Child Obesity Prevalence - Research Paper Example

Child Obesity Prevalence College Child Obesity Prevalence Obesity and overweight refer to a situation where a person has excess body fat. In other words, a case where an individual increases in weight at the expense of the height characterizes obesity cases. As such, the height of individuals versus their weight is a necessary measure in determining whether a person is obese or not. Obesity is measured by use of the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is obtained by dividing the weight of an individual, usually measured in kilograms, by the square of their height (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012). As such, the prevalence of obesity in any population could be obtained through the BMI distribution of such individuals. Importantly, the BMI measure does not differentiate between the mass of an individual due to excess body fat and body muscles developed due to individual’s physique. Therefore, child obesity is a global epidemic affecting all populations mainly due to lack of proper health standards. There are a myriad of obesity predisposing factors among children, some of which might be shared equally in both developed and underdeveloped countries. Some of the predisposing factors include genetic factors in that some children may inherit the obesity-related genes from their parents. However, the most common cause of obesity is behavioral factors. In this case, children consume excess calories, which they do not utilize properly, leading to weight gain. The energy utilized does not measure up to the energy consumed (Health Survey for England HSE, 2013). Besides, other factors such as environmental factors are responsible for increasing obesity cases among children. In this case, children take food influenced by communities, schools or cultural values. As the children interact with different environmental settings, the environmental factors dictate the type and amount of foods that the children take and the level of physical activities to dissipate the extra energy consumed from these foods. There has been a gradual increase in child obesity cases across the globe. According to the Health Survey for England report, obesity among children has gradually increased from 1995 where obesity among boys and girls between 2 and 15 years was 11 and 12% respectively (HSE, 2013). These figures had increased to 18% and 19% obesity cases among boys and girls respectively in the same age bracket by 2005. However, by 2012, the cases of obesity among boys and girls had reduced significantly to 11% and 10% respectively compared to the 2006 figures (HSE, 2013). Moreover, a study by the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP) in England noted that, during the 2012/2013 school year, obesity cases were much higher in deprived areas than in non-deprived areas (HSE, 2013). The research further indicated that cases of obesity were much higher in urban areas compared to rural areas among children between 2 and 15 years. There is a strong relationship between obesity and the family income levels in most countries. For instance, the increasing cases of obesity among children have been blamed on unhealthy lifestyles in their families. A Health and Social Care Information Center Research indicated that only 36% of adults used at least 30 minutes for exercises, while only 29% and 24% of men and women respectively ate the required five potions of fruits and vegetables daily; the number of children observing healthy lifestyles was below 20% (HSCIC, 2014). Moreover, research indicated boys to have higher obesity rates compared to girls at reception and year six school levels in the UK (HSCIC, 2014). Obesity cases among 10% of the deprived children population was also noted to be double that of the less deprived children in the reception and year six levels (HSE, 2013). On the other hand, in America, obesity cases among Hispanic boys between 2 and 19 years were 9% compared to 12.6% among non-Hispanic boys (Levi et al., 2013). The report further indicated that obesity cases in non-Hispanic blacks is the highest with obesity cases among women above 20 years of age being 58.5%, 32.2% and 44.9% in non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites and Mexican Americans respectively, between 2009-2010. Consequently, children from the non-Hispanic blacks are at a much higher risk of being obese in the American society. Cases of childhood obesity are increasing at worrying levels in both developed and underdeveloped nations. The National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey report suggested that between 2007 and 2008, 16.9% of children between 2 and 19 years were obese (Ogden & Carroll, 2010). Moreover, as Ogden and Carroll reported, obesity cases in pre-school children between 2 and 5 years drastically increased from 5% in 1976 to 10% in the period 2007-2008. On the same note, the report indicated that obesity cases for the age group 12-19 years increased from 5 to 18% in the same period. The gradual increase in obesity cases among children could be blamed on the gradual changing family lifestyles, one of the main causes of overweight and obesity problems among children. Interestingly, children in underdeveloped countries suffer from obesity cases as they might not afford healthy eating habits (HSE, 2013). Most families in developing countries do not afford healthy foods and dieting procedures, thus depending on high calorific foods and poor dieting methods. On the other hand, children in developed countries, though most do afford healthy dieting procedures, are victims of changing lifestyles that have reduced physical activities among children. The current increase in foods with high calorific values has led to children using fewer calories than are consumed. The result is that children gradually become overweight and obese with time. In other words, in most developed countries, the energy that children gain does not reflect the energy consumed due to lack of physical activities and poor lifestyles that encourage passive gaming habits (Reilly, 2007). The breakthrough in reducing child obesity across the globe has to be achieved through the collective responsibility of the family, the community, government and corporate entities, all of whom have an active role to play in the solving the problem. For instance, high-risk populations that encompass the low income and ethnic minority groups rely more on the government and the corporate community to achieve healthy living standards (Koplan, Liverman & Kraak, 2005). The government and the corporate bodies have to ensure more resources are channeled to assist the two high risk populations, mainly due to income inequality and cultural influences that dictate food selection in these populations (Koplan, Liverman & Kraak, 2005). On the other hand, spirited campaigns and awareness are necessary for the middle and upper-income families in helping them channel their resources towards achieving healthy living standards. With this regard, the U.S government has over the time channeled resources to change health policies related to land use, education, economics and agriculture. Some of the government’s initiatives in low-income areas include improving distribution of fresh foods, construction of playgrounds and other recreational facilities where children may be involved in physical activities (Hutchinson, 2010). One of such policies is the ‘Let’s Move’ program initiated by the first lady and which aims at preventing and controlling obesity especially among children. Moreover, some interventions that seek to educate mothers on the need to breast feed their babies contrary to the use of feeding formulas has been identified as an evidence based approach towards preventing obesity in young children (Karnik & Kaneka, 2012). Child obesity, therefore, has been a global epidemic that faces millions of children globally. Obesity rates among children have gradually increased over the years and are currently at alarming rates. Furthermore, obesity has shown to have close relations with ethnicity, income levels and genetics. All the same, different governments and stakeholders in the health sector have laid down policies and interventions that seek to control and reduce obesity cases among young children. References Health & Social Care Information Centre (2013). Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet. Retrieved from http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13648/Obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2014-rep.pdf Health Survey for England (2013). Health and Social Care Information Centre. Retrieved from www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/hse2012 Hutchinson G. (2010).Tackling obesity through school-based interventions. Br J Sch Nurs. 5:335–7 Karnik, S & Kanekar, A. (2012). Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis. Int J Prev Med. 3(1): 1–7. Koplan, J. P., Liverman, C T. & Kraak (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington: National Academic Press. Levi J., Segal, M. L, Lang A, & Rayburn, J. (2013). F as in fat: how obesity threatens America’s Future. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Retrieved from. http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2013/rwjf407528. Ogden C, Carroll M. (2010). Prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents: United States, trends 1963–1965 through 2007–2008. Retrieved from. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_07_08/obesity_child_07_08.pdf . Reilly J.J. (2007). Childhood obesity: An overview. Child Soc. 21:390–6. Read More