Child Obesity, plaguing the nation for our next generation: an in-depth study - Essay Example

? Child Obesity, plaguing the nation for our next generation: an in-depth study Mario Michael Child obesity is one of the major problems that continue to plague the nation even as American society progresses to 21st century. Much focus is devoted towards addressing the issue that has clearly devastated the young generation in America. Obesity much like other diseases is associated with important risk factors such as heart disease, heart stroke, and even cancer. Many elements contribute to obesity, which is why it is important to address these issues. All the factors were comprehensively studied in order to gain a better understanding of this problem. This paper will seek to address the problem and seek the remedies that could be implemented in order to eliminate this problem. Obesity, like other health- related behaviors is one of the chief causes for disability (Hill 5). It is associated with heart disease, heart stroke, high blood pressure, and even cancer. (Seiders). Undoubtedly, childhood obesity is in rise throughout the United States as approximately 9 million of children in the US are obese or overweight (“Get America fit.”) Children in this current generation has a shorter life expectancy due to high rates of obesity as opposed to children 2 decades ago (Hill, 25) Obesity is an excessive accumulation of body fat you need to properly cite sources – the reference is the report supporting your claim –do the required research. Excessive body fat means that more than 27% body fat for men and more than 22% for women this is for adults (Fletcher, 66). This condition then impairs the health of an individual. Body mass index is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in meters squared (reference). BMI for children requires the height and the weight of the particular individual. Next, the BMI is compared according to the percentiles listed in the charts. The BMI formula is essential and is calculated through weight divided by height squared times by 703. It is vital to acknowledge that using English benchmarking system, fractions must be changed to decimal values. Without a doubt, obesity is a prevalent problem that is detrimental to society and must be addressed for the health and the wealth of the future generations. Factors that affect obesity Obesity is not a simple disease resulted from one factor. But it is rather a chronic condition that develops as a result of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. Factors influencing the occurrence of obesity in children are different among each child. a study by Meyer and Stunkard (1994) found in Bouchard, Claude. The Genetics of obesity, suggests that children from overweight parents are more likely to be obese themselves as genetic and dietary factors are one of the main causes of obesity (Fletcher, 88). Moreover, unhealthy home environments can also lead to obesity. For example the education system and the food industry clearly promote an unhealthy eating habits couple with no physical activity for children. These factors are key elements towards the rise of obesity rates in society. Although genetics is a non-modifiable factor that affects obesity, it is an element that one cannot simply diminish. In essence, obesity can be genetically inherited. A child’s chances of being overweight or obese are increased by 25 percent if their parents are overweight or obese.-this is not evidence for solely genetics – children live with and therefore have the same diets and learn from parents so this data can reflect learning/environmental factors (“Get America Fit Foundation”). Another study referred by Fletcher (1999) suggests that 50% of the population has body weight genes controller which can make children leaving in an unhealthy homes likely to be obese. When a child is living in a home where television, video games, long hours of internet surfing are present, children are more likely to be engrossed in these activities rather than being physically active. In those homes, usually there is no time left for cooking healthy food(“Get America Fit Foundation”). Thus, the picture is pretty clear, consuming junk food along with the lack of physical activity yields to obesity. Today it is sad how parents neglect that so important role in upbringing a child, which is the control over their children diet and exercise (Koplan, 2005). I also technology is a huge factor that can be also blamed for making children less active. The invention of electronics like microwave and fast-food makes it very easy for children to select their menu and schedule their meals to their convenience. At young age, parents use television as a babysitter for their children. That’s why later in life it become a habit for them and very hard to get rid of. Another factor that contributes into child obesity is the access to food in the schools. Since nutrition is not our schools system priority, children have unlimited access to unhealthy foods (Koplan, 2005). In some schools physical education programs have been cut due to lack of funds to support while the contract to vendors with high calories and low quality foods are encouraged within the schools settings. Many of