Obesity

Childhood Obesity

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

The causes of obesity are complex, including genetic, biological, behavioral, nutritional and cultural factors. Obesity occurs when a person eats more calories than the body burns up. The root causes of obesity are excess consumption of food, a lack of physical activity or both.

If one parent is obese, there's a 50 percent chance that his or her children will be obese. When both parents are obese, their children have an 80 percent chance of obesity.

Many genetic and environmental factors contribute to the number of calories people eat and burn up, which is why weight loss and weight gain varies for different people.

Related Illnesses

Obesity increases the risk of many serious health problems. Obesity is associated with more than 30 medical conditions. Scientific evidence has established a strong relationship with at least 15 of those conditions, some of which include:

• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Gallstones
• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Lipid Problems
• Liver Problems
• Menstrual Problems
• Osteoporosis
• Trouble Sleeping

For more information, please see:

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated May 8, 2007