The Problem of Obesity and Tooth Decay in Children in Australia - Assignment Example

? Policy Brief "Oral Health and Childhood Obesity" POLICY BRIEF "Oral Health and Childhood Obesity" Early childhood obesity and dental caries are considered to be most common problems prevailing among the Australian preschool children. Childhood caries is defined as the presence of one or more than one decayed surfaces in any primary tooth. There are studies that claim the fact that there is a close relationship between obesity and caries. The main objective of the paper is to identify the causes of obesity and dental caries, factors leading to these grave issues and to highlight certain recommendations on improving these issues. The policy is mainly focused towards the preschool aged children (aged 0-6) years. The issues need to be addressed at an early stage since they tend to have a detrimental impact upon the health of the children. The study will aim at comprehending how the parents tend to have an impact upon the obesity and dental caries. It will offer certain recommendations to the parents upon how to prevent the children from obesity and dental caries. The study endeavours to identify the policy related to oral health and childhood obesity among the preschool children belonging to 0-6 years. Why Is This Issue Important Issues related to obesity and dental caries can be considered as public health priorities. Excessive weight among the children can be one of the major causes of concern for most of the people. It can be stated that obesity is a chronic disease and a global endemic that is prevalent in both developed as well as third world countries. Dental caries is further considered to be a multi factorial infectious disease. Alike other global nations, Australia is also facing difficulties related to addressing the critical causes behind the issues of childhood obesity and dental caries. In Australia also the disease has affected a large number of children belonging to the preschool age group i.e. 0-6 years. The various factors leading to the onset of carious abrasion comprise oral hygiene, diet composition as well as frequency, socioeconomic status and fluoride intake. Obesity is featured by energy as well as metabolism disparities among the health of the individuals and is responsible for various difficulties. It is quite complex to establish a connection between the body weight and oral health of the children and has been a controversial topic. It has been noted that the occurrence of dental caries is observed to be greater in obese children in the private as well as government schools. The concept related to dental caries comprises the social as well as the behavioural factors in relation to a specific individual whereas the concept of obesity is generally associated with diet, behavioural, genetic as well as psychological factors. It has further been observed that dental caries is considered to be one of the most expensive diet related chronic diseases. Obesity has negative consequences upon the health of the children and it might increase the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other related diseases. Factors leading to childhood caries as well as childhood obesity are psychological as well as nutritional. The various factors such as family patterns, school-based issues as well as lifestyle issues have a greater role to play in escalating the issues. The societal costs related to obesity are astounding. It is because of the fact that dental caries is quite costly to treat and hence has a negative impact upon the quality of life of the children belonging to all the ages. Hence, it becomes utmost important to deter the caries disease by identifying its causes and hence recognising the useful solutions. It is quite significant for the healthcare practitioners to pay due attention towards the parents of the children who are at risk of becoming obese by offering them with the strategies relating to bad eating behavior (Skouteris, McCabe, Swinburn, Newgreen, Sacher, & Chadwick, 2011). What Does the Research Tell Us? It has been noted that in the year 1996, near about 39 percent of 6 years old children belonging to Australia had problems related to dental caries. On the other hand, during the year 2002, another survey conducted by the Child Dental Health Survey of Australia stated that nearly 45 percent of the 5 years old children had either one or two decayed and missing teeth. Between the year 1989 and 2007, there had been rise in the hospitalisation rates for the removal of decayed teeth in Australia among the under 5 year old kids by nearly 90 percent. Preschool aged children in Australia have been identified to be at greater risks of confronting dental decay issues in comparison to the children belonging to other groups in the community, with disparities in the oral health being evident as early as 2 years of age (Oral Health Access Council, 2011). The aftermath of the untreated decay is generally pain, infection as well as aabscesses. According to a survey conducted during the years 2001-2002, it has been noted that nearly AU$3.7 billion was spent in Australia upon the dental service that represented