the competitive foods now sold in school cafeterias, vending machines, school stores, and school fundraisers are typically high in calories and low in nutritional value (The Institute of Medicine, 2004). Indeed, Schools can be viewed as a factor for child obesity. Undoubtedly, the rise of obesity can be blamed for lack of parent’s cooperation, poor nutrition from schools, and the availability of fast food. It would be fair also to blame the food industry for the poor quality of food being supplied to us as part of our diets. The lack of regulation from the FDA in the food industry is also the key cause of obesity. As stated in above paragraphs, child obesity is major problem four our children. But how does it really affect them? There are many ways in which obesity affects a child’s life. It can affect their health, psychological y and emotionally and these implications can also lead to poor performance in school. Obese children often develop severe health conditions that are life threatening including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and premature death. Psychologically and emotionally, obese children experience peer pressure for not having that perfect body shown on TV as the body to have. It is ironic how society wants people to have the perfect body but at the same time promotes unhealthy food to children. Consequently, children are faced with emotional distress because there are confused. A recent study shows that those obese children are more likely to have low self-esteem, depression, higher rates of anxiety disorders, and psychopathology (Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005). Since they are often discriminated and isolated in society, obese children are prone to fail academically. A recent study found in Taylor’s book about health psychology suggests that obese children scored lower and math and reading test because they lack self-esteem that is so vital towards their academic success. It is evident that child obesity affects children from different ethnic and social-economic background. I will not spend time elaborating on which group is affected the most. My priority rather is to find or propose a solution to the problem. Clearly, the problem is prevalent in our society and must be addressed. Hence, I have a preposition to address these issues that has flawed the American society. My proposition in to address this problem consists of numerous stages of change. After conducting extensive research, I came across an interesting approach that was developed by J.O. Prochaska. According to Prochaska (1994), people sometimes have no intention of changing their eating behaviors. Those people sometimes are unaware of their problem or simply are in denial. That is called the pre-contemplation stage. This problem can be solved by showing them the consequences of their eating behavior. After the person acknowledges that the problem exists, the next step the individual must take is to prepare to solve the problem. This stage is known as the preparation stage in which the individual strives to seek resources to remedy the problem. Now the person knows the problem exist and must implement the solution. Hence, this is called the action stage. Lastly, the most critical step in this process is the maintenance stage. This is the stage people understand that they will not fall in their bad habits and will maintain the new habits that took upon. This is the stage to try to stop people from relapse. The first two stages lay the foundation for my preposition. Here, the concept of action plan becomes critical. My is to have the collaboration of parents, schools, government, and the health care system to have a better diets for our children, more physical activity and also make them think differently about foods. With all these factors accumulated, the young generation will have motivation and the resources to fight obesity. Family also plays a major role in the fight against obesity. There are many reasons for why family plays a vital role towards combating obesity. For example, the same way children learn their bad health habits early from their family is the same way they will acquire the good ones. That can be made possible by trying to have children in home where at least one responsible adult is managing what they’re eating and when. It is a good idea to make slight changes to what a child eats and how food is prepared. Family should take control of buying, preparing, and choosing what meals to eat. A stable family life is health promoting and, increasingly, interventions are being targeted to families rather than individuals to ensure the greatest likelihood of behavior change (Taylor, 2009). A healthy diet is a focal point that reflects nutrition and hence is vital for giving the body proper nutrients. A healthy diet is easy to manage granted individuals make an effort to implement in their daily lives. It would better to replace snacks high in sugar and fats by fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of soft drinks and sodas, give children real fruit juices and water. Avoid greasy and salty foods not to mention the importance of eating foods with whole grain. Fast foods should be prohibited to children. Just as an age limit is imposed on smoking