Childhood obesity is mainly caused by consuming more than the recommended daily calories and not moving enough to burn them. If not addressed appropriately, this will deprive many nations of intelligent, talented and potential leaders, according to the Youth Engagement Guide. Obesity is the accumulation of abnormal or excessive fat that will later present risks in the child's adult life. Pediatric obesity is one of the major lifestyle problems in modern society. Since the 1980s it has tripled due to the growing sedentary nature of children. According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010, one third of children and adolescents in the world are overweight. The UK government is encouraging further ways to reduce childhood obesity. As reported in an article by the University of Cambridge, many actions have been taken to change the composition of school dinners and the availability of snacks. The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to promote balanced, healthy and nutritious school meals by continuing to assist schools in making school dinners more attractive and partnerships have been established with local companies to promote lower energy and less dense foods. A research study conducted by Veughlers (2000) on school students and programs based on healthy eating plans shows lower levels of overweight and obese students. The results gathered from the study reflect that the contributing factors have to do with a consistent healthy diet and regular physical activity. Therefore, the collaboration of physical activity in schools is encouraged as in the future it will produce positive results and there will be a massive reduction in chronic habits... paper and exercise. Childhood obesity remains a huge problem. challenge for the nation. I believe parents play an important role in a child's education. What the parent agrees or refuses to when the child is an infant will have a positive or negative impact on their children's later lives. References http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/302783/0094795. pdf http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00392688.pdf http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2009618/Junk-food-marketed-children-social-media- using-online-games.html http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/gene-mutation-makes-you-fat http://www.medicaldaily.com/obesity-linked- mrap2-gene-mutation-mice-1-humans-marking-first-genetic-explanation-illness-247792 http://www.med.nagoya-u.ac.jp/english01/dbps_data/_material_/nu_medical_en/_res/ResearchTopics /MRAP2_20130719en.pdf