The Adverse Health Consequences of Childhood Obesity

The Adverse Health Consequences of Childhood Obesity
Are Predicted by “ChiMeSyX” (Children Metabolic Syndrome X)

Government and our entire society must be made better aware of / and concerned with the adverse consequences associated with Obesity in their younger population, as its likelihood to progress into the highly health-risk but yet, preventable and even reversible condition known as Children Metabolic Syndrome X, which we abbreviate as “ChiMeSyX”.

Overweight kids are not dying in their teens, but by that age they’re
now facing many of the serious health problems which are predicted - and could be accurately diagnosed from age 10, according to the International Federation of Diabetes - by the Metabolic Syndrome X.

According to the recent findings by researchers at the University of Miami - School of Medicine, surprisingly, half of obese children by ages 12 to 14 already have “ChiMeSyX”. This means that by this early age they’ve tested positive to at least 3 of the health risk factors that characterize it, namely : a) abdominal obesity – an abnormally large waist size ; b) high blood sugar levels ; c) low levels of good cholesterol (HDL) ; d) high blood fat (triglycerides) levels, and e) high blood pressure.

If not identified and counteract at an early stage, Metabolic Syndrome X could be catastrophic for the span of life and quality of health that lies ahead for this young person, as if not stopped, it will inexorably lead to Diabetes Type 2, Heart Disease, Fatty Liver Disease, Hypertension and other serious infirmities, as well as to a much higher possibility of suffering a Heart Attack and/or Stroke at a very young age.

Once a child (or teen) has a chronic health condition, he/she will need – for the rest of life – to manage that health disorder, having to bear all the suffering as well as the high economic costs involved.

According to medical scholars, if a child let’s say is age 10, and has “ChiMeSyX”, and the syndrome is not treated, it will take him/her some 10 years or less to become a chronic Diabetic (Type 2) or develop heart disease, etc. This signifies having to face an entire life of chronic illness, which of course, never goes away.

On the other hand, the good news is that if “ChiMeSyX” is identified and properly dealt with as soon as medically-diagnosed , the young person – if he/she diligently implements the appropriate nutritional, exercise and lifestyle modification measures – could prevent the disease(s) and thus reduce the health risk factor(s). This will allow him/her to minimize the effects and even revert the disorder(s), moving towards better health and overall wellness.
(Note: let’s remember the classic good advice from founding father Benjamin Franklin when he taught us that “an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure”).

Dr. Augusto Agostini
Ph. D. in Nutrition