Childhood obesity overview

Obesity is defined as an unnecessary buildup of body fat. "Obesity is present when total body weight is more than 25 percent fat in boys and more than 32 percent fat in girls" (Lohman, 1987). Although childhood obesity is often defined as a weight-for-height in excess of 120 percent of the ideal, skin fold measures are more accurate determinants of corpulence (Dietz, 676-686; Lohman, 1987). Skin fold thickness is a technique used to evaluate body composition by measuring a double …

…H., Wing, Rena, R., Koeske, Randi, and Valoski, Alice."Long-term effects of family-based treatment of childhood obesity." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55.1 (1987): 91-95. Lohman, Timothy, G. "The use of skinfolds to estimate body fatness on children and youth." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. 58.9 (1987): 98-102. Torgan, Carol, Ph.D. (2002). "Childhood Obesity on the Rise." The National Institute of Health.. <http://www.nih.gov/news/WordonHealth/ jun2002/childhoodobesity.html>.