Childhood Obesity in the United States - Research Paper Example

?Childhood obesity in the US and on the global scale has shown trends of a drastic increase since the 1970s. It is estimated that more than 25% of children below the age of 19 in the US are obese with the rate increasing each day. Childhood obesity prevalence in the US according to studies has been blamed on changing eating habits and lack of physical activity among the children. There is a general feeling that parents are largely responsible for childhood obesity though obesity cases has shown close relation to community in which the child lives. Sprawls have recorded more obesity cases due to lack of recreation facilities and poor dietary patterns in families. Understanding these cause of childhood obesity in the US, it would be possible to apply prevention methods that would counteract obesity predisposing factors. The report focuses on general obesity patterns in the US, the causes and the prevention measures. Childhood Obesity in the United States A drastic change in lifestyles in US families has resulted in health problems over the last few years. This is the problem of children obesity. As children are forced to remain indoors for long times either watching TV, playing passive games such as computer games, being restricted indoors due to strict and protective parenting and other factors that make the children be inactive, obesity drastically sets in the life of these children. The problem has been complicated by the use of junk foods which go along with the many American families due to their lifestyles and poor dietary planning for children. Obesity has also resulted due to lack of proper information on the part of parents as for the best ways to keep their children active and good dietary planning. These factors are drastically changing the health of the nation from once a healthy nation to a current disaster waiting to happen because children face serious health problems in their lives as obesity cases increases. Though the government and other nongovernmental organizations have been doing a lot in sensitizing the public on the need of healthy living in families, the campaign has not been very effective and the obesity prevalence is still escalating at an alarming rate. Therefore, because of the high percentage in childhood obesity in the United States, causes must be clarified for the public in order to prevent or at least minimize the number of obese children. Obesity Prevalence According to Bagchi (2011) there is a serious epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States and globally in general. Bagchi argues that it is estimated that one in every five children between 6-17 years in the US is overweight. This means that millions of children in the United States are facing a serious risk in their earlier lives of being obese, with the obesity related disorders being an added risk that faces these children. A report by Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (2010) estimates that about 33.8% adults and approximately 17% or 12.5 million children are currently obese in the United States. These children are aged between 2 and 19 years. The report indicates that there has a dramatic increase in obesity cases in the US since 1985 with all the States having an Obesity prevalence rate higher than 20%. Among the states, 36 of them have a prevalence rate of more than 25% in childhood obesity cases with 12 of the states having 30% prevalence rate or higher. These alarming rates indicate a serious health crisis in the US with the future generation being faced with a serious health risk due to the high prevalence in obesity cases. These cases would in time lead to the obesity related diseases which means that if no action is taken in advance, the US will have a seriously incapacitated population in a few years . The average obesity rate as per this data in the US might be estimated at 25% of the children population with the rate of obesity prevalence showing drastic increase. This means that more than 30% of children in the US might be obese in the five or less years to come (CDC, 2010). Dehgan, Danesh & Merchant (2005) argue that more than 70% of children grow to become obese adults. This explains the high rate of obesity in adults in the United States that is much higher compared to the rate of obesity in children. Childhood obesity trends in the US. Fig 1. Childhood obesity trends in the US (Source: Department of Health and Human Services, 2003) Obesity and overweight trends in the US. Fig. 2 Childhood overweight and obesity trends in the US (Source: Clocc, 2010). The graphs above portray a gradual rise in obesity and overweight cases in the US. As Bagchi (2010) elaborates, the obesity and overweight data as the figures portray is evenly distributed among the different racial inclinations in the US. However, the obesity prevalence as indicated is not uniformly distributed among the families. The obesity cases as Bagchi (2011) argues depend on the income, education, employment and other family data in the US. For example, the CDC (2010) indicate that children from low income and low education families have 3 times more chances of being obese as compared to children from educated families with high income. The obesity cases show a pattern of gradual decrease, from the lowest income families to the middle class and decreases significantly in the affluent class of US citizens. The social economic gradient in obesity prevalence is therefore of utmost importance in the US obesity trends. Bagchi (2011) further elaborates that more prevalence of obesity cases is portrayed at the middle class level of citizens. This is because these children make up more than half of the children population in US households. Race and ethnicity, according to Bagchi, are the major determinants in the obesity prevalence trends. The ethnicity and the race of a child have a bearing in that more blacks at the middle level and whites on the upper class have portrayed higher prevalence of obesity cases compared to other groups in the United States. Factors Leading to Obesity According to Dehgan, Danesh & Merchant (2005), there is no uniform definition of obesity since it has kept on changing over time. This makes it hard to keep a cutoff point for fatness or overweight in children. However, childhood obesity might be reflected by the amount of skin fold thickness. A study carried out by Williams et al (1997) classified children as fat when their skin fold thickness portrays body fat of about 25 and 30% for both males and females respectively. CDC (2010) defines overweight as being above 95th percentile BMI for age and being at risk for overweight between 85th to 95th percentiles of BMI for age. Obesity in most cases has been classified as being above 95th percentile of BMI. Below is a set of conditions that lead to childhood obesity: 1. Diet. Dehgan, Danesh & Merchant (2005) defines the diet of the child to be the greatest cause of obesity. As food becomes more available and the prices