Preventing childhood obesity - Essay Example

14 December Preventing Childhood Obesity Introduction Obesity among children is a growing health concern all over the world in general and the US in particular. This imparts the need to take objective measures to prevent childhood obesity. This paper briefly discusses the causes and effects of childhood obesity followed by a detailed discussion of ways to prevent childhood obesity. Causes of obesity in children While causes of obesity in children over two years of age are significantly linked to their unhealthy food consumption, lack of physical activity, and sedentary lifestyle, causes of obesity in children in their infancy are mostly linked to the behaviors of mothers during pregnancy.

“Factors associated with increased risk for overweight or obesity in infancy and early childhood include excessive maternal weight gain or smoking during gestation, shorter-than-recommended duration of breast-feeding, and suboptimal amounts of sleep during infancy” (Wojcicki and Heyman). Effects of obesity on children Effects of obesity on children are numerous, and for the most part, negative. Obesity makes children sluggish and intervenes in their healthy physical development. It lowers children’s self-esteem.

In addition to that, obesity is also one of the main causes of such diseases and health conditions in children as high blood pressure and diabetes that are conventionally associated with adults particularly in the old age. Prevention of childhood obesity(Kimbro and Rigby) studied the effects of the federal food policy on the obesity in children, and found that food assistance is likely to cause childhood obesity particularly in the cities where the prices of foods are high. They also found that subsidized meals offered to the children at the day care centers or in the schools help them maintain the right weight because of which, there is need to expand the poor children’s access to subsidized meals.

The US government is taking serious steps to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity. One of the campaigns that have been started in the recent years is the “Let’s Move” campaign by Michelle Obama that is directed at revamping the food products’ nutritional labeling to empower the consumers and especially the parents, improving the National School Lunch Program’s nutritional value, improving the access of all communities in the US to the high-quality foods, and increasing the physical activity for children.

This way, this campaign combats childhood obesity by making a holistic effort. “By directly emphasizing the potential risks for lifetime obesity that present in infancy and early childhood and providing the structure and direction for interventions in these areas, the campaign could increase its overall impact on reversing the childhood obesity epidemic” (Wojcicki and Heyman). Conclusion Childhood obesity is one of the gravest health issues since both the direct and indirect effects of obesity start to show up at such an early stage of life as childhood.

To prevent childhood obesity, programs and strategies must be made that are not just focused at improving the children’s lifestyle and behaviors, but also necessarily pay emphasis on improving the lifestyle and behaviors of the adults in general and the pregnant women in particular. The Let’s Move campaign is a big step forward in this direction. Works Cited:Kimbro, Rachel T., and Rigby, Elizabeth. “Federal Food Policy And Childhood Obesity: A Solution Or Part Of The Problem?” Health Affairs. 29.3. (2010): 411-418.

Wojcicki, Janet M., and Heyman, Melvin B. “Lets Move — Childhood Obesity Prevention from Pregnancy and Infancy Onward.” The New England Journal of Medicine. 362. (2010): 1457-1459.