The Relationship between Sedentary Lifestyle and Obesity: an Investigation among Adolescents in California - Research Paper Example

Running Head: SEDENTARY LIFESYLE AND OBESITY AMONG ADOLESCENTS The Relationship between Sedentary Lifestyle and Obesity: An Investigation among Adolescents in California Background of the Study Throughout the entire country, obesity is one of the most common problems. However, the problem is even greater in the state of California. In 2005, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy noted that notwithstanding the different campaigns to raise the awareness of the citizens with respect to obesity, children in the state are getting fatter (Hennesy-Fiske, 2011; Lee, 2006). Apparently, the California Department of Public Health found that out of every nine children, one is obese (Hennesy-Fiske, 2011; Lee, 2006). In fact, other authors even pointed out the fact that obesity amongst children is more prevalent in California than anywhere else in the United States (Henessy-Fiske, 2011). The following are the main causes of sedentary lifestyle in the said state: (1) having a sedentary lifestyle which is characterized by lack of exercise and excessive computer use for non-academic matters; (2) popularity of fast-food options and the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables; and finally, (3) excessive consumption of calories. In studying obesity (cite) in the State of California, it was noted that obesity is higher in low income areas suggesting that the African American as well as the Hispanic population are more exposed to this problem than the others (News Information Bureau, 2005). Recognizing the seriousness of the problems related to obesity, authors (cite) suggest the following measures to be able to address the said matter at hand: (1) the promotion of active lifestyle; and (2) cutting down the intake of calories by fifty percent. Research Aims The purpose of this study is to investigate correlation between adolescents, aged 13-17 who watch television more than four to five hours per day and childhood obesity in Southern California. Research Objectives In particular, the following objectives are pursued: 1) To have a baseline assessment of the extent to which 13-17 years olds in California practice sedentary lifestyle habits; 2) To ascertain the prevalence of obesity among this age group in California; 3) To determine if a child’s family environment is associated with childhood obesity. 4) To establish if there is a significant correlation between sedentary lifestyle habits and obesity in this age group; 5) To recommend interventions that may lessen the prevalence of obesity among them. Literature Review This portion of the proposal presents pertinent literature which the researcher considers paramount in establishing the conceptual, theoretical and empirical underpinnings of this study. Parenthetically, the researcher deems the literature review of paramount importance to provide the answers to the questions enumerated in the preceding chapter. Without a doubt, obesity is one of the most common problems experienced in the United States of America. The prevalence of this problem has been brought about by the preponderance of sedentary lifestyle as well as too much consumption of fast food. Nevertheless, it has been argued that aside from the above mentioned, obesity is also caused by the environment wherein a child lives in. In this regard, once again, this chapter focuses on the above mentioned topics in order to gain a better understanding of the topic at hand. Correlation between Sedentary Lifestyle and Childhood Obesity This section of the literature review has then been devoted to the discussion of studies, journals and articles earlier published that look into the correlation between sedentary lifestyle and childhood obesity. These suggest that having a sedentary lifestyle is one of the most common causes of childhood obesity. Evidently, complexities arising from modernity have resulted in the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles. In fact, homes and work sites are designed in such a way that does not really promote physical movement. Thus, engaging in a sedentary lifestyle wherein no or minimal physical activity is present is considered common. Martinez-Gonzalez, Martinez, Hu and Kearney (1999) argue that lack of physical activity has resulted to the prevalence of the problem of obesity amongst the majority of the citizens of the European Union. Taking the said information in regard, Martinez-Gonzalez et al. (1999) decided to ascertain the link between sedentary and non-sedentary activities with the prevalence of obesity. The study was carried out through the use of in-home questionnaires (Martinez-Gonzalez et al., 1999). The authors also measured sedentary lifestyle by looking into the total number of hours that the respondents are inactive (Martinez-Gonzalez et al., 1999). Succinctly, the results obtained showed that indeed, obesity and higher body weight are positively correlated with a sedentary lifestyle. Martinez-Gonzalez et al. (1999) were able to point out that indeed, the respondents who spend most of their time seated and failed to engage in physical activities were more likely to suffer from obesity. Hu, et al. (2003) undertook a similar study which focused on the effects of a sedentary lifestyle on one’s weight. According to Hu et al. (2003), the public campaigns of different government and non-government organizations have called for the need to exercise regularly. However, these campaigns were never successful in terms of reducing sedentary behaviors. Unlike the previously discussed study, the research conducted by Hu and his colleagues (2003) focused on prolonged television watching on obesity. Through the use of prospective cohort studies, Hu and his colleagues (2003) suggest that sedentary behaviors in general (particularly television viewing) has resulted to a significant increase in obesity rates. Chaput, Klingenberg, Astrup, and Sjodin (2011) conducted a study as to how the preponderance of sedentary lifestyles has resulted to the prevalence of obesity. In connection with the previous studies mentioned, Chaput et al. (2011) discovered that sedentary activities have contributed to obesity because of the tendency of the former to eat without experiencing hunger. In general, Chaput et al. (2011) made use of an extensive review of literature previously published in order to investigate this. In the article entitled “The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity (2004),” children’s use of media was seen as one of the reasons accounting for obesity. Parenthetically, the article suggests that the sedentary lifestyle of the children has been relatively influenced by a number of factors such as: (a) television shows, (b) video games, (c) the World Wide Web and lastly, (d) activities that have to do with the computer. This then, in turn, results to a significant increase in the rates of children who are obese. In the same manner, the article also pointed out that the advertisements with respect to food being shown by the media also tends to result to the tendency to prefer fast food and other less nutritious intake. In this regard, media was proven to play an important role in terms of the development of childhood obesity (“The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity”, 2004). The correlation existing between sedentary lifestyle and childhood obesity was also recognized in the study of Epstein, et al. (2000). In the said study, the authors recognize watching television as one of the factors behind the development of obesity among children. It is in relation to this that Epstein, et al. (2000) also acknowledged the relationship between sedentary lifestyles and obesity. Hence, it was the main goal of the research to address the issue of obesity by slightly incorporating physical activities into the lifestyle of the subject children (Epstein, et al. 2000). To achieve the said objective, Epstein, et al (2000) chose 90 families with obese children. After approximately two years of subjecting them to increased physical activities, the researchers noted of a significant decline in their body fat. Epstein, et al. (2000) were likewise able to point out that indeed, sedentary lifestyle is significantly correlated with obesity. Anzman, Rollins and Birch (2010) have also looked into the relationship between sedentary lifestyles and obesity. According to the said authors, whilst it important to give paramount concern to the food intake of the children and obesity risks, there is a need to come up with preventive interventions such as increasing the physical activity of the children. Parenthetically, the research conducted by Anznan et al. (2010) has highlighted the fact that the environment wherein the children live in, most especially the behavior of their parents with respect to physical activities has likewise greatly influenced the tendency of the children to be obese. Hill, King and Armstrong (2007) also found a correlation between sedentary lifestyles and obesity. These authors then mention that it is of paramount importance to physical activities to reduce the chances of becoming obese (Hill et al., 2007). Singh, Kogan, van Dyck and Siahpush (2008), on the other hand, decided to look into the correlation between a sedentary lifestyle and obesity by taking environmental factors into consideration. In their study, Signh, et al. (2008) looked into how socioeconomic, demographic and other behavioral characteristics affected obesity. Through the use of a survey questionnaire, the said authors were able to show that higher television viewing coupled with high levels of physical inactivity have resulted to the prevalence of higher rates of obesity (Signh et al. 2008). In the same manner, the authors discovered that obesity is higher amongst the Hispanic children as compared with their white counterparts who merely spend an hour a day watching television (Singh et al., 2008). Finally, in explaining the correlation between sedentary behavior and obesity, Rey-Lopez and his colleagues (2007) have undertaken an extensive review of all studies conducted in relation to the subject matter. Rey-Lopez, et al. (2007) also mentioned that watching TV, when set at a time limit, do not promote obesity either. In this regard, they note that it is important to make sure that physical activities must not entirely be replaced by these to avoid obesity. Preponderance of Sedentary Lifestyle in First World Countries Generally, a sedentary lifestyle is defined as that which lacks physical activity. However, assuming one is involved in physical activity, a sedentary lifestyle nevertheless involves irregular or limited traces thereof. The sedentary lifestyle has often been regarded as common in the highly developed countries such as the United States of America wherein the people fail to find time to engage in physical activities (Miller & Vandome, 2010). Basically, this is because of the prevalence of office jobs wherein the people now are more or less likely to engage in physical activities. In the same manner, it has also been argued that the sedentary lifestyle has been heavily influenced by passive forms of entertainment such as too much television, engaging in video games, and the increase in the usage of the internet. It is in this regard that authors found that the sedentary lifestyle is common amongst people in the technologically developed nations (Acs, Lyles & Stanton, 2007; Miller & Vandome, 2010). Numerous studies have already been conducted in order to determine the negative impacts of living a sedentary lifestyle on the general well-being of the people (Acs, Lyles & Stanton 2007; Miller & Vandome, 2010). One of the most common consequences brought about by living a sedentary lifestyle is weight gain and obesity. Furthermore, another negative consequence arising from this are those brought about by obesity, including but not limited to: heart problems, cancer and diabetes (Jenkins 2003; Miller & Vandome, 2010). The issue of the sedentary lifestyle is even more alarming in the case of the children. The failure of the children to engage in physical activities would surely continue the said habits throughout his entire life. Authors (cite them here) mention that habits form during the early adolescent years could surely result in a less active lifestyle throughout one’s entire life. As earlier mentioned, the shift from the traditional jobs to office works as well as the advancements in technology has resulted to the popularity of the sedentary lifestyle. Majority of the American population are not engaged in regular physical activity for at least twenty minutes, at least three times a week (Fadhill & College, 2009; Jenkins, 2003). More specifically, the following statistics were also garnered: more than half of the American population (approximately 58%) has already resorted to a sedentary lifestyle thereby making the latter the most common cause of heart diseases; that a great portion of the latter are youths who are either unable or generally unwilling to engage in physical activities (Jenkins, 2003; Kiess, Marcus & Wabitsch, 2004). The failure of children in the United States to engage in physical activities has been largely attributed to different factors, most of which tend to be positively correlated with the socio-economic status. In less affluent neighborhoods, there is a great tendency for the children to feel unsafe when they are engaging in physical activities (such as playing) outside of their homes (Nnakwe, 2009). In the same manner, the parents of these children likewise fear the safety of the latter in travelling alone. Furthermore, it was also mentioned that exercise programs that are community-based tend to be unavailable for the poorer areas (Nnakwe, 2009; Smil, 2001). Consequently, the inactivity of the children is likewise caused by their mere interest in physical activities. The inactivity of the parents would surely result to the inactivity of their children as well. A sedentary lifestyle is common amongst American citizens. It is also in this regard that the most common consequences of a sedentary lifestyle are experienced in the country (Edlin & Golanty, 2009; Fadhill & College, 2009; Jenkins, 2003; Smil, 2001). One of the most important consequences of a sedentary lifestyle is obesity. Research Approach and Design The researcher shall take on a quantitative research approach, particularly a descriptive and correlational research design. The nature of the study is characteristically descriptive since it does not aim to introduce any interventions (Black, 2003) that may alter the preponderance of sedentary lifestyles or obesity among the adolescents in question. Instead, these variables are measured as they presently occur amongst adolescents in Southern California. Moreover, the research is also correlational since there is an attempt to determine if there exists a significant correlation (Creswell, 2009) between sedentary lifestyle and obesity in this particular age group. Such procedure merits the use of