The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in the last ten years.

Over the past decade, the western society has witnessed a rise of close to 20% in the number of children who are overweight.

This

essay will discuss how living a sedentary lifestyle is a significant

factor

responsible for

this

worrisome development which may possibly result in mental

health

disorders in these children. Several causative factors have been associated with increased

weight

among youngsters, perhaps the most significant of them is

sedentary lifestyle

Suggestion

a sedentary lifestyle

.

This

may be due to the declining rate of physical

activity

amongst these

children which

Accept comma addition

children, which

reduces their energy expenditure, a major

factor

implicated in being overweight. To illustrate, the Pediatric Association of Nigeria reported in its monthly publication in 2001, that there was a strong correlation between the time spent by children per day on watching television and their annual

weight

gain

. It was found that children who spent more than two hours per day on watching television gained about

two-fold

twice as great or many

twofold

the expected

weight

for their ages compared to their counterparts who spent less than two hours on

this

activity

but remained within the normal

weight

limit. The study

then

concluded that there is a strong association between physical

activity

and

weight

gain

.

Hence

, it is clear that increased physical inactivity is an underlying

factor

for excess

weight

gain

in children. Overweight children experience myriads of problems in

this

day society, of which the most disturbing probably is the development of mental

health

disorders. Mental

health

disorders

such

as

depression

and eating

disorders mostly

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disorders, mostly

stem from low self-esteem that may develop when these children observe that they are different from their peers. The department of Child Psychiatry in Obafemi Awolowo University, a reputable University in Nigeria, conducted a study in 1998 amongst primary school children in Ile-Ife to unravel the risk factors for

depression

. It was discovered that the prevalence of

depression

was more among children who were

overweight whereas

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overweight, whereas

their normal-

weight

peers were mentally stable. It can be concluded that overweight children may be more prone to

depression

than children with normal

weight

. In conclusion, the

factor

of reduced physical

activity

appears to be the most important cause of childhood excess

weight

gain

and a major result of

this

is mental

health

problems. It is hoped

thate

Suggestion

that we

that e

parents will take more responsibility of their children’s

health

to abate

this

trend.