Obesity Among Iranian Children: Spotlight on Root Causes

Why is Obesity Among Iranian Kids a Problem. Obesity in children has serious consequences. If you consider economic impact and wellbeing and mental health and physical health it's clear. So it is a big deal. Still, Mapping the causes of childhood obesity is key to finding a solution. Figure out what's making it worse. Let`s consider the modifiable factors, the things we can change. For instance, poor diet and lack of physical activity are big factors. Address these factors and reducing childhood obesity could be much easier. But there`s more. We need to focus on Iran as a specific case. The PARF or Population Attributable Risk Factor can help. This is the number of obese Iranian children that are obese because of these modifiable factors. Results? Well, it turns out that a sizable number of obese Iranian children are obese because of these factors. 49%(age 10) and 31%(age 7) and 59%(age 11) and 25%(only one factor) and 13%(none of the factors). What does this mean? It means that focusing on these factors could significantly reduce obesity in these age groups. That is to say where, it could potentially change the obesity map a lot. If, for example, a child is obese because someone is not breastfed or are from a family which don't have books at home could be a range of factors. And remember breastfed and family education are the only things we are discussing. These factors might not cause obesity in the way we assume they are seen in children. The reality is that it is almost impossible to isolate one factor, or to completely attribute it to be the cause of obesity. We have to have a nuanced understanding Moreover, consider the socio-economic context in Iran. The country sits in the unique position as it sits at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, Iranians are not distressed by profound poverty, however, the lack of access of their people to adequate resources is where we going wrong. Obesity is a significant public health problem among children in Iran. Addressing childhood obesity in Iran means understanding the broader context. More than anything, No single factor. No single factor causes obesity in children. Education, particularly about nutrition and physical activity, is crucial. But we also need to think about the environment. Where they live also matters. For example, access to safe places to play and healthy food options can make a big difference. They think for themselves and live in a place where they can do so. Obesity can be prevented furthermore. By understanding the root causes and the context, we can find better ways. The next time we make a decision about obesity we should say. No single factor causes obesity in children. It could be any combination of factors. We need to look at all the factors together. These factors should not be separated we are separating them here but let's be real, we are not the real cause.