Many children carry some extra pounds. However, too much weight, much more than is needed to support child’s growth and development can lead to medical condition called — childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity affects children and adolescents and occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height.

Why is childhood obesity particularly troubling? Because the extra pounds often start kids on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

What is one of the best strategies to combat excess weight in your child? If you improve the diet and exercise levels of your entire family this will help protect the health of your child now and in the future.

Sometimes there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity. However, in most cases excess weight is caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little.

Children, unlike adults, need extra nutrients and calories to fuel their growth and development. So if they consume the calories needed for daily activities, growth and metabolism, they add pounds in proportion to their growth.

In the general population, eating and exercise habits play a much larger role.

Far less common than lifestyle issues are genetic diseases and hormonal disorders that can predispose a child to obesity.

Diseases, such as Prader-Willi syndrome and Cushing’s syndrome, affect a very small proportion of children.

Factors that increase your child’s risk of becoming overweight:

Poor diet — Regular consumption of high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, contribute to weight gain. High-fat foods are dense in calories.

Low physical activity — Sedentary kids are more likely to gain weight because they don’t burn calories through physical activity. Inactive leisure activities, such as watching television or playing video games, contribute to the problem.

Genetics — If your child comes from a family of overweight people, he or she may be genetically predisposed to put on excess weight, especially in an environment where high-calorie food is always available and physical activity isn’t encouraged.

Psychological factors — Some children overeat to cope with problems or to deal with emotions, such as stress or boredom. Their parents may have similar tendencies.

Family factors — Most children don’t shop for the family’s groceries. Indeed, parents are responsible for putting healthy foods in the kitchen at home and leaving unhealthy foods in the store. You can’t blame your kids for being attracted to sweet, salty and fatty foods; after all they taste good. But you can control much of their access to these foods, especially at home.

Socioeconomic factors — Children from low-income backgrounds are at greater risk of becoming obese. Poverty and obesity often go hand in hand because low-income parents may lack the time and resources to make healthy eating and exercise a family priority.

However, not all children carrying extra pounds are overweight or obese. Sometimes children have larger than average body frames.

The amount of body fat that children normally carry varies with the stages of child development.

If you’re worried with your child health and you think that your child is putting on too much weight, talk to his or her doctor or health care provider.

The doctor can calculate your child’s body mass index (BMI) and determine where it falls on the national BMI-for-age growth chart.

To determine how your child compares with other children of the same sex and age, and to determine your child’s percentile your doctor uses the growth chart.

So, for example, if your child is in the 80th percentile this means that compared with other children of the same sex and age, 80 percent have a lower BMI.

These are the cutoff points on these growth charts, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to help identify overweight and obese children:

• BMI-for-age between 85th and 94th percentiles — overweight
• BMI-for-age 95th percentile or above — obesity

Since BMI doesn’t consider things like being muscular or having a larger-than-average body frame and because growth patterns vary greatly among children, to help determine whether your child’s weight is a health concern, your doctor also factors your child’s growth and development into the overall weight assessment.

In addition to BMI and charting weight on the growth charts, the doctor also evaluates:

• Your family’s history of obesity and weight-related health problems, such as diabetes
• Your child’s eating habits and calorie intake
• Your child’s activity level

Obese children usually develop serious health problems and often carrying these conditions into an obese adulthood. So, overweight children are at higher risk of developing:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Asthma and other respiratory problems
• Sleep disorders
• Liver disease
• Early puberty or menarche
• Eating disorders
• Skin infections

It’s not easy to be obese or overweight. The social and emotional fallout also can hurt your child and even develop

• Low self-esteem
• Behavior and learning problems
• Depression

Treatment for childhood obesity is based on your child’s age and if he or she has other medical conditions. Treatment usually includes serious changes in your child’s diet and level of physical activity but in certain circumstances it may include medications or even weight-loss surgery.

Children under age 7 who have no other health concerns — the goal of treatment may be weight maintenance rather than weight loss to add inches but not pounds, causing BMI-for-age to drop over time into a healthier range.

