A Short Review on The Impact of Junk and Processed Foods on Childhood Obesity

A severe public health crisis raises morbidity, mortality and considerable, prolonged social and economic expense is childhood obesity. In the last quarter of the century, the levels of obesity in American children and youth nearly tripled. Nearly 20% of young people are overweight, with obesity rates rising alarmingly in pre-school children. A survey conducted by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported the incidence of obesity in children from 2-5 years and 6-11 years have been doubled from 5-12% and 7%-17% respectively. Childhood obesity puts children as well as adults at an increased risk for developing destitute health including diabetes and cardiovascular complications. To overcome this, preventive measures should emphasize reducing overweight should be implemented. In various contexts, steps to combat childhood obesity must be taken and a multiplicity of interventions implemented and include a broad number of participants. Continual action is needed at multiple levels – individually to impact behavioural change at schools and communities, and sectoral change at the agriculture, food production, training, transport, and urban planning level.