[Click! Health] Child and Adolescent Obesity Increasing... "Neglecting It Raises Risk of Adult Diseases"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Childhood and adolescent obesity is increasing steadily. Experts emphasize that proper management of obesity during this period is crucial because it can lead to adult diseases, making prevention and treatment important.

According to the '2021 Student Health Examination Sample Statistics' announced by the Ministry of Education on the 15th of last month, a survey conducted on 97,787 students from 1,023 elementary, middle, and high schools found that 30.8% of students were overweight or obese. This is a 5 percentage point increase compared to 2019, two years ago.

Professor Kim Eun-sil of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents at Gangbuk Samsung Hospital said, "There are several causes for the rapid increase in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents, but the biggest cause is the change in lifestyle and environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Professor Kim analyzed, "Along with a decrease in physical activity, sedentary behavior and digital device usage time increased, and in terms of eating habits, consumption of fast food such as hamburgers and delivery food greatly increased. As regular lifestyle patterns collapsed, an environment with a high risk of obesity was created due to decreased intake of healthy foods."

According to a study published last year in the journal 'Scientific Reports' by Professor Kim and research teams including Professors Choi Yeon-ho and Kim Mi-jin of Samsung Seoul Hospital, during the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents showed overall increases in body mass index, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and liver function levels. Among them, patients diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease showed an increase in glycated hemoglobin, an indicator of diabetes, from 5.6% to 6.9%.

The important point is that childhood and adolescent obesity can cause various diseases, so efforts should be made not only for treatment but also for prevention. According to studies published so far, about 80% of obese children and adolescents become obese adults, and during the process leading to adult obesity, the risk of various metabolic diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease increases by about 40 to 60 times.

Professor Kim advised, "Since childhood and adolescent obesity has increased significantly after COVID-19, not only pediatricians but also parents should be careful not to regard this as a temporary phenomenon and overlook it. If overweight or obesity is confirmed in school health examinations, it is necessary to visit a pediatrician to evaluate related comorbidities and to receive prevention and treatment."