Childhood Obesity And Depression

If it is accurate to say that obesity can cause your child to be depressed, then, equally, we may possibly say that depression can be the cause of childhood obesity.

In the circumstance of the child already becoming obese, depression, tension and anxiety will all play a role in the complexities of their lives. In many circumstances the obese child’s sole means of comfort lie in the fact that both parents are obese, thus engendering a feeling of normalness and protection from the catcalls and abuse received outside the residence environment.

In these circumstances the only obtainable route to happier, healthier lives is a change of family lifestyle resulting in a maintained weight loss. When both parents have a healthy weight the obese child often suffers horribly, and never far more so than as an adolescent. Are kids wearing glasses still called “Four eyes”? A lot worse appellants are utilized on obese children and teens. How on earth can they respond to such behaviour?

I recently read an post written by the mother of two teenage boys titled “Living with the Enemy”. The enemy she wrote of, with a wonderful deal of really like and no small concern, had been her sons. All parents of teenagers will know or will don’t forget how hard they can be, but it is, soon after all, regular for them to be tough! Recognising when they have an unnatural level of depression is much more demanding.

If one or more of these signs of depression persist, parents ought to seek help:

Recurrent unhappiness and weeping

Lost interest in things which they have previously enjoyed.

Loss of interest in life, possibly even talking of suicide.

Always complaining of stomachache or headache. (If the teen is obese this could be a way of avoiding going to school)

Threatening to leave residence, and/or live alone.

Minor criminality, eg. thieving or vandalism.

Constant expressions of boredom coupled with a low level of energy.

Poor concentration.

An upsurge in instability, anger and hostility.

Unusually conscious of rejection and/or failure.

Social isolation, poor communication.

A marked change in eating habits.

This last item is where we came in. It’s really frequently the easiest clue of all to spot, and is the point at which overweight and, if left unchecked, obesity begins.

Please keep in mind that need to your child be already obese, many of the conditions listed above, may apply, and far more specifically when neither of the parents is overweight. Childhood depression is  recognized as an illness, whereas childhood obesity, for all the attention it’s receiving, has no such classification. Strange, do not you feel?

Information source: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.