Childhood Obesity on a Global Level

Obesity on a global scale is harming children everywhere, which results in harmful consequences to almost every system in their body. Children who are obese or overweight also suffer from social and emotional stress. According to Harvard School of Public Health, nearly 43 million preschool children (under the age of five) globally were obese in 2010 (2012). This is almost a 60 percent increase from 1990 and the population that is suffering the most is the lowest socioeconomic areas.

BBC News: Health. (2008, January 02). Obesity: In statistics. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7151813.stm 

• 35 million overweight children live in developing countries
• By 2020 it is estimated that 9 percent of preschool age children will be obese
• Obesity rates are higher among children than adults
• Obesity rates are highest in U.S, Brazil, China
• However, it is hard to track rates obesity on a global level
• The CDC, World Health Organization and International Task Force are leading organizations fighting to prevent childhood obesity
• More children are overweight than underweight in Latin America and the Caribbean
• In European Countries, Spain had the highest rate of childhood obesity among preschool aged children

Harvard School of Public Health. (2012). The obesity prevention source: Child obesity. Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-trends/global-obesity-trends-in-children/index.html  

An interesting video on youtube regarding childhood obesity on a global scale:

http://youtu.be/cu8cbW7ec3U