Long-term Effects

Details

Published on Tuesday, 13 June 2006

For many obese children, obesity will continue into their adult lives. Habits established early in life are always more difficult to change, and for this reason it is important to take action to try to reverse the trend of weight gain. Apart from the difficulty in changing long established habits, health risks are likely to manifest themselves earlier if obesity continues into adult life.

Obesity in childhood increases the risk of developing a number of health problems:

Physical health problems

• Increased blood pressure
• Hyperlipidaemia
• Type 2 diabetes
• Hyperinsulinaemia
• Adverse changes in left ventricular mass
• Earlier menarche
• Sleep apnoea
• Exacerbation of asthma

Psychological health problems

• Low self-esteem
• Depression
• Disordered eating
• Psychological distress - many obese children experience teasing, social stigma and discrimination

It has been shown that obesity in childhood may have an adverse effect on future income and educational achievement in women.²