Childhood and adolescence obesity

Obesity as a social issue is only a disbalance outcome, between a great increase of the daily caloric intake (overnutrition), and a great decrease of the caloric output, due to sedentarism. The endocrinometabolic pathways, adapted to deprivation but never to excess, are only spectators in this question. They are victims of disbalance, but never his causal agents. This article reviews epidemiological data, regulation physiologic trends, with their critical periods, and psicological and social factors. In front of the fight due to a dark prognosis at long time and the great therapeutic difficulties, the effectiveness of the preventive interventions are not evidenced and the problem is in continuous advance. So that more realist preventive and therapeutic approaches are proposed in adaptation to the environmental origin of the obesity.