Childhood Obesity: A Generation Growing up in the Shadow of an Obesogenic Environment

Obesity is a widespread global health problem affecting people of all ages, and the increasing incidence of obesity from early childhood makes obesity a major public health concern. The habits acquired in early childhood shape the lifestyle of the individual in later ages. Therefore, it is extremely important to prevent obesity and adopt a healthy lifestyle during this period. In order to develop effective strategies to combat obesity, it is first necessary to understand the factors that cause obesity. Environmental factors are also recognized as important contributors to obesity, in addition to individual factors such as genetic predisposition. In this context, understanding this environment is of great importance to develop effective intervention strategies against obesity, and the concept of obesogenic environment has helped us to better understand the environmental factors that increase the risk of developing obesity. The ‘obesogenic environment’ consists of micro, viz., immediate environment such as family, home, kindergarten and macro, i.e., wider environment such as advertising, urban planning, technological developments, components that lead individuals to develop obesity. In this review, it is aimed to evaluate obesity in early childhood and the effect of obesogenic environment in this process in light of the current line of literature. Moreover, the impact of obesity on children's health is examined, with a strong focus on prevention strategies.

Keywords: Childhood obesity; Environmental impact; Obesity; Public health