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 Overweight and Obesity
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Consequences

Childhood overweight is associated with various health-related consequences. Overweight children and adolescents may experience immediate health consequences and may be at risk for weight-related health problems in adulthood.


Psychosocial Risks

Some consequences of childhood and adolescent overweight are psychosocial. Overweight children and adolescents are targets of early and systematic social discrimination.39 The psychological stress of social stigmatization can cause low self-esteem which, in turn, can hinder academic and social functioning, and persist into adulthood.40


Cardiovascular Disease Risks

Overweight children and teens have been found to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and abnormal glucose tolerance.39 In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, almost 60% of overweight children had at least one CVD risk factor while 25 percent of overweight children had two or more CVD risk factors.2


Additional Health Risks

Less common health conditions associated with increased weight include asthma, hepatic steatosis, sleep apnea and Type 2 diabetes.

Tips for Parents
What can you do as a parent or guardian to help prevent childhood overweight? We have some ideas in our Healthy Weight section.

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Page last reviewed: May 22, 2007
Page last updated: May 21, 2008
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion