Obesity as an Epidemic in the USA - Essay Example

?Health Sciences and Medicine Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Table of Contents 1) Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 2) Background and Signi?cance ………………………………………………….. 3) Literature review ………………………………………………………………. 4) Recommendation ………………………………………………………………. Health Sciences and Medicine Write about obesity among African American adolescents from low income families in Washington DC. Why is it considered a problem worth paying attention to and directing resources to? In addition, what is suggested to solve this alleged problem? A. Introduction: Obesity is one of the most significant public health troubles faced by the US, particularly in children. In children, obesity is usually caused by the shortage of physical exercises, unhealthy habits of eating and wasting most of the time on non-active entertainment. Obesity has increased to epidemic percentages as a major problem globally and nationally. During the childhood period, obesity leads to various adverse effects including various health problems such as sleep disorders, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, left ventricular hypertrophy, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver illness, atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia as well as psychological disorders such as stigmatization, bias, sadness and emotional upset. Every segment of the U.S. populace is affected by this health problem of obesity, particularly Washington DC, in one of the universal myths that subsist in almost every low-income citizen. In this generalization, two facts commonly are overlooked: (1) the relationship between income and weight can vary by gender, race/ethnicity, or age; and (2) disparities by income seem to be weakening with time (Relationship between Poverty and Overweight or Obesity, 2010). When considering the income and ethnicity, the picture of this problem is even more disturbing. African-American low-income families have the highest risk for obesity, and adolescents of the families with lower-income have a higher risk for obesity than those from families of higher income. More than 40% of African-American adolescents are overweight, and almost 25% are obese. In Washington, D.C., the percentage of rate of obesity for 10–17 year age groups is 35.4%, putting it at number nine among every city in the state.?? The implications of this consist of a staggering amount of kids who are in danger of developing a grave chronic health situation, for example, coronary heart illness and diabetes. This study tells about the obesity among African American adolescents from low income families in Washington DC. B. Background and Signi?cance: Childhood obesity is a significant public related problem in the US. Obesity among African American adolescents from low-income families in Washington DC has risen in recent years. The number of adolescents who are overweight has tripled since 1980 and the prevalence among younger children has more than doubled. According to the 1999-2002 NHANES survey, 16 percent of children aged 6-19 years are obese (Childhood Obesity, n.d.). Not only did the rates of obesity increase, but also the heaviest kids, according to the latest NHANES survey, were noticeably heavier than those in earlier surveys were. Figure 1. Prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents ages 6-19 years ” (Childhood Obesity, n.d.) Obesity disproportionately has an effect on a certain minority of adolescent populations. The survey showed that Mexican American and African American adolescents between the age groups of 12-19 were more expected to be obese, at 23% and 23% respectively, than non-Hispanic white adolescents, which were only 14%. Considering the case of children that fall in the age group of 6-11, 22% of Mexican American kids are found to be obese, 20% African American kids and 14% of non-Hispanic White kids also fall under the same category. In Washington D.C. childhood obesity of the low-income families is 35.4% in 2007. The youth obesity epidemic is a grave public health problem that enhances morbidity, humanity, and has considerable long-term financial and social costs. “The rates of obesity in America’s children and youth have almost tripled in the last quarter of this century. Approximately 20% of our youths are now obese, with obesity rates in preschool age children increasing at an alarming speed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled among children of ages 2 to 5 (5.0% to 12.4%) and ages 6 to 11 (6.5% to 17.0%)” (The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity, 2012). Among adolescents, a negative affiliation among socioeconomic position (SES) (e.g., parental earnings, education parents, occupation position) of being obese has been well established. On the other hand, the affiliation appears weaker and less reliable in kids. Race and civilization are terms used to classify populations on the base of shared features. Race has conventionally been used to classify populations on the base of shared organic characteristics, for example, genes, color of skin, and other visible features. Obesity has attained epidemic percentages in the low-income families in Washington DC. It has enlarged in both sexes and in every ethnic, racial and socioeconomic group. The prevalence of childhood obesity among African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans exceeds that of other ethnic groups. The Centers for Disease Control reported that in 2000, the prevalence of obesity was 19% of non-Hispanic black children and 20% of Mexican American children, compared with 11% of non-Hispanic white children” (Caprio et al. n.d.). In 2000, the cost implications of obesity in the low income families in Washington DC were approximately $98 billion as direct costs of healthcare (that is, precautionary, diagnostic, and various types of treatment services for fatness, obesity and associated diseases) and $62 