It is therefore beneficial to supplement the reliability of a BMI diagnosis with additional screening tools such as adipose tissue or skin fold measurements.

[13] Childhood obesity, however, can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders.

[16] The early physical effects of obesity in adolescence include almost all of the child's organs being affected, gallstones, hepatitis, sleep apnoea and increased intracranial pressure.

[18] A 2008 study has found that children who are obese have carotid arteries which have prematurely aged by as much as thirty years as well as abnormal levels of cholesterol.

[full citation needed] Childhood obesity is common among children from low-income, African American and Hispanic communities.

[5] It is much more common for young people who come from a racial or ethnic minority, or for those who have a lower socioeconomic status, to be overweight and to engage in less healthy behaviors and sedentary activities.

[40] A Cochrane review of a lower fat diet in children (30% or less of total energy) to prevent obesity found the existing evidence of very low to moderate quality, and firm conclusions could not be made.

In a study of 548 children over a 19-month period the likelihood of obesity increased 1.6 times for every additional soft drink consumed per day.

As childhood obesity has become more prevalent, snack vending machines in school settings have been reduced by law in a small number of localities.

[67] In 2017 the Obesity Health Alliance called on the United Kingdom government which would be formed after that year's general election to take measures to reduce childhood obesity, for example by banning advertisements for unhealthy foods before 9:00 pm and banning sports sponsorship by manufacturers of unhealthy foods.

The failure of Theresa May's then incumbent government to cut sugar, fat and salt content in foods was criticised by health groups.

[71] Many children fail to exercise because they spend long periods of time engaging in sedentary activities such as computer usage, playing video games or watching television.

One factor believed to contribute to the lack of activity found was little teacher motivation,[74] but when toys, such as balls were made available, the children were more likely to play.

Researchers provided an in-home interview to 9,374 adolescents, in grades seven through 12 and discovered that there was not a direct correlation with children eating in response to depression.

[90] Given the prevalence rates of both obesity and ADHD in children, understanding the possible relationship between the two is important for public health, particularly when exploring treatment and management options.

At least sixty minutes of daily moderate to high intensity aerobic physical activity is recommended for all children (regardless of BMI).

[93] Brief primary care weight management interventions (e.g. delivered by a physician or nurse practitioner) have only a marginal positive effect in reducing childhood overweight or obesity.

[78] Parents changing the diet and lifestyle of their offspring by offering appropriate food portions, increasing physical activity, and keeping sedentary behaviors at a minimum may also decrease the obesity levels in children.

[100] Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding showed greater weight loss than lifestyle management in a small study.

[101] Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and vertical sleeve gastrectomy are two surgical procedures currently used in adolescent obesity with varying success rates.

[108] In 2011, a national cohort study of infants and toddlers found that nearly one-third of US children were overweight or obese at nine months and two years old.

Information garnered has concluded that the increase has occurred in lower socioeconomic areas, where poor nutritional education has been blamed.

A study of 1800 children aged two to twelve in Colac, Australia, tested a program of restricted diet (no carbonated drinks or sweets) and increased exercise.

[112] A Northwestern University study indicates that inadequate sleep has a negative impact on a child's performance in school, their emotional and social welfare, and increases their risk of being overweight.

This study was the first nationally represented, longitudinal investigation of the correlation between sleep, body mass index (BMI) and overweight status in children between the ages of 3 and 18.

Prevalence doubled or tripled between the early 1970s and late 1990s in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, the UK, and the USA.

By 2010, more than 40% of children in the North American and eastern Mediterranean WHO regions, 38% in Europe, 27% in the western Pacific, and 22% in southeast Asia were predicted to be overweight or obese.

The study also found that, while obesity that continues into adulthood has little influence on men's outcomes, it makes women less likely to have ever been employed or to currently have a romantic partner.

[118] A 2017 National Bureau of Economic Research paper found that childhood obesity in the United States increases medical costs by $1,354 a year (in 2013 dollars).

[122][123] Eugenia Martínez Vallejo, a Spanish girl who lived in the 17th century, gained notoriety for her large size and weight and notably became a court jester for Charles II of Spain.