Causes, Prevention and Treatment of Obesity - Essay Example

Introduction Based on my personal experience, most people in many developed and developing countries have the misconception that when one is big, it is a sign of being healthy, this leads to high numbers of obese people in these countries. According to NHCSL (2010), obesity has become a health epidemic in the US and many developed countries. Adolescent and childhood obesity has highly increased in these countries during this modern era as compared to the past. Public health records provide evidence of the high number of adolescents with obese, thanks to early diagnosis. In a survey conducted by NHANES, it was established that between 2001 and 2004, the proportion of 6-10 year olds with obesity or overweight problems had increased from 7% to 17% in the general population. Among Latinos, there was an increase from 12% to 24% in the same period (NHCSL 2010, p.11). This clearly shows that obesity is more prevalent in the minority Latinos as compared to the general American population. In socioeconomically challenged communities living in the United States, public health practitioners have observed an increase in frequency of obesity in latest years unlike in the past. Discussion For an individual to be obese, he or she has to accumulate a lot of fats in his or her body that are not needed hence causing a health problem in his or her life. Obesity can be detected in the early life of a child or an adult because of poor dietary habits. Hence, poor eating habits cause more obesity among children and adults than either genetic factors or physical activity. In the modern era, there is large numbers of people with obesity and even overweight, whereby, people’s eating habits have greatly changed leading to this health problem all over the world. Unlike in the past where people used to cook at home, nowadays more people are turning to processed foods that they get from restaurants and other eateries. This has mainly been because of changes in lifestyles where parents have become busier with their jobs that they do not find time to cook or prepare meals at home. These processed foods contain more fats and calories than homemade foods thus increase the risk of obesity among children and even the adults who consume it. The eating habits of many children are uncontrolled since their parents are not with them when they are eating. On the other hand, parents are not teaching their children on healthy eating and thus children eat a lot of junk foods that tend to be sweeter or tastier, this also increases the risk of obesity. Obesity in childhood has been a major concern in most developed economies such the US. Despite the fact that children are less at risk of weight-related health problems than adults are, obese children are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart problems in their adulthood. Causes of Obesity Too much calorie intake; with the changing dietary habits, many families have abandoned healthy eating and foods such as fruits and vegetables and instead have turned to unhealthy foods such as red meat and other high calorie foods. Children are also eating uncontrollably, therefore, they end up eating more frequently and more food than the necessary one required by the body to function normally. Moreover, children are not trained on healthy eating habits; hence, they continue to eat indiscriminately, opting for foods that are either sweeter or tastier that also increase the risk of childhood obesity. Lack of physical activity; this has also greatly contributed to obesity among most children and even adults. Today, many children and adults are not doing exercises that burn excess calories in their bodies. Lack of physical activity is related to poor dietary habits since after taking too much calories, individuals do not burn the excess calories through taking part in physical activity, and instead, they spend more time in doing less strenuous activities. Additionally, most children use cars to move from one place to another, even for short distances, instead of walking which would burn the excess calories. As a result, excess calories that are taken in remain in their bodies accumulating resulting to them being obese (Lee, Burgerson, Fulton and Spain 2007, p.454). The table below shows an estimate and number of children who participate in physical activity. Table 1: Child Engagement in Physical Activity 0 days 1-3 days 4-6 days Everyday Total % % 10.3 25.4 34.4 29.9 100 C.I 9.7-11.0 24.5-26.3 33.4-35.3 29.0-30.8 n 5,767 16,053 23,498 18,116 Population Estimate 5,041,076 12,368,324 16,736,227 14,565,413 C.I. = 95% confidence interval n = size Adopted from National Survey of Childrens Health, NSCH (2007) Genetic factors; genetic factors can also cause obesity in that if the parents or other close relatives of a person were obese, there is a likelihood that this person may inherit such genes and thus become obese even if he or she eats healthy foods and does physical activity. The obese person may also pass the genes to their children; hence, obesity goes on along the family tree for a long time (Stewart 2012, p.201) Change in lifestyle; in the modern era, life has really changed when comparing it with the life that our grandparents lived. This is through the introduction of computers, televisions, washing machines, vehicles, video games among other things that were not there in the past. The introduction and arrival of these machines changed the lifestyle of many people whereby they are not using lot of energy in carrying out the daily cores. For example, washing machines simplified the task of washing clothes that could take an individual a whole day to wash. However, since it arrived, it is a matter of minutes and the whole household washing is completed. It is known that whenever an individual walks, he or she burns excess fats in the body, but with arrival of vehicles, individuals opted to use them either to cut distance or reduce the time spent in walking. Inadequate sleep; a number of researches shows that people who do not have adequate are at high risk of being obese. Inadequate sleep