million on various types of indirect costs (that is, salary lost because of disease or disability, and salary of the future period lost because of early death). C. Review of Selected Literature: According to M. Sue Kirkman in his article called “Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Childhood Obesity: Implications for Prevention and Treatment”, the occurrence of obesity has increased noticeably in the U.S. among children in the past 30 years. Obesity associated with risk issues and illnesses previously seen merely in adult peoples are increasingly being identified in obese adolescents and even young kids. “Unsurprisingly in Washington D.C., obesity in children is an illness practitioners at the hospital routinely meet” (Kirkman, 2012). According to Kay Johnson in his article called “Reducing Disparities Beginning in Early Childhood”, risks for disparate results disproportionately influence young kids, low-income kids, and minority children. • Washington D.C. has the largest prevalence of overweight children in the U.S. – 23% • It has the highest rate of racial disparities in the nation with regards to obesity: 8% of white residents are obese, while 31% of African-Americans are obese; Ward 8 has an obesity rate of 36% while Ward 3 has a rate of 12.4%; obesity rates are also very high in Wards 4, 5, 6 and 7 (The Obesity Epidemic in Washington, D. C. n.d.). According to Alexandra Williams, MA, in her article called “Childhood Obesity Doomsday Countdown”, since 1980, worldwide obesity has doubled. In 2010, almost 43 million kids below the age group of 5 were obese (WHO, 2011). Regardless of worldwide awareness and isolated efforts to face this disaster head-on, the reality remains that our children are nowadays fat and becoming fatter (Williams, 2011). According to Maximilian D. Schmeiser in his article called “Expanding Wallets and Waistlines: The Impact of Family Income on the BMI of Women and Men Eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit”, the income of people may directly influence weight in the course of its result on the use of calories. Increased earnings of people may cause an employee’s increased weight in two ways. The employee may use the extra income to purchase extra calories for residence consumption, or surrogate restaurant meals, which are usually more calorie-dense than foodstuff consumed at home (Lin & Frazao, 1997). 1/3 of black people and low-income kids are obese (Schmeiser, 2008): Approximately 34 percent of children from lower income households are obese, compared to 19 percent of children from higher income households. One-third of black children and over one-fifth of white children are obese. A larger proportion of boys than girls are obese. Approximately 28 percent of children from the South are obese, compared to 22 percent of children from other regions of the country.” ” (Childhood Obesity: A Lifelong Threat to Health, 2002). D. Recommendation(s): Execute and implement rules on various information of nutrition that make it easier for young people and parents to formulate healthy choices: Clear menus regarding the food stuffs can help families to create better alternatives for themselves. Enhance admittance to healthy and reasonable foods: An increasing amount of evidence recommends that increases in the availability of food store improve BMI rate of adolescents. In addition, when the cost of healthy foods is cheap, people can afford to have a healthy diet. Guarantee that families who require food assistance have admittance to it: Policymakers can encourage access to foodstuff assistance by simplifying the application procedure for food assistance plans, guaranteeing that citizens who qualify for these plans are conscious of them, enabling the exercise of WIC and foodstuff stamps at markets, and offering subsidies for better foods. Develop quality of and protection funding of programs for school food: School symbolizes a crucial chance for a government to educate kids and facilitate them to build up strong eating habits. Enhance opportunities for and admittance to various physical activities, consisting of support for proof -based physical teaching curriculum for example SPARK: Physical activity programs can decrease the threat of obesity and have various advantages such as reducing symptoms of depression and developing self-esteem. References Caprio et al. (n.d.). Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Childhood Obesity: Implications for Prevention and Treatment. American Diabetes Association. Retrieved from http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/31/11/2211.long Childhood Obesity: A Lifelong Threat to Health, (2002). Center on an Aging Society. Georgetown University. Retrieved from http://ihcrp.georgetown.edu/agingsociety/pubhtml/obesity/obesity.html Childhood Obesity, (n.d.). Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/child_obesity/ Johnson, K. (2007). Reducing Disparities Beginning in Early Childhood. National Center for Children in Poverty. Print. Kirkman, S. (2012). Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Childhood Obesity: Implications for Prevention and Treatment. American Diabetes Association. Relationship between Poverty and Overweight or Obesity, (2010). Food Research and Action Center. http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/are-low-income-people-at-greater-risk-for-overweight-or-obesity/ Schmeiser, M. D. (2008). Expanding Wallets and Waistlines: The Impact of Family Income on the BMI of Women and Men eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Institute for Research on Poverty. The Obesity Epidemic in Washington, D. C. (n.d). Howard University Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.hubariatrics.com/files/ObesityinDCFactSheet.pdf The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity, (2012). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx Williams, A. (2011). Childhood Obesity Doomsday Countdown. IDEA Health & Fitness Association. Read More