One out of four Hispanic children is overweight in the United States. In fact, Hispanic children between the ages of 6 and 9 are the ones who are most overweight in the whole country. It's an alarming situation and we must address the issue at once, since the consequences of child obesity can threaten the development of the child.

Causes of child obesity among Hispanic children

The fact that our children are overweight is due to several factors. Some can be changed and others can't, but it's important to be aware of the causes so we can better address the problem.

• Cultural factors. Our traditions and culture have a lot to do with how we deal with our children and it's common to believe our grandma over the pediatrician, since grandma has raised five kids. One of the most ingrained beliefs is that chubby babies are healthy babies. Although it's true that in situations of famine overweight children are better off than children who are underweight, in a household where food is readily available this does not hold true. In fact, some studies show that overweight children have problems with their immune system.

• Genetic factors. What children eat isn't completely to blame. There seems to be a tendency to be overweight among children whose parents are overweight and, unfortunately, the number of overweight Hispanic adults is also very high. If both parents are overweight, the chances of their child being overweight are doubled. Besides, among the Hispanic community there is more of a tendency to suffer from diabetes, as well as pregnancy diabetes.

• Social factors. Added to the two other facts mentioned above there is a very significant factor that affects almost half of the Hispanic population in the United States: Many of us don't have medical coverage. This means that children don't have regular follow-ups and therefore child obesity can't be prevented, detected on time or treated.

Hispanic parents´ perception on obesity

For a great number of parents the fact that their child is overweight as a baby and in her early years isn't a cause of worry, on the contrary: it's a cause of pride because the child looks well fed and taken care of.

In fact there is this curious study by researchers in Miami which showed that the perception of obesity among Hispanic parents was different to that of other ethnic groups. Most of the participants thought that their children up to 3 years old, weren't overweight, when the truth was that they in fact were.

The problem of not perceiving a child as overweight or obese is that no steps are taken to correct the problem. Once the problem of obesity has been diagnosed it's very difficult to control. The best treatment is undoubtedly prevention.