Awareness Creation among Parents on the Management of Obesity in Children - Research Paper Example

? School: Topic: Unit VII Appendices and References Lecturer: Proposal Introduction Introduction The researchproposal is being conducted on the topic, “Awareness creation among parents on the management of obesity in children”. On the surface, this may be seen as a straight forward research topic but there are actually four major compartments of the topic. The first component of the research topic touches on awareness creation. By awareness creation, reference is being made to a process whereby there is the use of professional facts and data to educate a person on a given problem area (Borders, Rohner, & Cardarelli, 2006). In most cases, awareness is created for people with little or no idea about the problem area in question. The second component is parents, where there is an implication that the target audience of the research work shall be people with children. The reason behind the selection of parents is that in most homes, it is the parents who determine the dietary choices of children, which is a major factor in the problem area under study. The third component of the research topic is on management. Management of the problem area is the recommended intervention to use in salvaging the identified problem area. By management, reference is being made to the use of a series of activities and tasks that seek to correct an existing situation perceived to be wrong or inappropriate (Bibbins-Domingo et al., 2007). The final aspect of the research topic identifies the main problem area that the research seeks to solve, which is obesity in children. Most children have been found to possess higher risk factors when it comes to obesity (Lombard, Forster-Cox, & O’Neil, 2006). Obesity is actually seen as a health problem that could have very detrimental consequences on children if not managed at an early stage of development. Problem Statement The specific research problem under study is the management of obesity in children. Management of obesity in children is considered to be a specific problem in this context because of the fact that there are several aspects and areas of obesity but there is the specific selection of how it can be management in children. Even among children alone, obesity has several aspects of study such as causes, effects and risk factors (Crawford et al., 2001). However, the researcher specifies the management of obesity in children. The problem of management of obesity is considered to be very important for two major reasons. In the first place, when obesity in children is not managed at an early stage, it leaves a lifelong health consequence on the children. Secondly, management of obesity is something that can easily be done using home remedy by parents. Unfortunately though, most parents do not know how to go about this and so the study will help in raising awareness for such parents. Rationale for the Research There were two major rationales used to determine the importance of the study. The first of these rationales is the fact that obesity management principles are very simple to learn (Borders, Rohner, & Cardarelli, 2006). To this end, it is very easy of most parents with differential variables to learn and adapt to the management principles. This means that one does not need to have any special job specific, cultural background or educational qualification to be part of the intervention being designed by the researcher. Most of the management principles suggested are everyday household processes and activities. Secondly, the rationale is related to the effect of obesity in children. Research has showed that children who are obese suffer in several areas of their live including physical development, academic performance, self esteem and adaption to society. A refusal to pragmatically stop obesity in children would therefore mean that these children are being left to have a lifelong health and psychological problem. Statement of the Research Objectives The overall aim of the research work is to create awareness in the management of obesity in children. Indeed, the aim of the study refers to a broad goal that cannot be achieved by performing a single activity. To this end, a number of specific objectives are set to represent specific tasks that the researcher would have to take in order to achieve the broader goal. The objectives of the study are thus given as follows: 1. To identify specific trend of obesity in children using variables such as age, gender, economic background and daily activity 2. To understand the level of parents’ knowledge on obesity in children and how this knowledge can be enhanced through home based awareness creation 3. To analyze how physical exercise can be used as a home based management solution to obesity in children 4. To determine the role of emotional wellbeing in the management of obesity in children at home 5. To employ the use of dietary schedule to eradicate obesity in home Hypothesis The conduct of the research is guided by two major hypotheses specially carved by the researcher in relation to the problem statement. Even though the researcher has a discretional privilege in the construction of the hypotheses, it must be stated that the hypotheses to be used below were drafted based on critical review of available literature in the area of child obesity. This was done to enhance the reliability of the study. The hypotheses are thus stated as: 1. If home based remedies to the management of obesity in children are taken up by parents then rate of obesity in children will be reduced drastically. 2. If home based remedies to the management of obesity in children are taken up by parents then eradication of obesity in children cannot be approached from a professional perspective. Definition of Terms Obesity: This is a state of health where the weight of a person is considered to be disproportional the person’s age or height. In most cases, people with body mass index of over 30 are considered to be obese Management: This is the use of series of tasks or activities to bring a prevailing negative situation under control Emotional wellbeing: A person is said to have an emotional wellbeing when the person does not have any psychological problems bordering them. In the cases of children bullying in school and teasing by friends are identified to be some problems that distort the emotional wellbeing of children (Loue & Quill, 2001). Dietary schedule: A dietary schedule is a professional nutrition chart that determines when a person should eat, what a person should eat, and by what quantity the person should eat (Daniels, 2006). Physical exercise: These are strenuous activities performed to enhance the flow of blood in a person and ensure that all other body parts are active. Summary To sum up the paper that has been written so far, it will be said that obesity in children is an everyday health problem that confronts most children of school going age (Lombard, Forster-Cox, & O’Neil, 2006). However, it is possible to use various home based remedies as management interventions to solving the situation. The problem under study is therefore identified as the management obesity in children. Parents are the targeted audience for the study. This means that the researcher is going to target parents of children with cases of obesity for a specialized awareness creation forum. Based on the objectives of the study, there are three major management principles that will be used. These are namely dietary schedule, physical exercise and psychological wellbeing. By the close of the study, it is expected that most of the threatening consequences of obesity in children identified in literature will be curtailed. Reference Bibbins-Domingo, K., Coxson, P., Pletcher, M. J.., Lightwood, J., & Goldman L. (2007). Adolescent overweight and future adult coronary heart disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(23), 2372-2379. Borders, T. F., Rohner, K.M., & Cardarelli, K. M. (2006). Gender specific disparities in obesity. Journal of Community Health, 31(1), 57-68. Crawford, P.B., Story, M., Wang, M. C., Ritchie, L.D., & Sabry, Z. (2001) Ethnic issues in the epidemiology of childhood obesity. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 48(4), 855-878. Daniels, S. R. (2006). The consequences of childhood overweight and obesity. The Future of Children, 16(1), 47-67. Lombard, K. A., Forster-Cox, S., & O’Neil, M. K. (2006). Diabetes on the Navajo nation: What role can gardening and agriculture extension play to reduce it? Remote and Rural Health, 6(4), 640. Loue, S., & Quill, B.E., (2001). Handbook of rural health. New York, NY:Kluwer/Plenum Publishers. Read More