Childhood Obesity

The increasing problem of childhood obesity is a major health concern happening world wide, especially in some developed countries. Where rate of childhood obesity in Australia is at one of the highest amongst developed nations, 20%-25% of Australia children aged 2 to 17 years are currently obese, double the prevalence recorded in 1986 (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2005). Stanton and Hills (2004) stated that obesity can be "defined as an excessive proportion of body fat" (p.11-13). Generally, obesity in children is caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy nutrition intake, or a combination of the two, all playing an important role in determining a child's weight.
The first cause of the child obesity is lack of physical exercise. Since our lifestyles today are a great deal more sedentary than before, both adults and children rely more on high-tech and services which reduce physical activity - lifts, remote controls, internet shopping, food take-away home delivery, which all reduce physical activity.…