contributes to high chances of an individual being obese. Table two below, represents statistics of the proportion among children with obesity in general and in the different states, the proportion of mothers with poor physical health, including obesity that they could pass to their children genetically, and the proportion of children engaging in rigorous physical activities. Additionally, the statistics include state per capita personal income levels, which represent the changing nature of families as parents are more involved with employment leaving their children unattended effectively thus their poor dietary habits. Table 2: Children with Obesity, Per Capita Income and Mothers with Poor Physical Health by States State Obese Children (95th percentile or above) % Per Capita Personal Income by State (US $) Mother’s with fair/poor physical health % 1 Mississippi 21.9 29,568 14.0 2 Georgia 21.3 35,369 9.8 3 Kentucky 21.0 31,175 12.9 4 Illinois 20.7 41,950 11.7 5 Louisiana 20.7 35,794 12.7 6 Tennessee 20.6 34,221 11.6 7 Arkansas 20.4 31,353 13.9 8 Texas 20.4 37,098 15.7 9 District of Columbia 20.1 65,329 11.6 10 West Virginia 18.9 29,497 11.6 11 North Carolina 18.6 34,761 11.4 12 Ohio 18.5 35,183 10.6 13 Florida 18.3 39,256 10.4 14 Alabama 17.9 32,528 13.7 15 Arizona 17.8 35,441 11.9 16 New York 17.1 47,852 12.1 Prevention and Treatment of Obesity Individuals should engage in physical activities; Physical activities provide assistance in developing and preserving the individual skeletal and muscular systems. Participating in physical fitness frequently is advantageous in influencing one’s weight, muscle building, and reduces the build-up of fatty tissue. To be precise, exercises enhances the general health of an individual as well as curbing the spread of diseases like hypertension among others. Thus, parents should seek medical advice regarding the suitable exercises for their children to prevent stress that is caused by some physical activities among children. Due to the obesity epidemic in the US, public health agencies are enlisting public health educators to help in preventing obesity among students in elementary and high schools. Health agencies aim at changing the current approach of teaching physical education from the traditional sporting activities to activities that are more physically viable. The public health practitioners working with communities have discovered that there are no easy solutions or methods to reduce obesity in the US population. With adolescent obesity, physical activity seems to be the most feasible approach to use. This will allow children and adolescents to develop a self-consciousness of their personal health, enhance their development skills, change their mentality regarding physical fitness, and build confidence in their physical fitness routines (Verduin, Agarwal and Waltman 2005, p.259S). Health eating; obese individuals from should be provided with nutritional healthcare and health insurance from healthcare providers on how to eat healthy meals and avoid foods that have lots of fats in their diet. For example, obese individuals should be encouraged to consume more fresh fruits and vegetables and reduce intake of refined and ready-made foods. Additionally, other health conditions related to obesity are more prevalent among these individuals. Because of the genetic and environment relationship to children and adolescent obesity, parents should make efforts to prevent the condition from passing over to their children and they may engage in physical fitness, nutritional counselling, and basic health principles. Once health practitioners, community leaders, and other stakeholders understand the evidence-based solution about obesity, the implementation of the solution will begin which will increase physical fitness activity within the public school setting and even extend it to homes. This will be helpful for future programs, as they will take into account the possible measures of reducing obesity at an early stage (Brownson, Fielding, and Maylahn 2009, p.183). Conclusion In conclusion, obesity is an epidemic that is highly rising in many countries both industrial and on the rise. This has worried health officials and even respective governments who have considered obesity to be an epidemic that needs speedy measures curb it in its early stages, for example, during childhood to prevent it from being a chronic hazard among adults when they grow up. Thus, the health officials and various stakeholders are stepping in to intervene through providing programs that are targeted towards the reduction of obesity across the world. Additionally, obesity if not addressed, affects mortality and morbidity; on the other hand, other medical conditions like atherosclerosis, gout, heart diseases, diabetes, and hip fracture among others have been found in obese adults who developed obesity at their childhood stages and correct measures were never taken to prevent them. References Brownson, R. C., Fielding, J. E., & Maylahn, C. M., 2009. Evidence-based public health: A fundamental concept for public health practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 30(1), pp. 175–201. Lee, S., M., Burgerson, C., R., Fulton, J., E., and Spain, C., G., 2007. Physical education and physical activity: Results from the school health policies and programs study 2006. Journal of School Health, Vol. 77, No. 8, pp. 435-463. National Survey of Childrens Health, (NSCH), 2007. Data query from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health website. [Online] Available from http://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey?q=1038&r=1 [Accessed 8th March 2013] NHCSL (2010). Hispanic Obesity: An American Crisis. [Online] Available from http://nhcsl.org/Hispanic-Obesity-An-American-Crisis.pdf [Accessed 8th March 2013] Stewart, L., 2012. Managing and preventing obesity in infants. Practice Nursing, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 200-203. Verduin, P., Agarwal, S., & Waltman, S., 2005. Solutions to obesity: Perspectives from the food industry. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 82(1), pp. 2595-2615. Read More