- The WHO estimates that there are currently 158 million children and adolescents globally with excess body mass.
- If the trend continues, it is expected that by 2030 the number of young people with childhood obesity will be 254 million.
- Food labeling and the ban on the sale of “junk food” are some of the strategies that have been implemented to combat this problem.
The lifestyle of the global population has been radically transformed during the last century. From food to habits are different in many people. As a result now the concerns related to health are different and the best example is the childhood obesity that increasingly affects more children around the planet.
Food is a fundamental part of everyone’s life. It is the source of energy necessary to fulfill all personal, academic and professional activities. But when it’s not right problems begin and sometimes they can be of great magnitude.
From malnutrition to obesity
In this vein, until a few decades ago the prevailing malnutrition among most infants in the world because they did not have enough food in their daily diet. Instead now the biggest problem is that there is a saturation of sugars and ultra-processed products that generate excess body mass.
Although it is a problem that affects people of all ages, the youngest are the most affected. To date, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) places Mexico as the first place of childhood obesity. It is estimated that 35.6 percent of minors are above their recommended weight. This is quite serious because when it starts in the early years it is more complicated for it to disappear in adulthood.
This problem of Diet is not only related to physical health but also to mental health. In most cases children are teased by their classmates and sometimes by their own relatives. Many of them develop pictures of sadness that can lead to depression.
The epicenter of childhood obesity
But although it is already known that Mexico is a world leader in childhood obesity, specifically there is a city that is the most affected. This is Monterrey because it is the one with the highest percentage of infants with excess body mass. According to the state Health Secretariat (SSNL), the figure for the population overweight is 36 percent.
It is not an aesthetic issue because health problems are varied. While Solís Pérez, former director of the Faculty of Public Health and Nutrition of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), mentions that there are nearly 300,000 students who already have metabolic syndrome.
While all obese youth have a higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Although they are not the only drawbacks, it also increases your risk of a large number of tumors that put your integrity at risk.
Given this scenario, multiple strategies have been implemented. Among the most recent are the labels that are now placed on the packaging of all foods and beverages. This seeks to raise awareness among the population regarding what they eat.
In addition, there is also the prohibition of “junk food” inside schools. But in the end all these ideas have not offered the expected results because the problem of childhood obesity remains active and affects more and more people in Mexico and the rest of the world.
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