and drinking, it is highly recommended that fast food restaurants should be also illegal to minors. In addition, parents should give consent to kids to eat fast food. Clearly, eliminating fast food completely is a hefty goal; the key is to keep these “cheat meals” to once or twice a week (Hills, 55). Another thing families should also do is increase physical activities and decrease the amount of time spent watching television, playing video games and using the computer (Bouchard, 80). Families should spend time together involving in physical activities such as bicycling, walking and jogging (Hills, 60).. Also they should let the children getting involved in sports by making them join schools team. The education system is also responsible to fight obesity. Food contractors with unhealthy foods should not be given contracts by the schools. The same rules that families have to follow in the homes should also be used in school. Consistent physical activity along with consuming fruits and vegetables are needed to for the growth of children and to fight obesity (Taras, 2005). Another entity with a big role in fighting child obesity is the government. I mentioned earlier that fast food restaurants should be illegal for minors to go and buy food. I think this is one aspect where the government can get involved. In addition, government should build easy and safe route where children can bike and walk like as suggested by the American Public Health Association in 2005. Funding should be made available for implementing sport clubs for children. Moreover, government should provide also more funding to HMO’s, PPO’s and Medicaid especially for obese children. What about the health care system? How can they get involved? (Bouchard, 66) The nation’s health care system can get involved by educating and preventing child obesity. They should collaborate with families making sure that children are receiving good and healthy diets. This should be done very practically letting families knows exactly what children should be eating It would be also a great idea to have health care practitioners in charge of our children monitor the body mass index of the children from family with obesity history. Pediatricians should work with schools parents and anyone involved in child care on ways to decrease the availability of foods and beverages with little nutritional value and to decrease the dependence on vending machines, snack bars, and school stores for school revenue (Pediatrics, 2003). Conclusion Undoubtedly, children are in peril with obesity. The same way we tend to be careful with them avoiding them to get hurt physically, it should also be our priority to make sure they do not develop bad health habit. One good sign that kind of suggesting that help is on the way is that our society is very well aware of the problem. In other words, referring to the model stages developed by J.O. Prochaska, we are at the preparation stage heading to the action stage. Yet it will take the effort of everyone including families, schools, the government, and the health care system to get to the action and maintenance stage. The young generationare the future of the country and must live healthy lives. We already know that because of obesity our children life expectancy is shorter. So to have a strong and healthy society we need to start from the roots; our children. Together we can achieve this for the health and well-being of all granted we implement these necessary steps. References "Body Mass Index (BMI) ."KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. May 2011. http://kidshealth.org/teen/food\ Bouchard, Claude. The Genetics of obesity . Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1994. Print. Despres J. Dyslipidemia and obesity. Ballieres Clin Endocrin Metab. 1994;8:629-36. Fletcher, Gerald F., Scott M. Grundy, and Laura Lucia Hayman. Obesity: impact on cardiovascular disease. Armonk, NY: Futura Pub., 1999. Print. "Get America Fit Foundation - Health statistics in America - American obesity statistics."GAF - Get America Fit Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2011. . Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Weight: BMI: About BMI for Children and Teens | DNPAO | CDC. (n.d.). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweigh Krasnegor, N. A., Grave, G. D., & Kretchmer, N. (1988).Childhood obesity: a biobehavioral perspective. Caldwell, N.J.: Telford Press. Kathleen Seiders, & Leonard L. Berry. (2007). Should Business Care About Obesity? MIT Sloan ManagementReview, 48(2), 15-17.  Retrieved May 6, 2011, from Telecom. (Document ID: 1193235201). Koplan, J., Liverman, C. T., & Kraak, V. I. (2005). Preventing childhood obesity health in the balance. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Par?i?zkova?, Jana, and Andrew P. Hills. Childhood obesity: prevention and treatment. 2nd ed. San Jose Mercury News. (2004). Survey on childhood obesity. Kaiser Family Foundation. St-Onge MP, Heymsfield SB 2003 Overweight and obesity status are linked to lower life expectancy. Nutr Rev 61:313–316[CrossRef][Medline] Taras, H.,& Potts-Datema, W. (2005) Obesity and student performance at school. Journal of School Health. Taylor,S.E. (2009). Health Psychology(7th ed).McGraw-Hill Read More