Weight loss is typically recommended for children over age 7 or for younger children who have related health concerns. Weight loss should be slow and steady — anywhere from 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) a week to 1 pound a month, depending on your child’s situation.

Obese child — maintaining weight while waiting to grow taller may be as difficult as losing weight for older people.

The methods for maintaining weight or losing weight are the same: Your child needs to eat a healthy diet and increase his or her physical activity and success depends largely on your commitment to helping your child make these changes.

Eating habits and exercise habits are two sides of the same coin: When you consider one, you also need to consider the other.

Even small changes in eating habits can make a big difference in your child’s health.

Limit sweetened beverages, including those containing fruit juice. These drinks provide little nutritional value in exchange for their high calories. They also can make your child feel too full to eat healthier foods.

Physical activity is a critical component of weight loss, especially for children. Emphasize activity, not exercise. Find activities your child likes to do. If your child likes to climb, head for the nearest neighborhood jungle gym or climbing wall. If your child likes to read, then walk or bike to the neighborhood library for a book.

It not only burns calories but also builds strong bones and muscles and helps children sleep well at night and stay alert during the day.

Such habits established in childhood help adolescents maintain healthy weight despite the hormonal changes, rapid growth and social influences that often lead to overeating. And active children are more likely to become fit adults.

1. Limit recreational screen time to fewer than two hours a day, playing video and computer games or talking on the phone.
2. If you want an active child, be active yourself.
3. Find fun activities that the whole family can do together.
4. Never make exercise seem a punishment or a chore.
5. Vary the activities.
6. Let each child take a turn choosing the activity of the day or week

To treat obesity in adolescents two prescription weight-loss drugs are available today: Sibutramine (Meridia) and Orlistat (Xenical).

• Sibutramine, approved for adolescents older than 16, alters the brain’s chemistry to make the body feel fuller more quickly.
• Orlistat, approved for adolescents older than 12, prevents the absorption of fat in the intestines.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a reduced-strength over-the-counter (nonprescription) version of Orlistat (Alli). Though readily available in pharmacies and drugstores, Alli is not approved for children or teenagers under age 18.

Prescription medication isn’t often advisable for adolescents. The risks of taking the medications long term are still unknown, and their effect on weight loss and weight maintenance for adolescents is still questioned.

And, once again, weight-loss drugs don’t replace the need to adopt a healthy diet and exercise regimen.

Weight-loss surgery can be a safe and effective option for some severely obese adolescents who have been unable to lose weight using conventional weight-loss methods.
As with any type of surgery, there are potential risks and long-term complications. Also, the long-term effects of weight-loss surgery on a child’s future growth and development are largely unknown.

Weight-loss surgery in adolescents is still uncommon. But your doctor may recommend this surgery if your child’s weight poses a greater health threat than do the potential risks of surgery. It is important that a child being considered for weight-loss surgery meet with a team of pediatric specialists, including a pediatric endocrinologist.

Even so, surgery isn’t the easy answer for weight loss. It doesn’t guarantee that your child loses all of his or her excess weight or that your child keeps it off long term. It also doesn’t replace the need for following a healthy diet and regular physical activity program.

Whether your child is at risk of becoming overweight or currently at a healthy weight, you can take proactive measures to get or keep things on the right track.

• Schedule yearly well-child visits — Take your child to the doctor for well-child checkups at least once a year.
• Set a good example.
• Make sure you eat healthy foods and exercise regularly to maintain your weight. Then, invite your child to join you.

Avoid food-related power struggles with your child — You might unintentionally lay the groundwork for such battles by providing or withholding certain foods — sweets, for instance — as rewards or punishments. As a general rule, foods aren’t recommended for behavior modification in children.

Emphasize the positive — Encourage a healthy lifestyle by highlighting the positive — the fun of playing outside or the variety of fresh fruit you can get year-round, for example.

Be patient — The Most IMPORTANT! Many overweight children grow into their extra pounds as they get taller.

Realize, too, that an intense focus on your child’s eating habits and weight can easily backfire, leading a child to overeat even more, or possibly making him or her more prone to developing an eating disorder.