Childhood Obesity As a Challenge of the 21st Century - Research Paper Example

Childhood Obesity: The Challenge of the 21st Century Introduction Obesity is the accumulation of fat in the body to the point that it becomes more of a threat to health. An obese person has an abnormally high weight for his age, height and gender. The degree of obesity can be measured by a person’s BMI or Body Mass Index which is based on a person’s weight and height (Afridi & Khan, 2004). Obesity is becoming one of the biggest challenges of the present century with more and more people becoming its victims (Blackburn & Walker, 2005). Obesity occurs when the consumption of energy is more than its expenditure. It can be best described as the disease of our living habits. The advancement in technology means that now most of the work can be carried out with a click of the button which means an end to manual labor. Television viewing has become the number one source of entertainment and though people are sports enthusiasts, they prefer to watch sports on TV rather than play it. Eating habits have also undergone a great change and instead of fresh fruits, vegetables and nutritious homemade food, children are now consuming energy-dense food (Contento, 2011). These factors contribute to obesity among adults as well as children. Obesity affects children both physically and psychologically. Obesity gives rise to health problems such as heart disease, higher cholesterol level, high blood pressure and diabetes. It affects almost all organs and decreases life expectancy. Smith (1999) says that obese adults and children although seem happy with their weight but this contentment is on the surface only and internally they suffer from poor self-image and depression. Obesity is especially dangerous in children as studies have found that obese children stay obese when they grow up (Heaton-Haris, 2009). Obesity in children is not something new but the rate at which it is increasing is alarming. Quoting the United States Government Accounting Office, Bascetta (2005) states that childhood obesity is becoming a public health threat in the United States with the number of obese children between the ages 6 and 11 increasing by three folds. In the UK too childhood obesity has risen at an alarming rate from 9.6% in the 1990s to 13.7 % in the present period (National Audit Office, 2006). The gravity of the situation can be recognized from the fact that childhood obesity has captured public attention and both parents and health practitioners are showing serious concerns (Paxon et al., 2006). Paxon et al (2006) has identified sedentary lifestyle and the consumption of fast food as the two main causes of childhood obesity. The problem of childhood obesity has become quite serious and the medical practitioners are of the opinion that until some drastic steps is not taken, the numbers are most likely to explode. Childhood obesity is not restricted to the USA alone; it is a worldwide problem with around ten percent of school going children reported to be overweight and obese globally (Waters et al (Eds.), 2011). United States however leads the rest with one in every three children labeled as obese (Dalton, 2005). UK follows closely as the Health Survey reported that obesity among 2 to 10 years old children has increased by 28% in the last few years (Hansen et al., 2010). Unfortunately obese children remain obese when they reach adolescence because they retain most of their obesity inducing habits (Ludwig, 2007). Reasons for Childhood Obesity Obesity in children has multiple causes with lack of physical activity and lack of appropriate nutrition being the main culprits (Dehghan et al., 2005). Physicians have noticed that there exists an inverse relation between the time the children spend in front of TV and computer and the time they spent in physical activities. In an interesting study Cawley (2006) states that the changing economy has also contributed towards obesity in children. Cawley (2006) pointed out that the prices of sugar-laden and fat laden foods have dropped whereas the prices of fruits and vegetables have gone up. Another factor which has led to increase in obesity is the preference of take away food and restaurant meals to home cooked meals. The take away and restaurant meals are well within the reach of the middle class community while the poor are forced to feed their children outside food because to make both ends meet, mothers spend more time in factories and production units than at home cooking meals for their kids. The consumption of fast food also results in excessive weight gain (Mooney et al., 2010). According to Cawley (2006) the “the portion size” of the packaged food and beverages has also increased which starts showing on children from the age of five. With the passage of time rapid changes occur in the weight and height of the children making it difficult to define or detect obesity in them (Davies et al., 2008). Birkland (2010) is of the opinion that childhood obesity is a social problem and is a result of poor parenting. Seconding this opinion Dalton (2005) states that parents come home late from work and are too tired to come up with a proper wholesome meal instead they order a cheap high calorie meal with extra large servings. The idea of spending quality time with children has now taken the form of gathering around the TV watching a video and eating ice-cream. Laziness on part of the parents is turning the younger generations into sitting ducks. Also the parents insist that the child finish the food on his/her plate and often serve large helpings and justify this action saying that the child is growing up and needs more food (Heaton-Haris, 2009). Thus poor role of parents largely contributes to obesity in children as children tend to make the same choices in food later on. Lopez and Hynes (2006) have pointed out that the built environment and poor urban planning is also a cause of obesity. Sidewalks, parks, streetlights and interconnectivity of streets are some features of built environment which encourage physical activity and reduce the risk of obesity in both adults and children. However the present day urban planning suffers from cul-de-sacs, high speed traffic and lack of parks the features which increase the risk of obesity in children and adults especially among those who reside in the inner cities. Neighborhood crime is another reason why the parents do not let their children go out to play and instead provide them with video and computer games. This deprives them of any opportunity to play outdoors and to kill boredom they find comfort in food which leads to being overweight, more boredom and more eating (Hartman, 2010). Genes also play a major role in obesity among