Controlling Childhood Obesity - Essay Example

Controlling Childhood Obesity Changes in the lifestyle of most 21st century Americans has made it difficult for them to have access to healthy diet and to be involved in adequate physical exercise. This is because junk foods, which are comparatively cheaper than natural foods, have become very common in shopping centers, schools, and generally in most of the places in America. Because of the ready availability, many people and more particularly children have been consuming these kinds of foods in all their meals. Massive consumption of junk foods has led to a dramatic increase in the obesity rates among Americans and actually a recent report show that almost 70 percent of the Americans have problems related to their bodyweight. The rates are even higher among school going children who are more prone to the junk foods and unhealthy living standards since their mode of life does not provide adequate room for physical exercise. A research conducted on child obesity in 2012 indicates that nearly one in every three children is obese and this figure is projected to rise even more if measures are not taken to control the lifestyle of the youngsters (Loue & Sajatovic, 2012). Obesity has adverse short term and long-term effects on the well-being of a child where the short-term effects are associated with cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Obese children are also more likely to have complications with their bones and most of them suffer from low self-esteem because they are usually uncomfortable with their body shape. Long-term effects of obesity are mainly cancer related where a child is likely to contract one of the many types of cancer when he grows. Childhood obesity has led to significant increase in economic resources used in controlling diseases related to it and has actually become a major concern among lawmakers in America. Around 14 billion dollars were used in 2012 in direct medical costs in treating obesity related complications among children in United States of America (Institute of Medicine U.S. & Glickman, 2012). The figures are likely to continue rising since today’s obese children are likely to be obese adults in the near future and they will therefore be requiring medical attention. The report further indicated that 10 cities, which had the highest obesity rates, had incurred an estimated fifty billion dollars per 100,000 children in treating ailments related to overweight. In addition to the health care related costs of obesity, business and employers in general are incurring other costs due to obesity related job absenteeism, which is currently estimated to be around four billion annually. Obese employees are linked with inefficiencies in workplace and they are thus likely to lead to lower output than their counterparts who have healthy weight. All the expenses incurred in treatment of obesity related problems when accumulated indicate that the government is actually losing a lot of money treating ailments, which can be controlled and if appropriate measures are taken a lot of money can be saved. The money can then be channeled to developments programs that will improve the well-being of all the citizens of the country (Mulberg, Murphy, Dunne & Mathis, 2013). In addition, there are more pressing issues that demand a lot of money and which have not been well addressed previously due to lack of enough funds. There is thus a need for proper actions to be implemented to ensure that this habit of unhealthy living standards that has been causing obesity is controlled and hence cut down the health cost. Foods provided at school form a major part in children diet since they spend most of their time in school as compared to any other place. Therefore, there is need to come up with policies that will ban junk foods, sugary foods and generally all foods that contribute to obesity from schools. Banning these foods in all schools in America can be a very fundamental step in curbing this health threat among children and in the society because the probability of a person becoming obese when he is an adult is minimal. After banning the foods, schools need to be encouraged to come up with a healthy nutrition plan for the pupils that will ensure they consume the right foods and at the recommended amounts. In addition, strict actions need to be taken against all schools that fail to comply with this requirement since they will be posing a challenge to the state in its efforts to solve this problem. This will ensure that there is a minimal chance for a child to become overweight and will thus be effective in reducing the billions of money spent in health care in treatment of weight related complications. Many schools in America have removed physical exercises from their curriculum mainly because of lack of sufficient funds to facilitate the program and because of lack of clear understanding of the importance of exercise to a child (Rippe, 2014). The community has encouraged children to avoid any form of physical exercise and driving has replaced walking hence the children do not get time to spend the energy they accumulate in their bodies. Policies need to be set to make physical exercise compulsory in all elementary schools and encourage pupils to involve themselves in various activities that will make them exercise their bodies. This will prevent the children from becoming overweight and it will be helpful in assisting those who are already overweight to reduce their weight. An effective implementation of the above policies will be instrumental in combating the epidemic and consequently in reducing the health costs. Research shows that there is a shortage of healthy foods in low-income communities and thus the residents of these areas have to consume the unhealthy foods because of lack of other better alternatives (McGuire & Beerman, 2013). The unhealthy foods that are rampant in such communities include snacks that have a high fat content, sodas and other sugary foods that when consumed for long time make someone to be obese. The government needs to step in and subsidize the nutritious foods that are offered at the supermarkets and groceries in these areas so that they can be affordable to all people regardless of their economic status. This can be achieved through initiatives that will make the government to incur part of the cost that is involved in acquiring these foodstuffs and thus make them to be cheap for the suppliers. Other private organizations and multinational corporations can also be encouraged to assist in subsidizing these foods as part of their corporate social responsibility. Availability of the nutritious foods to all people at affordable prices will contribute significantly in reducing the obesity rate among children and the cost that is attached to it. The people also need to be enlightened on the importance of a healthy diet and be informed on the health and economic consequences of poor eating habits. This is because majority of the people who consume junk foods throughout do so because of mere ignorance and they thus directly or indirectly encourage their children to continue with the same pattern. Education on healthy eating habits will help them in making wise and informed decisions about the foods they provide to their children who largely depend on them for their food. As a result, the children will develop with the right knowledge on the foods they should be eating in order to have good health and be fit to do all activities that they are supposed to do. An effective implementation of the various proposals in schools, communities and at personal level will lead to a significant decrease in the obesity rate among children who are mainly the victims of this health disorder. Reduction in obesity among children will be translated to reduced overweight problems among the adults since if one is able to overcome the challenge when young then it is more likely that he will have the appropriate weight when he grows. This is because an adult person who has grown practicing healthy lifestyles is likely to continue with the same practices when he grows. An overall reduction in overweight problems will lead to a sharp decrease in cardiovascular ailments, cancer related complications, joints problems and in all disorders that are associated with obesity. Reduction in these ailments will lead to a reduction in the cost of treatment of the diseases, which will make the total health cost incurred in America to come down. The economic costs that are associated with inefficiencies of workers who are obese like low productivity and shortened life expectancy will also be reduced and thus more money, which can be channeled to development programs, will be saved. It is evident that childhood obesity, government alone cannot combat which is a current issue in America, and it thus requires cooperation among all groups involved in order for the problem to be completely solved. Individuals have a personal responsibility in ensuring that they engage in healthy lifestyle and are expected to impart this good lifestyle to their children. Generally, a successful control of childhood obesity will lead to reduction in healthcare cost and thus there is need for every person to be vigilant in order to ensure obesity is controlled. # # # # # Author Coordinates Full name: Title and any affiliations: Mailing address: (Use home or work depending on context of commentary.) Phone #s: (home and work, or cell; indicate day/evening) Email: References Institute of Medicine (U.S.)., & Glickman, D. (2012). Accelerating progress in obesity prevention: Solving the weight of the nation. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Loue, S., & Sajatovic, M. (2012). Encyclopedia of immigrant health. New York: Springer. McGuire, M., & Beerman, K. A. (2013). Nutritional sciences: From fundamentals to food. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Mulberg, A., Murphy, M, Dunne, & Mathis, L. (2013). Pediatric drug development: Concepts and applications. Rippe, J. M. (2014). Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose and Health. New York, NY: Springer New York. Read More