Viewpoint article: Childhood obesity - Looking back over 50 years to begin to look forward

Abstract

The last 50 years have seen the emergence of childhood obesity as a major public health concern and a condition now regularly encountered in routine general paediatric practice. Causes are extremely complex, bringing together multifactorial environmental factors and individual genetics, and we still do not have a clear understanding of why some children appear predisposed to exaggerated and sometimes extreme weight gain. Overweight and obese children of today face an uncertain future. They are likely to experience higher rates of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, as well as many other health problems. However, while the prevalence of childhood obesity has progressively increased over the la..