The Multiple Harms of Childhood and Female Obesity: From Intellectual Development and Reproductive Health to Social and Psychological Stress

Obesity has a significant impact on children's psychological development, intelligence, immune function, reproductive system, and height. Obese children are often slow to move and their large size makes them the target of ridicule from classmates. Some classmates give obese children nicknames such as "fat kid," "fat girl," "little pig," or "little bear," which puts a lot of psychological pressure on them.

Severely overweight children have shallower sulci and narrower gaps in their cerebral cortex, which affects their intelligence, resulting in slow reactions, sluggish thinking, clumsiness, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating in class, and poor academic performance. In short, obesity brings difficulties to children's lives and studies and affects their intelligence.

In excessively overweight or obese children, the normal development of the testes or ovaries is hindered, leading to incomplete function. In males, testicular dysfunction can result in underdeveloped pubic, axillary, and facial hair; some may even have a short or stunted penis, affecting future marital happiness. In females, obese children may experience underdeveloped ovarian function, leading to underdeveloped breasts and uterus, and low sexual function; some may even experience menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, or infertility in adulthood.

Obese children often experience stunted growth due to insufficient growth hormone secretion. Obesity reduces the amount of growth hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, generally resulting in lower levels than children of normal weight, thus hindering their growth. Of course, height is influenced by many factors, and preventing childhood obesity is beneficial for their growth.

Obesity affects children's cardiopulmonary function, especially as it often impairs pancreatic function, leading to a high incidence of fatty liver. Because obese children accumulate a thick layer of fat around their hearts, it affects their heart contraction and relaxation, causing a rapid heartbeat, palpitations, and shortness of breath; they may experience difficulty breathing even when climbing stairs or running. Obese children frequently experience dizziness, headaches, palpitations, and excessive sweating due to hypoglycemia and hyperinsulinemia caused by abnormal pancreatic function. Over time, obese children are also at risk of developing diabetes.

Therefore, we must do everything possible to control children's diets and minimize obesity. If childhood obesity is not controlled, it may lead to adult obesity. Controlling childhood obesity is crucial not only during childhood but also for their future development into adulthood.

Obesity poses numerous unique risks to women. While slightly overweight men are not often discriminated against by women, who may even perceive it as a sign of strength, power, or wealth, slightly overweight women are often judged and criticized by men, creating an undue negative impact. Some women resort to extreme dieting to lose weight; others wrap their waists tightly with cloth belts to artificially shrink them. Over time, this leads to malnutrition, sallow skin, emaciation, damage to the digestive system, and various health problems, causing distress in their relationships and marriages.

Obese women often feel insecure about their body shape, believing they are unattractive and unattractive to men, thus suppressing their sexual desire, libido, and sexual activity. Obese women also tend to be less active, hindering their social lives. They may miss opportunities to accompany their husbands to social events due to psychological pressure and fear of being labeled "fat moms." Over time, this lack of emotional connection and communication with their husbands can lead to marital crises.

Severely overweight women are prone to menstrual disorders and infertility. This is because obesity is related to hormonal fluctuations. Secondary obesity includes hypothalamic obesity, gonadal dysfunction obesity, and hyperadrenocorticism obesity. Patients with hypothalamic obesity may experience amenorrhea, hypoactive sexual function, and incomplete development of reproductive organs, thus severely hindering their fertility.

In addition, obesity also has adverse effects on pregnant women, including dystocia, prolonged labor, intrauterine asphyxia, meconium aspiration, birth injury, intracranial hemorrhage, and hepatic and adrenal hematoma; obese pregnant women may also experience poisoning, cesarean section, macrosomia, and vaginal hemorrhage during pregnancy; some obese pregnant women also have a higher incidence of abnormal fetal position, varicose veins, and placental delivery difficulties.

Obese women are more susceptible to breast cancer and endometrial cancer during menopause. Breast cancer is often attributed to high fat intake in obese women; experts estimate that obese women account for approximately 40% of breast cancer cases, with the vast majority occurring around menopause. The incidence of endometrial cancer in obese women has also increased in my country as living standards have improved.

Both of these cancers are more likely to cause breast cancer in obese women because they typically ingest large amounts of fat and protein, leading to high levels of estrogen and prolactin in their blood plasma. Therefore, menopausal women around 50 years of age should have regular checkups to detect cancerous changes as early as possible and receive treatment as soon as possible.