ABSTRACT
The childhood obesity epidemic has become a serious public health problem in many countries worldwide [1-4]. During recent years, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has been increasing dramatically in many developing countries, particularly in urban settings and among high socioeconomic status (SES) groups [1-4]. Although current understanding of the health consequences of overweight/obesity is predominately based on adult studies, increasing evidence suggests that childhood obesity has a number of immediate, intermediate, and long-term health consequences, as reviewed in other chapters in this book.
