feel sluggish so aren’t as active as they could be if they’d eaten good nutritious foods and they start to gain weight.

•  Sedentary Lifestyle

Computers, video games, and television access have kids sitting for hours doing nothing with their bodies. Consuming the amount of calories in chips and cookies and then sitting around means that the calories are not being burned. It also means that the child’s  metabolism has slowed, making it next to impossible to burn calories. It’s the perfect one-two punch for weight gain.

•  Depression

Being a kid is tough. Contemporary children face many stressors. And stress can cause depression even in kids. Just like in adults, depression can cause overeating because the child is trying to soothe themselves with food.

Overeating causes poor sleep, which causes the hormone Leptin to be decreased which results in their brain not alerting the child that they are full.  It’s all connected in a scary sort of way, and once a child is in this state, they need our help to retrain their brains and bodies.

Summary: The main causes of childhood obesity include:

• Too much food
• Too much sugar
• Too many snacks
• Lack of exercise and activity
• Family lifestyle
• Family history of obesity
• Stress, depression, and/or anxiety

Childhood obesity is a growing problem. Parents and caregivers can make a huge difference. Children are adaptable. They lose weight and change their habits much more easily than adults. They’re strong and capable, and with support, can lose weight. If you know someone struggling with obesity or who are on the path toward obesity, help them make healthier choices. Help them live a healthier life.