Pretilost kod djece kao javnozdravstveni problem

Pretilost postaje sve značajniji javnozdravstveni problem zbog drastičnog porasta njezine učestalosti. Do porasta učestalosti pretilosti dolazi ne samo kod odraslih, već i kod djece te adolescenata. Ovakve promjene izazivaju pozornost i zabrinutost zbog više razloga. Osim što je pretilost sama po sebi prijetnja zdravlju, ona ima i negativne posljedice na psihičko zdravlje, a sa sobom donosi i značajne ekonomske posljedice. Prema podacima Hrvatskog zavoda za javno zdravstvo oko 60% ljudi u Hrvatskoj ima prekomjernu tjelesnu težinu, a i sve je veći broj pretile djece. Smatra se da 12% osnovnoškolaca ima povećanu tjelesnu težinu, a 5% ih je pretilo. Čak 2,6% dojenčadi i 2,3% male djece je preuhranjeno. Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija upozorava da se broj pretilih ljudi u Europi od 1980. godine utrostručio. Osim ozbiljnih utjecaja na zdravlje, pretilost posebno utječe na psihički razvoj djece. Zadirkivanje vršnjaka zbog debljine, kritike roditelja i ostalih odraslih zbog prehrambenih navika te nezadovoljstvo vlastitim izgledom imaju velik utjecaj na djetetov osjećaj samopoštovanja. Osjećaj manje vrijednosti može voditi depresiji, asocijalnom ponašanju i poremećajima u prehrani. Hipokratova izreka „ Neka tvoja hrana bude tvoj lijek, a tvoj lijek neka bude tvoja hrana « i danas ima uporište u znanosti o prehrani. Znamo da se još od prapovijesti hrani pripisuju ljekovita svojstva i uloga u jačanju imuniteta. Ali u današnje vrijeme golem je porast dostupnosti i popularnosti brzo pripremljene hrane, što dovodi do porasta loših prehrambenih navika. U tom slučaju hrana može biti i uzrokom bolesti. Zato je važno kako se hranimo, jer je hrana jedan od bitnih čimbenika u razvoju ali i prevenciji bolesti.Obesity is becoming an increasingly important public health problem because of the dramatic rise in its incidence. The rise in the incidenc of obesity come not only in adults but also in children and adolescents. Such changes cause attention and concern for several reasons. Except as obesity itself is a threat to health, it also has negative effects on mental health, and brings with it significant economic consequences. According to the Croatian Institute for Public Health, about 60% of people in Croatia are overweight, and an increasing number of obese children. It is believed that 12% of elementary school children had increased body weight, and 5% of them are obese. Even 2.6% of infants and 2.3% of young children is overweight. The World Health Organization warns that the number of obese people in Europe since 1980 has tripled. In addition to serious health effects, obesity specifically affects the mental development of children. Bullying peers due to obesity, criticism of parents and other adults about eating habits and dissatisfaction with their appearance have a great impact on a child's self-esteem. The feeling of inferiority can lead to depression, antisocial behavior, and eating disorders. Hippocratic a saying, "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food" and now has a foothold in the science of nutrition. We know that since prehistoric times food have healing powers and role in boosting immunity. But today is a huge increase in the availability and popularity quickly prepared food, which leads to an increase in bad eating habits. In that case, the food can be a cause of disease. Therefore it is important how we eat because the food is one of the essential factors in the development and prevent disease