Review of physiological and environmental risk factors for developing early-onset cardiovascular disease in obese children

Childhood obesity is one of the greatest health crisis facing developed nations in the modern era. The multifactorial complexity of obesity disease progression, as well as the lifestyle factors that exacerbate it makes it an increasingly difficult disease to prevent. Early onset obesity leads to numerous health conditions, including Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD). Historically, these conditions are diagnosed in later adulthood, although as increasingly younger children are diagnosed as obese, CVD is being diagnosed earlier in the lifespan. A number of biological and environmental factors are causing this rise in childhood obesity, including metabolic disorders and lack of physical activity, as well as socioeconomic variables. Therefore, the primary purpose of this report is to review the literature on the physiological and lifestyle factors that escalate childhood obesity rates and the relationship of obesity to CVD in children under the age of 18. The secondary purpose of this literature review is to examine exercise as a treatment for obesity and CVD in children.