Many people between the age of 18 and 69 are overweight. The growth of the problem among children is particularly worrying.
Being overweight as a child has negative effects on health during childhood itself, as well as in adolescence and adulthood. A child that is obese at 6 years old is much more likely to be obese as an adult.
Most obese adolescents remain obese in adulthood as it is more difficult to lose weight steadily owing to biological and psychosocial factors. Preventing and treating excess weight even before adolescence is, therefore, important.
The scale of the problem is becoming particularly serious, as excess weight and obesity, beyond the more immediate physical and social consequences, represent significant risk factors for metabolic and degenerative illnesses such as heart disease; cerebrovascular, respiratory and bone/joint diseases; diabetes; fatty liver disease; and lithiasis.