How Many Extra Calories Add Up to Obesity for Kids?

Overweight kids may be consuming far more calories than their doctors or parents realize, a new study suggests. The study, which is published in the July 30 online issue of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, updates the mathematical model doctors use to calculate the daily calorie needs of children and adolescents. The new model tries to more accurately estimate the energy requirements for growing girls and boys. It also accounts for kids' higher metabolisms, relative to adults, and takes into account the drop in physical activity that happens with age as frenetic toddlers turn into sluggish teens. And last, study authors factor in the increased energy required to maintain a bigger body size with age. In sum, the model predicts that it takes far more calories for children to gain weight than experts had realized. http://consumer.healthday.com/kids-health-information-23/child-development-news-124/how-many-extra-calories-add-up-to-obesity-for-kids-678726.html