correlational statistical techniques, justifying the correlational nature of the study. Subjects and Sampling Plan The study is quantitative and shall make use of survey methodology. Thus, in enlisting the adolescent participants in the study, there are two types of sampling techniques that will be utilised, namely, purposive and snow ball sampling. Both are non-probability sampling techniques which connotes that not all members of the target population may be used as respondents into the sample (Black, 2003). Purposive sampling indicates the use of inclusion criteria in the selection of respondents. In the case of the present research, the following inclusion criteria will be utilised: 1) must be a parent of an obese adolescent aged 13-17 years old; 2) having a minimum residence of 1 year in California; 3) has endorsed the consent form before the deployment of the survey questionnaire. The obesity of the adolescent shall be established through a computation of the body mass index of the child, which shall be included as a screening question or qualifier in the survey questionnaire. The parents of the adolescents shall also be asked to refer co-parents who may be willing to participate in the research undertaking. This procedure of referral of other respondents is referred to as snow ball sampling (Brace, 2008), and shall be carried out until a target number of 100 respondents is reached. Proposed Procedure The procedure for data collection shall be two-prong: secondary and primary data collection. Secondary data collection shall be carried out by using the following search terms in seeking material from online databases “sedentary lifestyle and obesity”, “family environment and obesity”, “obesity among adolescents in the United States”, and “influence of lifestyle on obesity”. The hits that were yielded in the process will be examined more thoroughly after these articles are downloaded from online databases. Following the completion of the literature review, the researcher shall begin primary data gathering. This shall be carried out through drafting of the survey instrument measuring sedentary lifestyle habits. Obesity, the dependent variable, shall be assessed through a direct measurement of the body mass index of the adolescent in question. This may either be done through questions relating to weight on the survey tool, or actual weighing of the adolescent. After data have been gathered, these shall be subjected to statistical analyses through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 17.0 (SPSS v. 17.0). The results shall be analyzed through comparison and contrast with past empirical studies related to the correlation of a sedentary lifestyle and obesity among adolescents. Ethical Considerations The researcher is keen about complying with ethical protocol. First, the researcher shall ensure that consent is gathered from the parents of the adolescents who shall be the foci of the study. Confirming that the parents of the adolescents are participating in the research out of their own volition shall ensure that the survey shall be answered with candidness (Creswell, 2009). In addition, since the researcher shall be personally administering the surveys, there shall be effort in ensuring that respondents are comfortable in answering them. Promoting an atmosphere of trust is important in this respect to encourage honesty in the responses (Brace, 2008). There shall also be explicit explanation of their rights as respondents, including their right to withdraw their participation during any part of the research; the confidentiality of responses; stringent observance of their anonymity; and their right to be furnished with the research results (Crotty, 1998). Method of Data Analysis The survey data shall be analyzed through SPSS v. 17.0. The statistical software is typically used for generating statistics in the social sciences. For this study, descriptive statistics shall be used for addressing the first two objectives of the research, which are: 1) To have a baseline assessment of the extent to which 13-17 years olds in California practice sedentary lifestyle habits; and 2) To ascertain the prevalence of obesity among this age group in California. Moreover, correlational statistics, specifically the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient shall be computed to address the third and fourth objectives of the study: 3) To determine if a child’s family environment is associated with childhood obesity; and 4) To establish if there is a significant correlation between sedentary lifestyle habits and obesity in this age group. This statistic is utilized if the researcher intends to determine if there is a significant association between two variables (Black, 2003), each of which are measured in at least the ordinal scale of measurement. Since this statistic is also parametric in nature, there should be an adequate number of respondents in the sample, exceeding n=30 to merit the use of a parametric statistical test (Black, 2003). Summary The proposal presented the