Almost one third of children in America are overweight or obese. Some parents not only take no action to get their child’s weight under control, by sending them to weight loss camps for example, but go to further measures to reassure the child that being overweight is ok. If your child is “fluffy” or “has more to love,” there are some things you should know about their future, potentially dangerous, health outcomes.

First of all, the psychological effects of teasing, bullying, and self esteem can be so extreme for children. Depression is usually a side effect of childhood obesity. You can build your child up as much as you can, but you cannot control what other children say. This is most likely the reason for parents that praise their children who are overweight, but there are much healthier and effective solutions.

Think about your child’s heart. Younger and younger people are having problems with cholesterol and hypertension, due to the decreasing age of obesity onset. Problems like insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are more likely to occur in people who were obese as children, even if they lose weight and adapt a healthy lifestyle later in life. That being said, if you have an obese child, they are far more likely to continue this unhealthy lifestyle into adulthood and may be set up for weight-management failure at a young age.

Breathing problems occur too. Many children have issues developmentally due to obesity and inactivity that result in sleep apnea and asthma. Children with sleep apnea can awaken up to 15 times an hour! There is no way your child can get the recommended amount of sleep waking up that many times. Another rising problem associated with childhood obesity is non alcoholic cirrhosis. Children develop a fatty liver due to overconsumption of calories, mainly fructose (High- fructose corn syrup). It is a phenomenon that doctors were baffled by when young children were developing diseases associated with aged alcoholics!

Another negative side effect of childhood obesity that is normally not recognized as such is skeletal problems. When a child is extremely overweight, growth and development of the skeletal structure is compromised and there is a chance of deformations. Joint pain is also more prevalent with all the weight on their joints. Overweight kids also have more of an issue with balance, so they tend to break bones more. This is a problem, because healing is complicated. Splints and casts are less effective and can cause skin problems due to abnormally large limbs. Treatment usually involves surgery (rods, pins, etc.), which leaves room for post-surgery infection.

It may be hard to approach the situation of childhood obesity, since we all love our children and don’t want them to feel like there is something wrong with them. But if you don’t help them combat this problem now, it will only escalate into worse problems. So get some help if diet and exercise don’t work- perhaps they would benefit from a structured weight loss camp, such as Camp Shane for children and teens. It is not ok for your child to be morbidly obese at a young age.

Childhood obesity can lead to a variety of health complications. Prevent these health problems by sending your child to a fun summer weight loss camp.

Written by Amanda Yazbek, Nutritionist at Camp Shane weight loss camp for kids