Resolution to Childhood Obesity through Exercise and Diet - Research Paper Example

?Childhood Obesity Obesity is one of the biggest problems that are faced by the health sector at this point of time. Much attention is focused on theproblems of starvation and malnutrition; however, obesity too requires the attention of the medical world. Children are one of the worst affected sections of the society due to obesity since childhood throws up many psychological challenges that become magnified if one has to deal with the problem of obesity at the same time. Issues of self-respect and self-worth surface during childhood and obesity can affect these in a very negative manner. The pressure from peers to fit into certain accepted social stereotypes affects the health of the child and this may lead to a cycle of events that ultimately affects the body and mind of the child. According to the American Psychological Association, around one in six children are obese and “only 30% of children (aged 6 to 17) participated in 20 minutes plus of vigorous physical activity on a daily basis” (Changing diet and exercise for kids, 2012), whereas the prescribed amount of physical activity is sixty minutes. This clearly indicates flaws in the lifestyle that people follow as the reason for the persistence of the problem of obesity in children. An increasingly sedentary lifestyle that arises from various factors such as pressure of studies and addiction to certain forms of technology leads children to abandon the forms of physical activity that they are supposed to engage in. Most children and even their parents do not consider physical exercise as a priority area that needs to be taken care of for the overall health of the child. There are problems associated with this formulation too. Children with disabilities and chronic illnesses were found to have a much higher incidence of obesity. The table given below bears out this statement. Prevalences of overweight and obesity in disabled children and adolescents a) Compared with healthy children and adolescents Disability Percentage of overweight/obesity Healthy comparison group Country Functionally restricted mobility 30% overweight 16% overweight USA (11) Developmental delay 24% overweight 17% overweight Australia (12) 15% obese 6% obese Learning disability 35% overweight 31% overweight USA (11) 21.9% obese 15.7% obese Learning disability 19.3% obese 12.2% obese USA (13) Hearing or visual impairment 18.4% obese Autism 23.4% obese Attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder 18.9% obese Asthma 19.7% obese Asthma 24.6% overweight 14.2 % overweight Denmark (Reinehr, Dobe, Winkel and Hoffmann, 2010 [the table is directly from the essay]) In such cases the underlying disease is complicated by the problem of obesity and an inability to walk and perform other physical exercises is compounded by the excessive weight of the body. This may lead to pain at the joints as well since the weight of the body becomes too much for the bones to bear. There are other medical problems too that accompany obesity when it occurs in addition to another disease or disability. These compound the misery that the child experiences and the social isolation that results may lead to depression in the child. This would then further diminish the chances of the child taking part in any leisure activities. This heightens the problem of obesity and the cycle is complete. One method of alleviating this problem is through dietary changes that can be introduced for the patient who is obese. This has the ability to cause enormous changes in the weight of the patient. Diet in these cases needs to be closely monitored since eating as an activity may be used by the patient to alleviate the feelings of loneliness and sorrow. The quality that certain foods have, to cause a temporary suppression of depressing thoughts may be the reason behind this. This again feeds into the earlier mentioned cycle, thus worsening the entire situation. The importance of diet, thus, needs to be stressed when one is dealing with a person who is obese. Children who are obese are more likely to develop other diseases early on in life. These diseases may be curable but as the old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. David S. Celermajer, while talking about the sharp rise that has been seen in obesity in developed countries over the past three decades, says that the greatest rise has been observed in children and in young adults. He then goes on to say, The reasons why this is particularly worrisome are that childhood obesity is strongly associated with the development of major risk factors for atherosclerosis in early life (such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes) and that there is a strong persistence of obesity from childhood to adulthood. (Selermajer, 2009) Thus, the importance of exercise and dietary changes cannot be emphasized too much. A resolution of this problem would require an excellently researched plan that would have to be executed with a great amount of hard work. One of the most important and effective ways to resolve the issue of childhood obesity is to adopt the elements of the change theory that was proposed by Kurt Lewin. This theory introduced the ideas of replacing learned theory with other ideas following a process whereby the patient would be loosened up so as to introduce new ideas to him or her. Once the patient has incorporated these ideas within himself or herself, the patient has to undergo a process of stiffening up again so as to not lose what he or she had gained from the exercise due to a relapse into an earlier way of living or an earlier environment (Change Theory, 2011). This is one of the major reasons for the failure of many treatments. After the process of the treatment is over, the patient reverts to earlier forms of living. While using exercise and dietary changes as part of methods to help a patient of obesity, it is important to make sure that the changes that have been introduced to the lifestyle of the patient are permanent and part of the person’s new lifestyle. The setting up of a new process in the patient should not be a temporary one that is forced upon the patient as this can be counterproductive. The patient, acting under stress from the people who are carrying out the treatment, would probably undergo the treatment but as soon as the process is over, would revert to an earlier lifestyle. This would again put in place the cycle that has been mentioned in this paper. The additional factor of a failed treatment would be present to reinforce the depression that the person feels due to his excessive weight and social isolation. There thus needs to be a long-lasting relationship between the patient and the nurse which would then enable a permanent plan to be put in place that is the only way in which any relief can be provided to children who are obese. This can be done through tools such as models of behavior that are provided to the patient and sessions of counseling that enable the patient to face his or her fears and insecurities regarding obesity. An introduction of counseling sessions for the parents is also something that has been proven to yield good results. In many cases, positive thinking in the young patients can be reinforced by the feedback that is provided to them by their parents. Taking the parents on board the plan is thus a very important step that has to be followed by the nurses who implement the program of weight reduction. Parents can also be involved in physical activities with the children, which would improve the health of the child (Berman, Kozier, Erb and Snyder, 2008, 302). Getting involved in healthy activities with parents can also enable the child to grow as a person and shut out negative thoughts that have the potential to impede the progress that a nurse has helped to make. Obesity as a problem has been identified in today’s world as one of the largest medical problems that are faced by people. Vulnerable sections can suffer more than the medical problem causes them to because of the lack of awareness that many people have regarding the problem. The presence of able and well-informed nurses and other medical staff can make a great difference to such problems. References Reinehr, T., Dobe, M., Winkel, K., Hoffmann, D. (2010). Obesity in Disabled Children and Adolescents. Retrieved 13th January, 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864441/ Celermajer, D. S. (2009) The Benefits of Early Intervention in Childhood Obesity. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Retrieved 13th January, 2012 from http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/54/25/2407 Changing diet and exercise for kids. (n.d.) American Psychological Association. Retrieved 13th January, 2012 from http://www.apa.org/topics/children/healthy-eating.aspx# Change Theory. (2011). Nursing Theories. Retrieved 13th January, 2012 from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/change_theory.html Kozier, B. J., Erb, G., Snyder, S., Berman, A.J. (2008). Kozier & Erb's Fundamentals of Nursing. (8th Edition) New York: Prentice Hall Read More