aims and objectives of the present research, and proceeded with a brief review of literature. The researcher first established the preponderance of a sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary lifestyles are common all over the world, most especially with respect to the highly developed countries. The prevalence of the said lifestyle is brought about by the fact that the traditionally jobs relating to extensive labor have transformed to office jobs. In addition, the technological advancements have also caused adults and children alike to prefer passive types of entertainment rather than engaging in vigorous physical activities. The prevalence of the sedentary lifestyle has resulted into commonality of problems pertaining to obesity. In one of the sections of this literature review, it was shown that obesity is a problem for all of the American states, but most especially, in the state of California. Obesity is caused by a number of factors including lack of exercise and too much consumption of calories. The study was also able to point out that of all the most common causes of obesity, having a sedentary lifestyle is the greater predictor. Having established these, the proposed methodology of the research is presented. The research shall be descriptive-correlational in nature, specifically using survey methodology to gather data on sedentary lifestyle and obesity among adolescents in Southern California. Parents of adolescents shall be enlisted as respondents to the questionnaire. Ethical protocol shall be observed throughout the research. Finally, survey data shall be analyzed through SPSS v. 17.0. References Acs, Z.J., Lyles, A. & Stanton, K.R. (2007). Obesity, business and public policy. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. Black, T. (2003). Doing quantitative research in the social sciences: An integrated approach to research design, measurement and statistics. Sage Publications. Brace, I. (2008). Questionnaire design: How to plan, structure and write survey material for effective market research, 2nd ed. UK: Kogan Page. Chaput, J.P., Klingenberg, L., Astrup, A. and Sjodin, A.M. (2010). Modern sedentary activities promote overconsumption of food in our current obesogenic environment (in press). Obesity Review. Creswell, JW (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Sage Publications Ltd. Crotty, M (1998). The foundations of social research. London: Sage Publications. Edlin, G. and Golanty, E.(2009). Health and wellness. California: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Epstein, L.H., et al.( 2000). Decreasing sedentary behaviors in treating pediatric obesity. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine154, 220-226. Fadhil, H.G. and College, D. (2009). The Association of Physical Activity and College Student Obesity. UK: Proquest. Hennesy-Fiske, M.(2011). Childhood obesity is ‘very serious’ in California, poll finds. Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2011. Hill, A.P., King, N.A. and Armstrong, T.P.(2007). The contribution of physical activity and sedentary behaviors to the growth and development of children and adolescents: Implications for overweight and obesity. Sports Medicine, 37(6), 533-545. Hu, F., Li, T., Colditz, G., Willett, M., & Manson, J. (2003). Television watching and other sedentary behaviors in relation to risk of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in women. The Journal of American Medical Association, 289(14), 1785-1791. Jenkins, C.D.(2003). Building Better Health: A handbook of behavioral change. UK: John Wiley and Sons. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2004). The role of media in childhood obesity. Retrieved on August 3, 2011 from http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/The-Role-Of-Media-in-Childhood-Obesity.pdf Kiess, W., Marcus, C. and Wabitsch, M.(2004). Obesity in childhood and adolescence. UK: Karger Publishers. Lee, S.(2006). Childhood obesity in California. CA: Sage Publications. Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A., et al. (1999). Physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle and obesity in the European Union. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 23, (11), 192-201. Miller, F.P. and Vandome, A.F. (2010). Sedentary lifestyle. CA: Sage Publications. News and Information Bureau. (2010). Childhood obesity in California. CA: California Center for Public Health Advocacy. Nnakwe, N.E.(2009). Community nutrition: Planning health promotion and diseases. UK: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Rey-Lopez, J., Rodriguez, G., Biosca, M. and Moreno, L.A.( 2007). Sedentary behavior and obesity development in children and adolescents. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 18(3), 242-251. Singh, G.K., Kogan, M.D., Van Dyck, P. and Siapush, M. (2007). Racial/ethnic, socioeconomic and behavioral determinants of childhood adolescent obesity in the United States: Analyzing independent and joint associations. Annals of Epidemiology, 18(9), 682-695. Read More