The simple answer is that there is no one cause of childhood obesity and there are numerous factors which result in obesity in our children.

For instance, it is normally the case that a child with overweight or obese parents will also be overweight and this suggests that there could well be a genetic or inherited component to obesity. However, despite the fact that this is an area which is actively being considered, no clear genetic link has been discovered yet and it is felt far more likely that it is the diet in the family that result in obesity rather than genetics.

In the past few years we have witnessed a marked shift in eating habits with fast food restaurants appearing on every corner, junk food available just about everywhere and the shelves of our supermarkets packed with 'convenience' foods which are more often than not extremely high in sugar. The days when we enjoyed home cooking are far behind us in many households and have been superceded by microwave meals or take-away food. In fact, more and more parents are now choosing to take their children out for a pizza instead of preparing a meal at home not only because it is simpler than cooking but also because they do not have to wash up!

Additionally, we have witnessed a dramatic drop in activity levels for many groups of children, fuelled in no small measure by the introduction of homecomputers, video games consoles and now the ever present mobile phone. Of course, as activity levels have dropped so our children have also lost their normal ability to burn off the calories gained from eating an increasing amount of junk food.

The Internet, television, magazines and other forms of media also play an important part as they all but dominate our childrens' lives and junk food, fast food and confectionary manufacturers are quick to jump onto this particular bandwagon and make full use of the advertising opportunity provided by the media. A lot of people would argue that advertising has done more to fuel the rise in childhood obesity that just about anything else in the past few years.

There are also clearly a lot of social factors at play in the world today and a lot of children nowadays simply eat as a result of boredom. They will also turn to food if they find themselves stressed, angry, depressed or anxious.

Today a lot of research is being aimed at the causes of childhood obesity and its treatment and the majority of this research is focused on finding a solution to the problem using a combination of diet and exercise once presented with an obese child. However, with childhood obesity continuing to rise at an alarming rate, perhaps it is now time to tackle the roots of the problem and to prevent our children from getting obese in the first place.