Risk Factors for Obesity Development in Different Periods of Childhood

Abstract

Obesity is an important health problem in many countries. Obesity among the child population is growing steadily, including the Russian Federation. Development of this disease often occurs in childhood and sometimes the origin of obesity goes back to prenatal period. There are a number of endogenous and exogenous factors than play an important role in development of obesity. These are heredity, socioeconomic status of the family, factors which are revealed during pregnancy and child delivery — weight gain, administration of antibacterial drugs and hyperglycemia in mother during her pregnancy, mode of delivery, feeding type and time of complementary food introduction, excessive consumption of calories with food, improper daily routine and lack of sleep, skipping meals, use of gadgets and associated physical inactivity and excessive food intake, marketing of high-calorie foods and others. Prevailing risk factors can be identified for each age period. Study and early identification of risk factors taking into account age of a child is necessary to take timely prevention measures and inform parents and their children about possible reasons and consequences of obesity.