 Obesity was thought to be caused by an energy imbalance between the number of energy intake vs energy expenditure. Where there is an excessive quantity of calories consumed and stored combined with limited physical activity leading to overweight and obesity.
However, recent studies disprove the suggestion that the energy input through a diet high in calories and energy output through physical activity explains obesity. Instead, evidence suggests a complex interaction between the neuroendocrine system and the environment leads to obesity.
 According to WHO, the main reason for the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is the transitioning from healthy to unhealthy dietary choices and a trend towards high levels of physical inactivity".
Evidence has shown that overweight and obesity are not associated with a single causative factor. Instead, the causes are multi-factorial. Research findings have identified the enormous contributions of globalization, physical inactivity, nutritional transition, living environments and individual behavioural patterns.
This post is limited from examining the drivers of the current obesity epidemic in depth. However, the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for childhood obesity have been explained in briefly.
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors:
Genetics:
Genetics has been linked with the development of childhood obesity. Evidence suggests that the interaction of different genes responsible for transmitting food-related signals gives rise to obesity. It is believed that interactions between genes and the environment also play a role in obesity development.
Ethnicity:
Research shows that race or differences in ethnicity associated with obesity in children may be determined by some factors that operate during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood. They made a comparison between Caucasian children and children of Black and Hispanic ancestry. The study concluded that children of Black and Hispanic ancestry are more likely to gain weight in infancy.
Another study made reference to cultural influences as one of the contributory factors to the disparity in childhood obesity. The study explained further how body image differs by ethnic group and cultural context. For example, how a mother's perception of her body image may impact on that of her child.
 Modifiable Risk Factors:
Nutrition & Dietary Factors:
The nutrition transition is explained by reduced consumption of traditional foods to increased intake of fast food, sugar-sweetened beverages, high fat intake and processed foods. In a study commissioned by WHO, an association between sugar-sweetened drinks and total body weight was reported.
Sedentary Life Style and Physical Activity:
Physical activity has been identified as one of the critical determinants of obesity. Reports suggest that younger children live sedentary lifestyles due to the high level of physical inactivity, where a third of all children spend less than an hour daily on physical activity.
Most children spend more time watching TV or playing computer/video games. Time spent indoor on these activities decreases the amount of time spent outdoors on active physical activities and has been associated with exposure to unhealthy food advertisement.
LMICs have adopted the lifestyles of most high-income countries, for example, the fast and significant socioeconomic development like urbanization and the opening of foods food chains has been related to increased obesity.
Children have not been left out in these dramatic changes as this has resulted in changes in the behavioural pattern in making food choices and how they spend their leisure time.
Socioeconomic Status and Environment:
The social, economic status and the environment have been known to have a considerable influence on the weight of the child. A child in the low socioeconomic status in developed countries have been reported to have the highest level of overweight and the lowest level of physical fitness.
In developing countries, the reverse could be the case, because the environment and behaviour pattern that promotes obesity is absent in most rural areas where there the population are mainly of the low-socio economic status: high level of poverty, malnutrition   and the access to technology is minimal. Children living in an urban setting have a higher risk of being obese when compared to other children who live in rural areas.
Â