What are the underlying causes of child obesity?
Genetic Factors Obesity can be caused for genetic reasons. The risk of becoming obese is greatest among children who have obese parents. This is due to the genetic factors or parental modeling of both eating and exercise behaviors. Environmental Factors Environmental factors including lifestyle play a major role in child obesity. Poor eating habits, especially consumption of high calorie snacks can cause obesity in children. Some research also shows that extensive viewing of television may cause obesity in children (Dietz and Gortmaker, 1985). Factors involved here are displacement of physical activity coupled with increased calorie consumption caused by the effects of television advertising. Psychological Factors Psychological factors also contribute to obesity in children. These factors influence child’s eating habits and many people eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness or anger.
