肥胖是如何影響兒童的?

Obesity Now, Obesity Later 現在肥胖，以後肥胖
Using data from 2003 to 2006, Ogden, et al. found that about 31.9 percent of children and teens in the U.S. aged 2 to 19 were overweight, and 16.3 percent were obese. Childhood obesity is a serious concern, as researchers have found a strong link between childhood obesity and adult obesity. Whitaker, et al. determined that as many as 80 percent of overweight children ages 10 to 15 were obese at age 25. Obese children can be on a path to a lifetime of health complications and other problems.
從2003年到2006年的數據中，Ogden, et al.發現美國2至19歲的兒童和青少年中差不多31.9%屬於超重，而16.3%屬於過度肥胖。兒童肥胖是一個受到嚴重關注的問題，研究者已經發現兒童肥胖跟成人肥胖之間的強烈聯繫。Whitaker, et al.推斷有80%的兒童10歲時超重，而到了25歲則成了過度肥胖。兒童過度肥胖可能使其一生遭受併發症和其他方面的問題。

Health Risks 健康危害
Obese children are at risk for a number of health complications, both now and as they become adults. "Nearly every organ of the body is negatively affected," cautions Dr. Natalie Digate Muth, writing for the American Council on Exercise. The most common concerns are type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. These diseases or their precursors (insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, low-grade inflammation) are common in obese children. Approximately 30 percent of obese children suffer from "metabolic syndrome," which is medically defined as a combination of several of these factors and significantly increases their risk for serious health complications as adults. Other long-term health consequences of childhood obesity and obesity in general can include liver degeneration (hepatic steatosis), sleep apnea, kidney failure, polycystic ovary syndrome (in women), hip and knee pain, higher risk of bone fractures and hypothyroidism, to name a few.
無論現在或長大以後，過度肥胖的兒童都存在患上併發症的風險。“幾乎每個身體器官都會受到負面影響。”Dr. Natalie Digate Muth爲美國健身協會所寫的文章中警告說。其中最普遍的問題是第2型糖尿病，心血管疾病和中風。這些疾病或它們的預先症狀（胰島素抵抗、葡萄糖耐受不良、動脈硬化、高血壓、低級炎症）在過度肥胖的兒童身上是很普遍的。大概30%的過度肥胖兒童患上“代謝綜合症”，即這些因素的組合，這巨大地增加他們跟成人一樣患上併發症的風險。兒童過度肥胖和一般人過度肥胖的其他長期健康影響包括如脂肪肝變性（肝炎）、睡眠呼吸中止症、腎功能衰竭、多囊卵巢綜合症（在女性身上）、髖關節和膝關節疼痛、骨折風險更大和甲狀腺功能減退等。

Physical Challenges 身體上的挑戰
Obese children suffer a number of physical and perceived physical barriers to living an active lifestyle, which can perpetuate a cycle of inactivity and poor health. Some of these include asthma, joint pain and increased musculoskeletal stress, and feeling "too overweight to do physical activity." Obese children need to slowly begin working low-intensity physical activity into their lives to break this cycle and prevent the long-term consequences of being overweight.
過度肥胖的兒童對於擁有一種積極的生活方式有大量身體和身體感知障礙，這樣造成長期保持一種不積極、不健康的生活方式。這些包括哮喘、關節疼痛和增加肌肉骨骼緊張，還有覺得“太胖而不能做體育活動” 。過度肥胖的兒童需要在生活中慢慢開始低強度的體力活動來打破這種循環，防止超重帶來的長期負面影響。

Social Impact 社會影響
Obesity and overweight in children is strongly correlated with low self-esteem and social marginalization. Because of these psychological consequences, obese children may display poor academic performance and social difficulties that can continue into adulthood. In addition, feeling self-conscious about their bodies or feeling ostracized when not chosen by their peers to participate in sports discourages obese children from becoming more physically active, again perpetuating a cycle of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.
兒童超重和過度肥胖跟低自尊和社會邊緣化有着密切聯繫。由於這些心理上的影響，過度肥胖的兒童表現在學習成績差和社交有困難，並影響到他們長大成人。此外，以自我爲意識或不被同伴選去參加活動而感覺被排斥都使孩子們變得不愛運動，這再一次使他們長期保持一種不健康的生活方式。

(恆星英語學習網原創編譯,轉載請註明出處!)