Peekaboo Pediatrics, with Dr. Heena Thakkar and Dr. Shilpa Pankaj, has helped many parents understand childhood obesity in Houston, TX. We know that hearing your child has obesity is devastating, so we’re more than ready to help you understand what you can do to help.
Causes of Obesity in Children
The pandemic of obesity in children doesn’t have a singular cause. Instead, many potential factors could cause a child to gain excessive weight. Here are a few reasons why specialists believe that obesity has skyrocketed in our children in recent years:
- Sedentary Lifestyles: These days, kids don’t get outside and play like they did in the past. Instead, they sit around, play games, snack, and gain weight quickly.
- Electronic Devices: Children who watch television, play video games, or even enjoy TikTok videos may sit longer, gain weight, and become overweight very quickly.
- Decline in Physical Ed: More and more schools are cutting Physical Ed classes to balance their budgets, leaving children with few ways to exercise while in school.
- Poor Food Choices: Junk food is more widespread than ever, and even seemingly healthy meals can be packed with sugar, calories, cholesterol, and other unhealthy ingredients.
- Decrease in Sports Options: Fewer and fewer children are enjoying sports these days, which is significantly increasing obesity throughout the nation.
Risk Factors That Impact Their Health
Peekaboo Pediatrics, Dr. Thakkar, and Dr. Pankaj can help you understand childhood obesity in Houston, TX, including some common risk factors. Dangers that might contribute to an overweight body include family history and culture, including foods high in calories and fat. Risks that a child with obesity may experience include:
- High blood pressure could cause other cardiac dangers
- High cholesterol may trigger other heart problems
- Constricting blood vessels could very well impact cardiovascular health
- Type 2 diabetes is a common health issue for people with obesity
- Breathing problems, such as asthma, could make life difficult
- Other diseases (fatty liver conditions, cirrhosis, and liver cancer)
What You Can Do
Our team can help your child fight obesity by:
- Finding better and healthier eating patterns
- Creating a workout schedule that they enjoy
- Teach both of you about healthier activities
- More specialized medical therapies (if needed)
- Surgeries (only if your child's obesity is very extreme and dangerous)
Help Is Available: Call Us Today to Get Help!
At Peekaboo Pediatrics, Dr. Thakkar and Dr. Pankaj can help you figure out childhood obesity in Houston, TX, for your little one. We can provide care options that keep your child healthy and make it easier for them to lose weight and stay in shape. You can call (713) 861-4800 to learn more.