Eurispes draws a picture on the problem of childhood obesity in the Italy Report 2020. Obesity is the condition of abnormal or excessive accumulation of fatty substances in the body's adipose tissue that involves risks and implications for health.
A new public health challenge
Childhood obesity increases the individual's likelihood of early health problems that will remain so for life. Among these emerge:
- cardiovascular diseases;
- diabetes;
- musculoskeletal disorders;
- dyslipidemia;
- non-alcoholic diseases of the fatty liver (Non-Alcolic fat liver diseases) (NAFLD);
- hypertension;
- psychological and social problems.
Children who are overweight in kindergarten have a risk 4 times greater than being obese during adolescence. While it is considered that an obese child a 6 years old is more than 50% likely to be an obese adult himself.
How we are placed in Italy
Childhood overweight and obesity have increased dramatically in recent decades, both in the so-called developing countries and in those considered developed. In Italy, one in three children is overweight. We are in second place in Europe for the prevalence of male childhood obesity (21%) and fourth for female childhood obesity (14%). The main causes of these alarming estimates are essentially sedentary behaviors and incorrect eating habits.
But what the media talk about?
A mitigating measure to the problem of overweight and pediatric obesity is that of widespread nutritional education. However, the media speak little or nothing of this problem and catalyze public opinion on individual cases of poorly balanced diets considered improperly “vegan”. Most of the time these news are not even truthful and have little to do with the vegan diet, that if properly planned, it is healthy, adequate from a nutritional point of view, and can confer health benefits in the prevention and treatment of some diseases. According to L’American Dietetic Association vegetarian diets, including the vegan one, well planned are appropriate for individuals at all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, feeding time, early and second childhood and adolescence, and for athletes.
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