does the childhood obesity require special attention? a cross-sectional pilot study

Background: childhood overweight and obesity was once a disease of affluent countries but nowadays it is a burning issue in developing countries too. as it is a lifestyle disease, it increases manifold chances of the development of different non-communicable diseases in adult life. the study was conducted to assess the effects of different determinants of childhood obesity. objectives: the study was conducted to assess the effects of different determinants of childhood obesity.methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted for six months among seventy-five pediatric out-patient attendees aged 5-18 years of a teaching hospital in west bengal. socio-demographic characteristics including physical activity levels were taken with a questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, and laboratory investigations, and carotid intima-medial thickness (cimt) was measured with b-mode usg. data were analyzed with spss software, version 22, epi info, and who anthro plus software, version 1.0.4. results: statistically significant association between childhood overweight and obesity was found with exclusive breastfeeding, high lipid profile and blood sugar, physical inactivity, high liver function test, and cimt values. conclusions: the alarming increase in childhood overweight and obesity indicates the need for more comprehensive preventive interventions to avoid the pandemic of this impending non-communicable disease.