Impact of obesity on female puberty and pubertal disorders.

ABSTRACT

The worldwide epidemic of obesity appears to be one of the crucial health problems. One-third of children and adolescents in the United States are classified as either overweight or obese and 6% of adolescents are severely obese. With the development of high technology, children, and adolescents, spend more time in sedentary life. Together with the availability of consuming fast caloric food, it is almost unavoidable to get an imbalance between caloric intake and caloric expenditure of energy, resulting in the accumulation of fat-energy stores. Obesity has an enormous impact on physical and psychological health and is associated with more than 29 adverse health consequences previously identified in the adult population only, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, postmenopausal breast cancer, and others. In addition, excess adiposity may exert a harmful effect on the reproductive system, resulting in precocious puberty, irregular menstrual cycle, polycystic ovary syndrome, and high-risk sexual behavior. Intervention programs for healthy lifestyle modification, consisting of caloric restriction together with physical activity did not gain the expected efficacy. Other approaches as medical and surgical therapies are currently not evidence-based for the young population. The obesity crisis in children and adolescents requires a better understanding of etiology, pathophysiology, and management of obesity in this unique population. Researchers and physicians must "turn over every stone" to find a solution for deviating obesity ascent.