One of the most serious health related consequences of obesity is Type 2 diabetes. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes has been found to be very high among obese children.

In fact, with the explosion in the number of obese children today, type 2 diabetes has become a disease more identified with children than adults.

Obesity can cause other health issues

Obese girls may face abnormalities in their menstrual cycle. Another serious health disorder associated with obese children is the occurrence of sleep apnea. Besides, obese children also run the risk of hepatic steatosis, cholelithiasis, hypertension, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, as well as a number of orthopedic problems.

Some of the other health issues related to childhood obesity include skin infections, respiratory disorders such as asthma, high blood pressure and eating disorders.

Diagnosis of Childhood Obesity

The first thing to do as part of regular child care is to maintain records of the child's weight, height, and other such vital statistics over a period of time.

Periodic health checkups to keep track of these make the task of diagnosing obesity in a child all the more simple. Get the doctor to regularly determine the BMI of your child, and check it against the existing cut off points for being overweight and obese.

Besides regularly determining the BMI and keeping track of the child's height and weight, a doctor also looks at other vital signs to diagnose obesity, such as determining the prevalence of obesity in family members, checking for past history of obesity in the family, checking the general health of the child, monitoring the eating routine of the child, etc.

The presence of any of the physical disorders or indications of their presence should point the doctor in the proper direction to diagnose the problem.

Solutions for Childhood Obesity >>