around 5.2% of the total health expenditure (Arora, Scott, Bhole, Do, Schwarz & Blinkhorn, 2011). It has been noted that the occurrence of the dental carries is escalating day-by-day at an increasing rate despite several efforts made by the healthcare professionals to minimise such incidence. Owing to the rising trend of sedentary lifestyle as well as involvement in the consumption of junk foods most of the people are found to be facing the problems related to obesity as well as overweight. Furthermore, it can be observed that people with the issues of obesity as well as overweight are at high risk of developing medical as well as psychological issues. The children facing the problems of obesity are found to be consuming high sugar in comparison to the people with normal weight. Hence, eating habits among the obese children can be considered as a risk factor in common for caries as well as overweight. It can be stated that the childhood obesity as well as the dental caries tend to share a few general factors such as biological/genetic factors, socio/cultural factors, environmental/lifestyle factors and dietary/feeding factors. Oral diseases lead to hospitalisation which might be avoided among the preschool children. Meagre oral health has a negative influence upon the health conditions. For instance, it can be observed that periodontal disease may lead to cardiovascular disease, low-birth-weight babies, infective endocarditis as well as nutritional deficiencies among the children (McKelvey, Thomson, & Ayers, 2003). The most common factors that lead to obesity as well as dental caries are low rates of breastfeeding, less consumption of healthy foods as well as high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. It can be mentioned that healthy eating practices generally initiate at an early age. Supporters of childhood obesity have identified the policies for stimulating breastfeeding by educating mothers. The advantages of breastfeeding are also applicable towards enhanced oral health. Furthermore, it can be stated that for the infants, poor children feeding practices can be linked to dental caries. Though breast milk does not combat the prevalence related to dental caries, breastfeeding can minimise dental caries because of the fact that it tends to replace the consumption of juices as well as other sugary drinks (Kantovitz, Pascon, Rontani, & Gaviao, 2006). It is a well known fact that healthy eating tends to stimulate overall nutrition that assists in mitigating the risks related to obesity and thus enhancing the overall oral health. Those children who do not have proper dietary habits are at greater risks of becoming obese and thus face dental caries in their teeth. Furthermore, children who do not eat sufficient fruits and vegetables are found to be having problems relating to dental caries. Water is considered as one of the critical resources to demonstrate the risks related to obesity as well as dental diseases. The school cafeteria tends to possess inoperable water fountains and in a few of the communities it has been evident that the water supply does not consist of adequate fluoride. It is quite significant for the school administrations to make fresh drinking water available for the students in order to prevent such diseases from occurring. Sweetened beverages tend to offer greater amount of sugar as well as calories in most of the children’s diet. The consumption of sodas, fruit drinks as well as fruit juices have escalated among the children putting them at greater risks of becoming obese. It is a recognised fact that the most significant contributing factor in the stimulation of the dental caries is high sugar consumption (McKelvey, Thomson, & Ayers, 2003). Obesity is quite difficult to cure among the older children as well as adults and hence attempts have been made in order to execute the obesity prevention strategies while the children are in their pre-school age. According to the childhood obesity experts, the focus of determing the obesity among the preschool children needs to be towards the parents. This is because of the fact that the parental beliefs, attitudes as well as perceptions lead to children’s development of high weight gain. Although evidences suggest the fact that parental factors may be active in the development of obesity, there have not been any methodological evaluations related to the fact if intervening to alter such factors will favourably impact the creation of excess adiposity during the preschool years of the children. It can be mentioned that the parental practices such as feeding styles, instrumental behaviours role modelling as well as nutritional knowledge have been found to be linked to child eating, physical activity habits as well as child weight status. For instance, forcing a child to consume something is linked with lower child body mass index and restrictions of foods are linked with escalated child weight as well as non-hunger eating. Along with these, it has often been noted that the children are found to be consuming a healthy diet in case parents themselves demonstrate healthy eating habits and offer their children with healthy food options. There