children (Bagchi, 2010). Children with both or one obese parent are likely to suffer from obesity at an early age. The role of media in promoting food and snacks which lead to childhood obesity cannot be denied either; TV commercials encourage children to eat sweets and other calories laden snacks instead of wholesome and nutritious food (Termini et al., 2011). Often sports personalities and celebrities popular among children are hired by the food companies to advertise their products thereby compelling the fans to consume these unhealthy food products. Unable to influence the food industry to change the way it was marketing unhealthy food the Department of Health in the UK in 2006 announced restrictions on the advertising and marketing of unhealthy food especially those which appealed to the children (House of Commons - Committee of Public Accounts, 2007). Impact of Childhood Obesity on Health Overweight children aged between 5 to 10 years exhibit two or more cardiovascular risk factors (Bendich & Deckelbaum, 2005). Eckel (2003) has described childhood obesity as a risk factor for adult obesity. Many chronic diseases such as heart condition, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level and muscle and joint disorders occur early in childhood for overweight children. Gallbladder diseases, cancer and hyperlipidameia are other diseases an obese child may suffer from during adulthood. In England alone the amount of money spent by the National Health Service on treating the diseases caused by obesity in 2010 amounted to £3.6 billion (National Audit Office, 2006). The obese children have problem breathing especially during sleeping (Perkin et al., 2007). They are also lethargic and have problem in becoming active physically. One of the reasons why obese children and adolescences do not actively participate in physical activities at school is because their weight makes them too self-conscious. The lack of privacy in changing rooms, short sports uniforms especially for girls and body consciousness are some factors which inhibit the obese children from taking active part in sports at school (O’Dea & Eriksen, 2010). The obese children also reach puberty early. Obese children eat even though they are not really hungry; this is because they use food to console and comfort themselves. Whenever they are frustrated, sad or stressed, they find solace in food as it eliminates the negative feelings of anger and sadness (Kiess, 2004). The obese children also suffer from a lack of self-confidence and have a feeling that they are useless. Depression is also common among obese children and they harbor more negative feelings about themselves. Obese children are also the butt of the jokes at school and feel isolated because they are not socially accepted such as in sports teams etc. They feel vulnerable and helpless and do nothing when bullied and teased as they believe they deserve this insulting behavior. It has also been reported that obese children perform poorly at schools. There is a common concept that obese children are lazy and stupid and for this reason they hardly get accept by their peers. According to Burniat (2002) the obese children have less academic qualifications and seldom get accepted in prestigious universities because of their poor scores. Dieting is a common method of losing weight especially among girls. In UK alone one fifth of young girls go on diets to lose weight. Crash diet, binge diet, skipping meals, chaotic eating and consuming slimming products are common among adolescent females in the UK. Unfortunately these diets do not provide relief from obesity and on the other hand result in eating disorders (Webster-Gandy et al., 2012). Preventing Childhood Obesity Infancy is that period of time in which the child undergoes rapid change in height and weight; by the age of six months the infant weighs twice his birth weight and when he reaches the one year mark, the weight triples. When the child becomes a year old, the growth rate slows down and the appetite decreases. Typically if the weight of the child triples before one year, it is a positive sign of obesity (Davies et al., 2008). Dehghan et al (2005) state that the best time to prevent obesity is in childhood as it is difficult to lose weight in adulthood. The prevention of childhood obesity relies heavily on the balance between the amount of energy consumed as food and drinks and the amount of energy used up for normal development and growth of the child (Koplan et al., 2005). The most common and the wisest way of preventing childhood obesity is to increase the level of physical activities (O.Dea & Eriksen, 2010). Programs to encourage physical activities should be implemented at schools; however the interest and preference of the students should be taken into account. Generally it has been observed that although girls are more likely to be overweight and that it is difficult to engage them in physical activities. However if the obese children are counseled that participation in physical activities will help them lose weight and that even overweight people can be good sportsperson can help them overcome the mental barriers they have erected. Health issues must be tackled in a positive way without the blame and shame attitude which has largely led to the failure of nutrition education. According to Akabas et al (2012) the very first step to be taken to prevent childhood obesity is breast feeding. Breastfeeding has many advantages; firstly it helps mothers lose the additional weight they have gained during pregnancy and secondly mother’s milk has optimal nutritional value required by the baby. Breast milk can provide sufficient nutrients to the baby for the first six months. As breast milk lacks iron, Vitamin K and Vitamin D, soft foods are introduced to the baby at the age of six months (Pillitteri, 2009). The process of introducing semi-solid food to the baby’s diet is called weaning (Thaker & Barton, 2012). Pillitteri (2009) also observed that children who are fed on formula milk have a greater chance of getting obese than those fed on breast milk; also if weaning is started early, then too the chances of obesity in childhood increase. Childhood obesity in the babies fed on formula milk can be prevented by introducing weaning at the age of six months and by avoiding sweet drinks. During the weaning period iron fortified infant cereals, fruits and vegetables should be introduced at first and later meat and egg yolks should be given to the infant (Ransley et al., 2001). The food introduced to the infant during weaning sets the food pattern the child will prefer when he grows up therefore it is necessary to introduce food which is nutritious and does not cause obesity (Lauwers & Swisher, 2011). To