Etiology, Treatment, and Prevention of Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence: A Decade in Review

Abstract

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic on a worldwide scale. This article gives an overview of the progress made in childhood and adolescent obesity research in the last decade, with a particular emphasis on the transdisciplinary and complex nature of the problem. The following topics are addressed: (1) current definitions of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity; (2) demography of childhood and adolescent obesity both in the United States and globally; (3) current topics in the physiology of fat and obesity; (4) psychosocial correlates of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity; (5) the three major obesity‐related behaviors, that is, dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep; (6) genetic components of childhood and adolescent obesity; (7) environmental influences on childhood and adolescent obesity; and (8) progress in interventions to prevent and treat childhood and adolescent obesity. The article concludes with recommendations for future research, including the need for large‐scale, high‐dose, and long‐term interventions that take into account the complex nature of the problem.