Solutions to Childhood Obesity - Case Study Example

Childhood Obesity New lifestyle habits, modernity and improvement of technology are some of the factors of innovation that keep our digital world going. Due to such changes in the society, there is a great deal of activities that we can currently accomplish just at the clicks of buttons without any movements at all. Such discoveries and inventions have made the world become a global village where people also abolish the old ways of doing things. In as much as modernity and advancement in technology is changing how we used to do things traditionally, it is, at the same time acting as a predisposing factor for the young people to get lazier and less active. The old methods of learning including P.E have been removed from the curriculum, children have adopted ne feeding habits and a lot is going on the digital platform that make children consume much of their time on their seats hence engaging in fewer activities. It is currently worrying how such factors have predisposed many children to becoming either overweight or obese. It is for these reasons that the problem has to be clearly identified, its causes, effects as well as the possible prevention measures that can effectively work to deal with childhood obesity and reduce the current escalating rates of this menace in the children. Identification and Demonstration of the Problem It is said that one out of five children in the U.S are overweight or obese. The researchers say that this number is on the rise, a factor that keeps most parents and other stakeholders worried about the health and future of their children. It should be realized that children usually have fewer weight-related medicals as well as health problems than the adults. However, it needs not to escape our attention that children are at the highest risk of becoming obese or overweight. Such risks make them vulnerable to contracting other diseases such as heart and lung-related diseases in their later life stages. Apart from that, stress, low self-esteem and other psychological conditions such as sadness and depression are also easily contacted by the victims. Childhood obesity is considered to be a complex disorder. In the recent years, the prevalence of this disorder has significantly increased in the developed world and especially in the US. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the prevalence of obesity in determined to be increasing in the pediatric age groups (Ogden, Carroll and Kit 807). This combines both sexes as well as different racial and ethnic groups. In the development of obesity, many factors take into play including metabolism, environmental, lifestyle, genetics and eating habits. Among these factors, most of them, about 90% are considered to be idiopathic while only a few, around 10% are considered to be associated with genetic or hormonal causes. The operational definition of obesity is made up from the statistical data that mainly analyze the association between the mass of the body as well as the risk of acute and long-term mortality and morbidity. Theres, however, no approved universal definition of childhood obesity as theyre less acute medical complications of obesity in children and adolescents as compared to in adults. Similarly, it is very difficult to interpret the longitudinal data based on the relation between childhood weight and adult mortality and morbidity. According to some researchers, the term obese or overweight in children has been used to refer to adolescents and children with their weights exceeding the weights expected for heights of 20%, 50%, and 80-100% (Krebs, Himes and Jacobson 195). For the children younger than two years, their Body Mass Index (BMI) has not usually bee validated (Guo and Chumlea 146). Given that weight varies in a given stepwise manner, it may be misleading to use arbitrary criteria. Nevertheless, it is evident that children who are considered overweight or obese under known and published criteria have a higher likelihood of remaining in the same condition even when they become adults. Obesity in children has developed into a worldwide problem. The numbers of new children getting obese are increasing at a very alarming rate in many developed countries especially in the US. As has been mentioned, currently in the US, one out of five children are considered obese or overweight. Back in 1985 to 1995, the number of children between 7-15 years who were considered obese or overweight doubled. Currently, the number has tripled as over 65% of the children in US are considered to be obese, and the number is expected to be even worse by 2020 (National Center for Health Statistics 1). Causes of Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity or obesity in children has a lot of causes. Therefore, that which is on an individual child may be caused by one or many of these factors. To begin with, obesity in children is caused by poor food choices. This is to mean, there is that foodstuff with high cholesterol level, whose intake by the children would cause child obesity especially when they are consumed in high amounts. It is not proper for children to take food rich in a lot of fats as this leave the extra fats stored in their bodies. At the same time, eating more than the amount the body also requires leads to a lot of unused food deposited in the body as fats. All these lead to obesity. Theres an increased intake of fast food by the current US children than it used to happen long ago. Fast food is also a source of too much fat and addiction that may make one eat more than the amount required by the body. Secondly, lack of physical exercise is also another major cause of obesity. It has been found that most children in the developed world, especially in the U.S.A, spend much of their time in the house and have a reduced level of physical activity. There are various ways in which the modern child spend much of their time other than play outside in the field as a traditional child would expose themselves to enough physical activity. One such way is through spending much of their time on social media. Children have gadgets such as IPADs that are Internet enabled and have a lot of video games. These make the children not see the need of going out to the field to involve in physical play with the others. The children, therefore, develop a reduced state of physical activity, hence become obese if not controlled. Another way is through watching TV where the children have their eyes most of the time glued to their television, and this means they will have less physical activity. There are these TV programs that are addictive, and they follow each other and entertaining, hence giving no or little time for children to move away from the TV. These reduce physical activity in children. Hence, the children become obese. Children also spend much time on computer games that are also addictive, hence reducing their time for physical