prevent obesity in children, the parents should restrict the intake of calories when the child turns five (Bartleson & Cormier, 2011). The parents should also purchase low fat and low calories snack food in case the child gets hungry between meals. Also the child should be taught the benefits of nutritious food at an early age. Besides introducing proper food, parents should also introduce physical activities and restrict the time a child spends in front of the TV or the computer. Parents should also not use food as bribe or reward. Often parents let the children eat energy dense food (junk food) as a reward sending wrong signals to the children that junk food is acceptable (Keeling, 2008). Another common error on part of the parents is using food as bribe. Parents offer cookies and sweets to children to make them stop crying. This confuses a child and she may think that besides hunger food should also be eaten for comfort (Larimore et al., 2005). These practices must be avoided at all costs and parents must make sure that children regard food as something consumed only when hungry. The desserts should also be replaced with fruits preferably fresh as they are sweet enough to satisfy the sweet tooth. To prevent childhood obesity, the parents need to be educated about the nutritional value of the food (Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity and Institute Of Medicine, National Academies, 2006). The choice of nutritious and wholesome food which is inculcated in children at a very young age continues in adulthood as well. In this way a person can successfully avoid diseases caused by obesity. Physical activities are vital in preventing childhood obesity. Every child needs physical activities daily as they not only help in regulating body weight but also refresh the mind (Summerfield, 2011). The Government in the UK is committed to check childhood obesity which is evident from the fact that new playing fields and swimming pools are being opened to provide the children more opportunities to play outdoors. This step has met with an encouraging response from children. The Departments for Education and Skills and for Culture, Media and Sports have also been directed to encourage the concerned authorities and schools to provide and develop more public facilities especially in those sports and activities which the children are more likely to take up (House of Commons - Committee of Public Accounts, 2007). Obesity among children can be controlled at school level as well. The school system needs to take concrete steps to bring to about positive changes. Among some strategies proposed by Edelstein and Sharlin (2009) are the serving of fruits and vegetables during breakfast and lunch, restricting beverages and competitive food and a greater opportunities of physical activities on the campus. Edelstein and Sharlin (2009) have also suggested a mandatory 50 hours annual “nutrition educational curricular” from pre-kindergarten up till the 12th grade. This program was recommended by the American Dietetic Association, Society for Nutrition Education and the American School Food Service Association, and will hopefully have a positive impact on the eating habits of the children and they will be able to make the right choices even outside the school. The parents can help by encouraging physical activities and limiting TV viewing as well as by serving home cooked food to the children. Among the various physical activities which can be easily implemented is walking to school. The children should walk to school in groups every day accompanied by an adult (Edelstein & Sharlin, 2009). The police department and the civic agencies can also chip in by providing safe routes for children to walk, skate or cycle to school. Dancing and skipping ropes are effective ways to lose weight and can easily be done at home as they do not require special space or venue. Some general practitioners suggest that childhood obesity can be controlled through drugs and pills. This method is most ineffective and has failed to control obesity among children. Whatever weight a child loses through drugs comes back with a vengeance; another negative factor of weight reducing pills is the harmful side effects. Conclusion Childhood obesity is a serious threat to the health of the new generation. This chronic disorder has at present become a global challenge as most of the children in the world are either overweight or obese. In Africa too obesity is four times more common among children than malnourishment (Chaput & Tremblay, 2006). Improper eating habits and lack of physical activities are the main reasons for obesity among children. Improper eating habits are developed because of poor parenting and start from the weaning period. If sugary drinks and high calorie food such as processed desserts are given to the child, he/she develops that taste and prefers it over to the other foods on growing up. Parents also use food as bribe and reward. It has been observed that parents often promise a calorie laden high fat, high sugar dessert if a child finishes the main course first. Behavioral problems are also tackled with food as bribe or reward. This behavior of the parents does a lot of damage as the children develop the habit of eating food for comfort. They also cannot distinguish whether they are really hungry or not (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). Obesity occurs when the intake of energy is more than the energy spent. The sedentary lifestyle of the children and the busy schedule of the parents are largely blamed for the imbalance of energy (Miller et al., 2004). Obese children grow up into obese adults as they find it difficult to knock off their poor eating habits and indulge in physical exercises. Childhood obesity leads to diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, hyper tension, type II diabetes and sleep apnea. Low self esteem, low confidence, depression and isolation are some ways through which obesity affects the child mentally. In order to combat the growing menace of childhood obesity, drastic steps need to be taken by the government, school authorities and parents. Because of the poor urban planning, the children are deprived of parks and sidewalks. The local government should develop playing grounds and swimming pools in order to encourage physical activity. Among children Schools can create food awareness among children to help them make healthy choices. Parents can perform their role by providing home cooked meals in appropriate servings and restrict TV watching. Parents should also understand that food should never be used to comfort a distressed child or bribe the child into doing something. 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