Attention to childhood obesity

SANKO University Hospital Nutrition and Dietetics Department Specialist. Dietician Tuğba Demirkıran said that childhood obesity is an important public health problem.

Uzm. Dietician Tuğba Demirkıran drew attention to childhood obesity in her statement due to the September 3-9 Public Health Week.

Uzm. Dietitian Demirkıran emphasized that childhood is an important period for children's health, especially since growth and development is very rapid in the first two years after birth.

Demirkıran underlined that the increased incidence of obesity in early childhood is among the factors that increase the likelihood of non-communicable diseases that negatively affect health, and shared the following data: “According to the World Health Organization 2020 data, 38.3 million of 144 million children globally and 39 million children under the age of 5 are overweight according to 2021 data, which shows the importance of healthy nutrition in childhood. It is also predicted that childhood obesity will increase by approximately 60 percent in the next decade and reach 250 million by 2030.

Published in 2023, the World Obesity Atlas clearly shows that obesity affects a very large population worldwide. In the published report, the incidence of obesity is expected to increase from 14 percent to 24 percent by 2035, affecting approximately 2 billion children, adolescents and adults, and the incidence of obesity in boys worldwide is expected to increase from 10 percent to 20 percent between 2020 and 2035, and from 8 percent to 18 percent in girls, making the fastest increase among children and adolescents.”

Ways to prevent childhood obesity

Uzm. Dietitian Demirkıran made the following suggestions for the prevention of childhood obesity: “Physical activity should be encouraged, Screen time should be limited, Adequate sleep should be provided, Fruit and vegetable consumption should be encouraged, Consumption of sugary and processed foods should be avoided, Stress should be avoided, Nutrient content of food should be controlled, Pulp and protein should be added to the diet.”