activity. There are some TV advertisements on fast food such as burgers and soda that make the children want to eat such foods and more of it. In this manner, TV ads become the factors making the children eat more of fatty foods or foods with much cholesterol to cause obesity. Thirdly, having overweight parents is also a predisposing factor for the children also becoming obese. Having overweight parents would mean that the eating pattern in the family is unhealthy and promotes overweight and obese conditions. In that case, children brought up in such a family will have no choice than also to adopt to the same poor and unhealthy eating pattern in the family that predisposes them to obesity. It is also a major tendency for parents who are overweight to bother less about their children becoming overweight or obese than those parents who are not overweight who will be more concerned when their children are becoming overweight or obese. The fourth cause of obesity in children is the factor of genetics. In most cases, these are genes inherited from the parents. In as much as these genes are usually rare, they have been identified to cause severe obesity in children. The action of particular genes together in children may also make some children more susceptible to obesity. It should be taken seriously when theres a family tendency of becoming obese so that the parents be very keen and more careful about providing healthy diets and adequate physical activity for their children. Effects of Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity has health effects that are considered to become pronounced in adulthood. Among the potential health problems caused by childhood obesity include type 2 diabetes. In as much as this condition is usually more evident in adult, currently, there are more cases being diagnosed in children. Childhood obesity also has effects of eating disorders such as bulimia and binge associated with it. Apart from these, there are immediate health effects that childhood obesity cause in children. Theres a tendency for obese youths to have a risk factors for cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. According to population-based sample carried out of between 5 and 17 years old children, 70% of the obese children were found to be in direct danger of a cardiovascular disease (Freedman, Zuguo and Srinivasan 14). Adolescents who are obese are also considered to be at a high risk of prediabetes. This is a condition where the glucose levels in the blood show high risks of the victim contracting diabetes. There is also a great determined risk for bone and joint problems in children and adolescents who are considered to be obese. These children and adolescents also suffer from sleep apnea, psychological and social problems including depression, stress, stigmatization and low self-esteem. There are also the effects regarded as the long-term health effects that the childhood obesity victims go undergo. Some of these include the fact that children who are obese usually become obese even when they are adults. Hence, more health risk factor follow them into their adulthood. Such risk factors include heart disease, various cancer types, stroke, osteoarthritis as well as type 2 diabetes. A study was first to show that children who became obese at the age of 2 were also more likely to develop into obese in their adulthood. Those who are overweight and obese are considered to be of higher risks of contracting various cancer types such as those of pancreas, kidney, esophagus, colon, endometrium, thyroid, cervix, and ovary, prostate as well as cancer of the breast. They also become at high risk of contracting other diseases such as Hodgkins lymphoma as well as multiple myelomas. Solutions to Childhood Obesity The solutions that are available for childhood obesity are mainly considered to be preventive measures of the problem. Several preventive measures are available for children to deal with obesity in children. One such measure includes adopting healthy lifestyle habits (Waters, Swinburn and Seidell 26). Childhood obesity can be categorized as a societal problem that is majorly caused by lifestyle. A family that adopts good feeding habits in their house and ensures that their children do not pick up habits of feeding on fast foods as well as excessive feeding on foodstuff with a lot of cholesterol is the first step to preventing childhood obesity (Daniels, Arnett and Eckel 2000). Still on change of lifestyle, there should be an increase in the level of physical activity for the children that should come as a practice to them as they grow up. Children should be helped to control the time they spend on video games, TVs, and social media and increase the time spent on physical exercise and play. Schools should also be encouraged to reintroduce P.E lessons in elementary schools and make them compulsory for all children. Conclusion Childhood obesity has currently developed into a worldwide problem. This is so because there is a faster increase in the number of children who are becoming obese and overweight each day. This problem is, especially common in the developed world, US being a major victim. Several factors including genetics, lack of physical activity and poor dietary habits have been considered as the major factors causing childhood obesity. Children who are obese suffer from both immediate and long-term health risks including high blood pressure, heart disease and various cancers among others. One major way of providing a solution to this menace is through taking up the preventive measures such as adopting good lifestyle habits. Good dietary habits, reduction in activities that cause less physical activity and increasing activities that increase physical activity in the children are some of the preventive measures to childhood obesity. Works Cited Daniels, S.R., D.K. Arnett and R.H. Eckel. "Overweight in children and adolescents: pathophysiology, consequences, prevention, and treatment." Circulation 111 (2005): 1999–2002. Web. Freedman, D.S, et al. "Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study." Journal of Pediatrics 150.1 (2007): 12–17. Guo, S.S. and W.C. Chumlea. "Tracking of body mass index in children in relation to overweight in adulthood." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 70 (1999): 145–148. Web. Krebs, N.F., et al. "Assessment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity." Pediatrics 120 (2007): 193–228. Web. National Center for Health Statistics. "Health, United States, 2011: With Special Features on Socioeconomic Status and Health. Hyattsville, MD; U.S. ." Department of Health and Human Services 2012: 1-3. Web. Ogden, C.L., et al. " Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012." Journal of the American Medical Association 311.8 (2014): 806-814. Waters, Elizabeth, et al. Preventing Childhoood Obesity: Evidence Policy and Practice. Blackwell: Wiley, 2011. Print. Read More