Childhood obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Childhood obesity - Essay Example n body mass and the risk of acute and long-term morbidity and mortality, in the case of children and adolescents, acute medical complications of obesity are less common. (Schwarz, 2012). Evidence points out that low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) results from sedentary lifestyle, leading to hypertension and premature coronary artery disease. â€Å"Insulin resistance† in the liver and adipose tissues, and skeletal muscles occur from body fat build-up which â€Å"predispose to glucose intolerance and hypertriglyceridemia†. Lower life expectancy resulting from the predisposition to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, can be attributed to the combination of high levels of insulin, hypertension from fat accumulation and dyslipidemia. High insulin levels in the body and high blood pressure also leads â€Å"androgen production from ovarian and adrenocortical cells with dysmenorrheal and virilization† in females, and the â€Å"aromatization of adrenal androgens to estrone that leads to gynecomastia in males† (Schwarz, 2012). â€Å"fatty liver, independent of visceral fat and intramyocellular lipid content (ICML), has a central role in insulin resistance in obese adolescents. Patients were divided into 2 groups: 23 obese adolescents with and 20 obese adolescents with low HFF were matched for age, Tanner stage, BMI score, and percentage of body fat, visceral fat, and IMCL. The group with a high hepatic fat fraction (HFF) had lower whole-body insulin sensitivity index and lower estimates of insulin secretion, as well as a significantly lower glucose disposal rate, than the group with low HFF† (Schwarz, 2012). Schwarz (2012) stated that several genetic syndromes associated with childhood obesity have been determined to include the Prader-Willi syndrome, pseudohypoparathyroidism, Laurence-Moon-Biedl (Bardet-Biedl) syndrome, and the Cohen, Down and Tuner syndromes. Hormonal disorders like growth hormone deficiency and resistance, hypothyroidism, leptin deficiency