Childhood Obesity and Early Development of Chronic Diseases - Essay Example

Childhood Obesity and Early Development of Chronic Diseases Introduction Childhood obesity is one of the major health problems creating a matter of concern in majority of the countries. Over the last few decades, childhood obesity started to increase rapidly all over the world because of the rapid changes taking place in life styles. According to Pretlow (2010), childhood obesity is caused by the imbalance between the calorie intake and calorie utilized (Pretlow MD 1). Karnik & Kanekar pointed out that “Lack of playtime, little or no physical education at schools, videogames and excessive TV viewing time are proposed as the major cause of the childhood obesity epidemic” (4). Obesity related health problems include physical problems as well as mental problems. Children who are overweight may have issues with their self-esteem. Moreover, obese children may not socialize properly with peers because of the possibility of bullying and harassing. This paper analyses the childhood obesity epidemic and its relations with early development of chronic physical and psychological diseases. Health problems associated with obesity “One or more factors (genetic, behavioral, and environmental) cause obesity in children. Physical, psychological, and social health problems are caused due to childhood obesity” (Pretlow MD 1). Socializing is a much needed activity for children to develop self-esteem. The interactions with the peers help children to get accustomed to various life situations and also in finding answers to the confusing questions they are facing during childhood. However, obese children may not get such great lessons from peers; instead, they may get harassing and bullying because they are overweight. Thus, obese children develop a tendency to stay away from peers and they may develop emotional problems as a result of that. According to Williams (2011), childhood obesity data reveals that 18 percent of adolescents of ages 12 to 19 in the U.S. are obese. Moreover, obesity causes financial, physical and emotional consequences during childhood (Williams 48). Lloyd et al. (2012) pointed out positive associations between childhood obesity and adult metabolic risk. In their opinion, “adult total cholesterol, low-density lipo protein-cholesterol, triglyceride and insulin concentrations, are caused by childhood obesity” (Lloyd et al. p.1). Many people have the false belief that childhood obesity has nothing to do with health problems during adulthood. In fact many of the adult health problems are caused by childhood obesity. In other words, childhood obesity lays foundations for adulthood health problems. High blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and cardio vascular problems commonly seen among adults are caused by childhood obesity. Ergül & Kalkım pointed out that “diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome are caused by childhood obesity” (Ergül & Kalkım 223) Obese subjects have a much greater likelihood than normal-weight children of acquiring dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and impaired glucose metabolism, which significantly increase their risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Elevated TSH concentrations in association with normal or slightly elevated free T4 and/or free T3 levels have been consistently found in obese subjects (Pacifico 396). Thyroid problems are also believed to be associated with childhood obesity. Childhood obesity causes abnormal changes in hormone levels in body. The normal levels of thyroid hormones such as T3, T4, and TSH will be varied abnormally because of childhood obesity. It should be noted that thyroid is a disease which can cause physical problems as well as psychological problems. Siegrist et al. mentioned that “Childhood obesity is not only associated with adult obesity but also with increased risk of adult onset of type 2 diabetes and subsequent coronary heart disease” (Siegrist et al. 258). It is difficult for the obese children to become lean during their adulthood. Majority of the obese children tend to become obese during adulthood also. Austin pointed out that “obesity and eating disorders are linked in myriad ways” (Austin 1). In other words, over eating is one of the major characteristics of obesity. It is difficult for the obese children to reduce their food intakes. Overeating sustains and increases overweight. Thus, it is difficult for the obese children to become lean or healthier during adulthood. Overweight, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, which frequently coexist, contribute substantially to cardiovascular disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). A higher body mass index, the presence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and, of particular importance, reduced insulin sensitivity (IS), have recently emerged as strong independent risk factors for chronic kidney disease and ESRD (Savino et al. 503). Type 2 diabetes is increasing day by day among teenagers because of obesity. Earlier, type 2 diabetes was seen only among adult generation; however it is seen commonly among teenagers nowadays also. This is because of lack of physical workouts and changing life styles during childhood. Modern children are spending long time in front of television sets and computers. Thus, they are getting fewer opportunities to burn out the excess calorie intakes. As a result of that, fat deposits in their body go on increasing as time goes on and the result would be overweight and subsequent health problems. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) refers to complete kidney failure. It is a health problem in which kidneys losses its ability to function normally. Diabetes and high blood pressure are cited as the major reasons for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). As mentioned earlier, the development of diabetes and high blood pressure among obese children lead towards the occurrence of ESRD also. “Strong evidence, particularly from autopsy studies, supports the concept that precursors of adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) begin in childhood, and that pediatric obesity has an important influence on overall CVD risk” (Nadeau et al. 513). Childhood obesity is not taken seriously by majority of the parents. No parents like to see their children in lean manner. Childhood obesity is often considered as the symbol of health by many of the parents. They may think that obese children may not develop health problems related to overweight like adults do. Because of such illusion, childhood obesity is often taken as status symbol rather than a health problem. As mentioned earlier, the foundations for future health problems like CVD, cholesterol, diabetes, kidney failures etc are laid during childhood itself. In fact children who fail to engage in physical workouts may develop more health problems during adulthood than children who undergo regular workout sessions. For obese children, victimization would serve to reinforce already negative feelings of self-concept concerning appearance and that these negative feelings about their physical appearance would, in turn, lead to higher ratings of depression and changes in body mass. The higher rates of peer victimization for obese children suggests that they are targeted for peer victimization because of their physical appearance, and even if their victimization is not due to being obese, it is likely that obese children would perceive their obesity as the cause of their victimization. For all of these reasons it was thought that for obese children, compared to non-obese children, victimization would lead to negative self-perceptions about physical appearance and that this in turn would be linked to increases in depression and changes in body mass(Adams & Bukowski 859) Depression is another major health problem associated with childhood obesity. Obese children forced to lead a lonely life because of their fear of teasing and bullying from peers. Moreover, childhood obesity leads towards social exclusion, occupational and educational discrimination, and widespread expression of negative attitudes. Thus, obese children forced to limit their activities. Lonely life often leads to the development of depression and other psychological problems. Some researchers believe that depression causes obesity whereas others are of the view that obesity causes depression. In any case, it is a fact that obese children and depressed children have the habit of overeating. It seems like such children are taking overeating as a defense mechanism to escape from the frustrations of obesity or depression related problems. Anyway, one thing is for sure: obesity and depression are closely related to each other. Children during their developmental stages value social recognition much more than other things. Recognition or social approval is a tonic for the healthy emotional development of children. However, obese children fail to get social approval which lead towards the development of depression, anxiety, lack of self-esteem and other similar psychological problems. Conclusions To conclude, childhood obesity is as dangerous as adult obesity because of its potential to lay foundations for future health problems. Many of the health problems developed during adulthood are caused by childhood obesity. Physical problems such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, kidney failures, high blood pressure, cholesterol etc can be caused by childhood obesity. Moreover, psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, lack of self-esteem, and over eating can be developed as a result of childhood obesity. Children with overweight may not behave properly in the society. They may develop a tendency to stay away from social circles because of their concerns about peer victimizations, harassing, bullying etc. Depression like psychological problems may force the children to eat more and more and subsequently obesity may spoil their life as adults in future also. In short, childhood obesity has the potential to create severe health problems as well as social problems and it should be controlled as much as possible. Works Cited Austin, S. Bryn. “The Blind Spot in the Drive for Childhood Obesity Prevention: Bringing Eating Disorders Prevention Into Focus as a Public Health Priority”. 2011. American Journal of Public Health. Jun2011, Vol. 101 Issue 6. Print. Adams, Ryan E. and William M.Bukowski. “Peer Victimization as a Predictor of Depression and Body Mass Index in Obese and Non-obese Adolescents”. 2008. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2008). Aug;49(8):858-66. Print. Ergül, Şafak and Kalkım, Aslı. “A Major Chronic Disease: Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence”. 2011. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin, Mar/Apr2011, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p. 223-30. Print. Karnik, Sameera and Amar Kanekar. “Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis”. 2012. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, Jan2012, Vol. 3 Issue 1, p1-7. Print. Lloyd, L.J., Langley-Evans, S.C. & S. McMullen. “Childhood Obesity And Risk Of The Adult Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review”. 2012. International Journal Of Obesity [Int 2012 Jan; Vol. 36 (1), p. 1-11. Print. Nadeau, Kristen J., David M. Maahs, Stephen R. Daniels & Robert H. Eckel. “Childhood Obesity And Cardiovascular Disease: Links And Prevention Strategies”. Nature Reviews Cardiology, Sep2011, Vol. 8 Issue 9, p.513-25. Print. Pacifico, Lucia, Caterina Anania, Flavia Ferraro, Gian Marco Andreoli & Claudio Chiesa. “Thyroid Function In Childhood Obesity And Metabolic Comorbidity”. 2012. Clinica Chimica Acta, Feb2012, Vol. 413 Issue 3/4, p.396-405. Print. Pretlow, Robert A. MD. “Overweight: What Kids Say: Whats Really Causing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic”. 2010. Publisher: CreateSpace (April 24, 2010). Print. Savino, Alessandra; Piernicola Pelliccia, Francesco Chiarelli & Angelika Mohn. “Obesity- Related Renal Injury in Childhood”. 2010. Hormone Research in Paediatrics Apr2010, Vol. 73 Issue 5, p.303. Print. Siegrist, Monika, Henner Hanssen, Christoph Lammel, Bernhard Haller & Martin Halle. “A Cluster Randomized School-Based Lifestyle Intervention Programme for the Prevention of Childhood Obesity and Related Early Cardiovascular Disease”. 2011. BMC Public Health, 2011, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p.258-67. Print. Williams, Alexandra. “Childhood Obesity Dooms day Countdown”. 2011. IDEA Fitness Journal Nov/Dec2011, Vol. 8 Issue 10, p.48. Print. Read More