Question
My child often gets hungry and I’m afraid he won’t eat enough. I often buy a lot of snacks and drinks for him. Can this lead to obesity? What are the factors that contribute to child obesity?
Answer
Poor dietary habits are the main cause of child obesity, including irregular meal times, picky eating, snacking before meals, and a preference for fast food, particularly sugary soft drinks. Children naturally have a taste for sweetness, and parents often use sweets to encourage children to eat more nutritious foods, which often leads to a stronger preference for sweet treats rather than nutrient-rich foods. Overfeeding in infancy can leave these children without a sense of fullness, greatly reducing their ability to regulate energy intake using internal signals of hunger and satiety, which is a contributing factor to excessive eating and obesity.