of food decrease relative to the incomes of many, food has been changed from a necessity in the life of humanity to a lifestyle. This has resulted to production of large amounts of energy rich foods with poor nutritive value. Since such food requires vigorous activities to burn the excess calories, the high energy food when consumed by children cannot be converted to energy and is stored as fat. The result is that the child becomes overweight with time. 2. Calorie intake. Though Dehgan, Danesh & Merchant (2005) explain that there is no enough evidence linking overweight and high calorific intake, food rate methods measure usual diet but the calorific value is poorly estimated. An imbalance in calorific value intake over a long time would result to overweight and obesity cases. The National Health and Nutrition Examination survey in the US has recorded a gradual change in calorie intake in children from 1970s to 1988 and again between 1999 and 2000 (CDC, 2010). The gradual changes in calorie intake might accumulate overtime to result in overweight and obesity cases. There are other dietary factors are responsible for increasing overweight cases in children. Dehgan, Danesh & Merchant (2005) explain that there was a drastic increase in per capita intake of carbonated soft drinks by about 118% between 1970 and 1997, and milk intake portrayed a decline of about 23%. Soft drink intake has resulted in acute rise in obesity prevalence cases among children. The largest cause of obesity and overweight case is lack of physical activities. Many studies have shown that passive behavior among children has contributed immensely to childhood obesity. These include watching TVs, paying computer games, and the overuse of vehicles by children instead of walking. The over protective approach taken by parents to ensure that children are indoors playing the passive games has largely contributed to obesity cases in children. Children, according to Dehgan, Danesh & Merchant (2005), have largely overused school buses as the means of getting to schools instead of normal walking practices. On the other hand, schools do not encourage sports and other physical activities among children. Studies have shown high correlation between parents’ obesity and childhood obesity. This is because obese parents would most likely influence their children to follow the same lifestyle thereby leading them to obesity. Williams et al (1997) further elaborate that the kind of upbringing in children has an effect on developing obesity cases. Children with parents whose lifestyle is unhealthy and are overweight would most likely follow the same lifestyle as their parents. The lack of information concerning dietary and healthy practices in children has been blamed for a rapid rise in childhood. Despite obesity prevalence, there are a number of measures, which if taken appropriately may reduce obesity and overweight prevalence in children. Preventing and Reducing Obesity Williams et al (1997) suggest that in order to reduce obesity and overweight cases in children, parents should ensure that children get at least five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The Food Guide Pyramid which indicates the recommended servings each day is recommended to be used in dietary planning in every family. Bagchi (2011) elaborates that parents should discourage the use of carbonated soft drinks for their children and instead should advocate for fruit juices, milk or other nutritious drinks that do not add blood sugars to their children. The physical environment mentioned in the above researches report is the greatest cause of overweight and obesity cases in children. Parents have the duty to ensure that children engage in physical activities and encourage physical games instead of passive games such as watching TV, computer games. This will ensure that the child burn much of the calories consumed during these physical activities and reduces the chances of fat accumulation that would lead to overweight cases and obesity. CDC (2010) further argues that though suburban regions lack recreational facilities, parents should encourage their children to walk or bike to school or as a normal exercise routine as compared to overuse of vehicle transportation. A study by CDC found the direct relationship between the BMI of children and their community. Those living in sprawls have a higher BMI due to the lack of enough facilities that would enhance recreation activities. It is the duty of parents to ensure such recreation is substituted through other physical activities. According to CDC (2010) parents have the greatest influence in the eating habits of children. As earlier explained, there is a relationship between the lifestyle of the parents to obesity cases in children. Parents have the duty to choose the dietary patters of their children, as well as the duty to make the right food accessible and available at all times. In most cases, children follow the trends and behaviors of the parents in most patterns including the eating habits. Parents have the duty to influence and adopt healthy eating habits so as to ensure the children follow suit. This includes the importance of avoiding being choosy in healthy food types. The lifestyle of depending on canned foods that are in most cases high in fats and saturated sugars should also be avoided to reduce obesity prevalence cases. Williams et al (1997) elaborates that through the above and other practices that encourage healthy eating and living, parents would reduce the chances of their children developing obesity related diseases such as diabetes type II, heart and kidney complications. A better self image is enhanced, as well as different forms of cancer are prevented. Healthy eating is therefore important for the child up to adulthood. Childhood obesity in the US has been drastically increasing over the past few years and it is estimated that an average of 25% US children are obese. This high number means that many children are at the risk of developing obesity related complications such as cancer and diabetes. Poor eating habits and lack of physical activities has been established as the factors responsible for obesity case. Thus, it is important to take drastic measures to prevent or reduce the rising cases of obesity among children in the United States. References Bagchi, D. (2011). Global perspectives on childhood obesity. London: Elservier. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Childhood obesity facts. CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm Dehghan, M., Danesh, N.A., & Mercahnt, A. (2005). Childhood obesity, prevalence and prevention. Nutrition Journal. 4(24). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Childhood obesity. APE.hhs.gov. http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/child_obesity/ Woodward, D., Cumming, F., Ball, P., Williams, H., Hornsby, H., and Boon, J. (1997). Does Television Affect Teenagers’ Food Choices? Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 10, pp. 229-235. Read More