Editing Obesity (section)

==Childhood obesity==
{{Main|Childhood obesity}}
The healthy BMI range varies with the age and sex of the child. Obesity in children and adolescents is defined as a BMI greater than the 95th&nbsp;[[percentile]].<ref name="cdc.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_BMI/about_childrens_BMI.htm |title=Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Weight: BMI: About BMI for Children and Teens |publisher=[[Center for disease control and prevention]] |access-date=6 April 2009}}</ref> The reference data that these percentiles are based on is from 1963 to 1994 and thus has not been affected by the recent increases in rates of obesity.<ref name="Flegal KM, Ogden CL, Wei R, Kuczmarski RL, Johnson CL 2001 1086–93">{{cite journal | vauthors = Flegal KM, Ogden CL, Wei R, Kuczmarski RL, Johnson CL | title = Prevalence of overweight in US children: comparison of US growth charts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with other reference values for body mass index | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 73 | issue = 6 | pages = 1086–93 | date = June 2001 | pmid = 11382664 | doi = 10.1093/ajcn/73.6.1086 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the 21st&nbsp;century, with rising rates in both the developed and the developing world. Rates of obesity in Canadian boys have increased from 11% in the 1980s to over 30% in the 1990s, while during this same time period rates increased from 4 to 14% in Brazilian children.<ref name=flynn2006/> In the UK, there were 60% more obese children in 2005 compared to 1989.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lawrence J | title = Childhood obesity | journal = British Journal of Perioperative Nursing | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | pages = 84, 86–84, 90 | date = February 2005 | pmid = 15736809 | doi = 10.1177/175045890501500204 | s2cid = 31102802 }}</ref> In the US, the percentage of overweight and obese children increased to 16% in 2008, a 300% increase over the prior 30 years.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Brownback S |date=January 2008|title=Confronting Childhood Obesity|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=615|issue=1|pages=219–221|doi=10.1177/0002716207308894|s2cid=144317779|issn=0002-7162}}</ref>

As with obesity in adults, many factors contribute to the rising rates of childhood obesity. Changing diet and decreasing physical activity are believed to be the two most important causes for the recent increase in the incidence of child obesity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dollman J, Norton K, Norton L | title = Evidence for secular trends in children's physical activity behaviour | journal = British Journal of Sports Medicine | volume = 39 | issue = 12 | pages = 892–7; discussion 897 | date = December 2005 | pmid = 16306494 | pmc = 1725088 | doi = 10.1136/bjsm.2004.016675 | type = Review }}</ref> [[Food marketing toward children|Advertising of unhealthy foods to children]] also contributes, as it increases their consumption of the product.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Russell SJ, Croker H, Viner RM | title = The effect of screen advertising on children's dietary intake: A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Obesity Reviews | volume = 20 | issue = 4 | pages = 554–568 | date = April 2019 | pmid = 30576057 | pmc = 6446725 | doi = 10.1111/obr.12812 }}</ref> Antibiotics in the first 6 months of life have been associated with excess weight at age seven to twelve years of age.<ref name=Cox2015>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cox LM, Blaser MJ | title = Antibiotics in early life and obesity | journal = Nature Reviews. Endocrinology | volume = 11 | issue = 3 | pages = 182–190 | date = March 2015 | pmid = 25488483 | pmc = 4487629 | doi = 10.1038/nrendo.2014.210 }}</ref> Because childhood obesity often persists into adulthood and is associated with numerous chronic illnesses, children who are obese are often tested for [[hypertension]], [[diabetes]], [[hyperlipidemia]], and [[fatty liver disease]].<ref name=CADG2006/>

Treatments used in children are primarily lifestyle interventions and behavioral techniques, although efforts to increase activity in children have had little success.<ref name="pmid23044984">{{cite journal | vauthors = Metcalf B, Henley W, Wilkin T | title = Effectiveness of intervention on physical activity of children: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with objectively measured outcomes (EarlyBird 54) | journal = BMJ | volume = 345 | pages = e5888 | date = September 2012 | pmid = 23044984 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.e5888 | hdl-access = free | doi-access = free | hdl = 10871/11391 | type = Review, Meta-analysis }}</ref> In the United States, medications are not FDA approved for use in this age group.<ref name="flynn2006">{{cite journal | vauthors = Flynn MA, McNeil DA, Maloff B, Mutasingwa D, Wu M, Ford C, Tough SC | title = Reducing obesity and related chronic disease risk in children and youth: a synthesis of evidence with 'best practice' recommendations | journal = Obesity Reviews | volume = 7 | issue = Suppl 1 | pages = 7–66 | date = February 2006 | pmid = 16371076 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00242.x | type = Review | s2cid = 5992031 | doi-access =  }}</ref> Brief weight management interventions in [[primary care]] (e.g. delivered by a physician or nurse practitioner) have only a marginal positive effect in reducing childhood overweight or obesity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sim LA, Lebow J, Wang Z, Koball A, Murad MH | title = Brief Primary Care Obesity Interventions: A Meta-analysis | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 138 | issue = 4 | pages = e20160149 | date = October 2016 | pmid = 27621413 | doi = 10.1542/peds.2016-0149 | s2cid = 26039769 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Multi-component behaviour change interventions that include changes to dietary and physical activity may reduce BMI in the short term in children aged 6 to 11 years, although the benefits are small and quality of evidence is low.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mead E, Brown T, Rees K, Azevedo LB, Whittaker V, Jones D, Olajide J, Mainardi GM, Corpeleijn E, O'Malley C, Beardsmore E, Al-Khudairy L, Baur L, Metzendorf MI, Demaio A, Ells LJ | title = Diet, physical activity and behavioural interventions for the treatment of overweight or obese children from the age of 6 to 11 years | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2017 | issue = 6 | pages = CD012651 | date = June 2017 | pmid = 28639319 | pmc = 6481885 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD012651 }}</ref>