The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in the last ten years.

Obesity is widely considered as a top of concern for the whole society. According to a recent survey, there was a significant rise by roughly 20% in the proportion of overweight children in western countries over last decade. This essay aims to examine the reasons behind this phenomena along with its potential consequences.

There are several factors contributed to obesity amongst the youth. One of major culprit of this trend could be attributed to the unhealthy habit. It is proven that majority of western children annually consume a huge amount of energy-dense junk food such as burgers, fried chicken, pizzas… containing lots of calories as well as harmful substances, fat and salt, which increase body fat if regularly intake. Besides, parents in modern life pay less attention to their children owing to their hectic jobs. They virtually bought pre-packaged foods instead of preparing nutrient meals for their children. Furthermore, sedentary lifestyle is also a trigger to obesity. Actually, with sharply developing of advanced technologies ranging from Internet, smart phones or recreational devices; young adolescents tend to devote their spare time for indoor activities such as playing computer games, watching TV… rather than participating sports or outdoor ones. Consequently, consumed calories instead of being burned are retained in their bodies, creating imbalance between the input and output energy which results in obesity.

There are numerous severe effects of obesity in children. First, obesity exerts detrimental impacts on overweight children’s health conditions. It is argued that obese children are at risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular, diabetes… compared to children who are not overweight. For instance, in accordance with the statistics of World Health Organization, the proportion of obese children with diabetes accounted for more than 65% in 2015. Additionally, children’s psychology are also adversely influenced by obesity since they usually receive negative comments and jokes concerning their overweight appearance which leads to various mental problems such as stress, up set or even worse depression disease. Besides, the obsession of loss of weight also put a strain on overweight children, especially female children.

In conclusion, there are several causes and negative consequences associated to this obesity amongst western children. The practice actions should be taken immediately in order to mitigate this upward trend.