is a close relation between parenting styles as well as child weight status. It has also been noted that children belonging to lower social class or poor family income are linked with greater prevalence of dental caries and obesity. Education is considered to be another significant factor reflecting the knowledge and skills for making health behavior choices. The parents who are highly educated demonstrate positive attitude to control the children’s intake of sugar content diet. It can be stated that parents are generally responsible for creating good oral-health behavior among the children which comprises developing and managing tooth brushing and proper eating practices. Failure to create such practices may have a detrimental impact upon the health of the children (Hooley, Skouteris, Boganin, Satur, & Kilpatrick, 2012). What Are the Implications of the Research? The problems related to obesity as well as dental caries is considered to be quite common among the Australian preschool children that tend to have a negative impact upon the health and well being of the society. There are many negative consequences of obesity as well as dental caries and it might lead to several diseases such as risk of type II diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases as well as other related diseases. When the teeth are not treated properly then it generally leads to pain, infection as well as aabscesses. The common factors that generally cause obesity as well as high risks of dental caries are low rates of breastfeeding, reduced access to the healthy foods as well as greater eating of sugar-sweetened beverages such as fruit juices and soft drinks among others (Arora, Scott, Bhole, Do, Schwarz, & Blinkhorn, 2011). Considerations for Policy Children in Australia tend to suffer from high rates of obesity as well as dental caries. It can be recommended that prevention of such diseases related policy needs to aim at increasing the rates of breastfeeding among the children and hence enhance children’s access to the healthy food options. Parent’s education has a greater role to play in preventing such chronic diseases from occurring in Australia. Policies on education of the parent need to focus upon the strategies to perk up the skills and knowledge on the causes of obesity and dental caries, factors leading to them and the ways to mitigate them. The parents can be taught on the ways to increase the nutritional values in the diets of the children. The school administration might include parents in school food as well as nutrition programmes of the children. Children often need endorsement from their parents in order to execute nutrition knowledge that they are taught in their schools. Furthermore, alterations in favourable eating behaviour last longer if the policies are aimed at family behaviours instead of family alone. Furthermore, by incorporating parents in the food and nutritional programmes by schools can assist the parents at enhancing their own health as well as nutritional behaviour. Participation of the parents in such programmes can perk up the effectiveness of programmes by means of stimulating awareness regarding the food as well as nutrition so that they can implement it in the betterment of the family and hence deter such grave issues from occurring repeatedly. Parents further need to impose certain restriction over the consumption of the foods that can help prevent tooth decay and obesity. The parents who are not participating in school health and education programme can be contacted personally at their homes to educate them on the ways to maintain nutritional values in the food and in preventing obesity as well as dental caries (Swinburn, Caterson, Seidell, & James, 2010). References Arora, A., Scott, J. A., Bhole, S., Do, L., Schwarz, E. & Blinkhorn, A. S. (2011). Early childhood feeding practices and dental caries in preschool children: a multi-center birth cohort study. BMC Public Health. Hooley, M., Skouteris, H., Boganin, C., Satur, J. & Kilpatrick, N. (under review) Parental influence and the development of dental carries in children aged 0-6 years: A systematic review of literature. Journal of Dentistry, pp: 1-10. Submitted February 2012. Kantovitz, K. R, Pascon, F.M, Rontani, R. M & Gaviao, M. B. (2006). Obesity and dental caries: a systematic review. Oral Health Prev Dent 4(2), pp: 137-144. McKelvey, V. A., Thomson, W. M. & Ayers, K. M. S. (2003). A qualitative study of oral health knowledge and attitudes among staff caring for older people in Dunedin long-term care facilities. New Zealand Dental Journal 99(4), pp: 98-103. Oral Health Access Council. (2011). Oral health & obesity policy brief. Retrieved from http://www.childrennow.org/uploads/documents/oral_health_brief_022011.pdf Skouteris, H., McCabe, M., Swinburn, B., Newgreen, V., Sacher, P. & Chadwick, P. (2011). Parental influence and obesity prevention in pre-schoolers: a systematic review of interventions. Obesity Reviews 12, pp: 315-328. Swinburn, B. A., Caterson, I., Seidell, J. C. & James, W. P. T. (2010). Diet, nutrition and the prevention of excess weight gain and obesity. Public Health Nutrition 7(1), pp: 123-146. Read More