ABSTRACT
Obesity in childhood is associated with numerous medical problems related to physiological, metabolic, and structural changes (Gunnell et al., 1998; Kiess et al., 2001; Zwiauer et al., 2002). Health problems in the obese very often include hyperlipidemia, increased total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG), along with decreased HDL-C and increased LDL-C (see Chapter 8), as well as coronary heart disease, elevated blood pressure, hyperinsulinemia, carbohydrate intolerance, diabetes mellitus, impaired heat tolerance, deterioration in hormonal release, and others. Additional complications include sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, orthopedic and respiratory problems, gall bladder disease, and many others.
