Obesity in Children in Australia - Essay Example

Name: Lecturer: Unit: Date: Obesity in children in Australia Introduction Obesity is classified according to the Body Mass Index (BMI). The body mass index is obtained by calculating the ratio between weights in kilograms and dividing it by height in meters squared. For the children, the measure of obesity is adjusted for age and sex. The child is said to obese if the BMI is above the set point for age and sex. This definition is according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Though the use of BMI for the measure of obesity has been disputed by some professionals, the method has remained to be the accepted internationally. Studies have shown that 19 to 24 percent of the Australians children’s are obese or overweight. Australia spent more than 8.3 billion dollars on obesity in 2008 and the figure is still rising. There have been links between obesity in childhood and adulthood. Most of the obese children were likely to become obese in their adult life. This has led to the fact that obesity should be addressed during childhood. The work of addressing obesity is a major issue that has to be tackled. Obesity of the Australian children can be attributed to several factors. These factors include Government (health education) which includes nutrition and physical activity, parents (behavior) and advertisers, to avoid junk food ads during TV programs. There have been rise in obesity among the Australian children leading to the question, “who is to be blamed for the rise in obesity?” (Dixon 1). Childhood obesity has been observed by most of the world government as a national crisis. In Australia, the government has been doing research related to childhood obesity and coming up with measures to curb it. The Australian government established the National Obesity Taskforce to act on the high and growing levels of obesity among the children. In the United States of America (USA), the government has taken bold steps in addressing childhood obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), there have been efforts by the government in making strategies to improve the physical activities and making healthy diet to be in reach of the children. This is due to the fact that lack of access to physical training and junk foods are among the major contributors of the obesity. One of the efforts that the United States is the ‘Let’s move’ program that is aimed at controlling obesity. The United States government has been engaged in other activities that are meant to ensure healthy living among the population. These activities involve construction of walk paths, playgrounds and other amenities that enable healthy living. In Australia, the financial implications of obesity have made the government concerned. The government spends a lot of finances in obesity related health care and control. There have been several efforts by the state governments to promote healthy living. There have been an introduction of compulsory physical exercises in the childcare centers and making sure that there is monitoring of the children’s weight. Some of the policies have banned fast foods in the preschools (Karnik and Kanekar 5-6). Parents are vital in reducing the risk of overweight among the obese children. The attitudes that the parents instill in the children during their early years contribute highly to their health. For example, most children have the tendency to force their children to ‘clean plate’ which means to eat all the served meal. Some of the parents go to the extent of bribing their children to ‘clean the plate’. Children’s are supposed to eat when they feel hungry, but not to be coerced into eating. Some of the parents discourage snacks in a highly restrictive manner. This is a behavior that has a negative consequence on the child’s feeding habits (La Rocca 2). Children whose parents are highly restrictive are mostly affected by overeating. The children who come from restrictive parents in most cases are likely to overeat when they gain access. Feeding habits of the children by their parents during their infancy have an impact on obesity. There are several recommendations that have been put forward by the American Heart Foundation (AHA). The parents should make sure that they control the fat intake of their infants. The recommendations by these bodies to the parents are rarely followed by most parents in Australia. Parents have been feeding their children’s with diets that have high fat content. There are also high consumption of soda, fruit drinks and whole milk, which have negative consequences among the children’s health. Parent’s behaviors can be criticized especially for the parents who do not educate their children’s on eating responsibly (Wake, Nicholson, Hardy, and Smith 1524). The parents are supposed to tell their children’s to stop eating when they are full. The parents have the responsibility to encourage and support their children to take part in co curricular activities (Warren, Henry, Lightowler, Bradshaw, and Perwaiz 288). During their family time, the parents are supposed to make sure that they teach their children on positive health activities. These can involve riding bike and hiking. There has been an upsurge in the availability of junk food worldwide. This is supported by the rise of food chains such as McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The increase in consumption of fast food is a major cause of obesity. There have an increased intake of fast food among the children, such as chips and sandwiches. According to research, the consumption of the hot chips, potato chips and soft drinks have been very high among children. The major cause of this increase has been the television adverts. There have been researches that have shown that children as young as 12 months were being introduced into junk food. The children are not capable of making healthy food choices. One of the factors that lead to the popularity of the junk foods is their low price and aggressive advertising. Junk food advertising has a great influence among the children. The food preference among the children is mostly a product of the exposure they have on the TV commercials. The advertising of the junk food are mostly aired during the children’s programs. This is due to the fact that most of the advertised foods have a high fat and sugar content which in some cases rise up to 75 percent. A recent survey has put Australia among the countries with highest TV food advertisement (Dixon 10). The research showed that the Australian television had 12 advertisements on junk food in every hour. The main fact is that children will make their choices based on the adverts and may pester their parent to buy for them. There have been several efforts to control the junk food advertising among the children. One of the most active lobby groups in Australia against junk food advertising is Coalition on Food Advertising to Children. The coalition has put efforts in urging the Australian government to control the advertising of food during the children programs. Most of the fast food companies have increased their budgetary allocation to advertisement targeting the young population. The government has put up restrictions that are aimed at reducing the programs that entice children to use junk foods. These restrictions have been met by oppositions by the food and advertising industries. The main claim by these sectors is that there is no proof that obesity is related to fast food advertising. There are also claims that these restrictions will lead to reduced income from the children’s programs. The Australian ministers failed to put restrictions on the food advertises terming that there is no convincing evidence that advertising led to children’s being overweight (Dixon 11). In conclusion, the case of obesity in the Australian children is a major concern. The high implications on the budget of the country as well as the health implications cannot be ignored. There have been projections that the rate of obesity is going to be very high in the near future. This makes it very important to determine who is responsible for the obesity in the Australian children’s. There is a need for fast action on the obesity among the children as it has been linked with obesity in adulthood. The essay has been able to establish that the parents, government and the advertising and fast food companies are to blame. Each of the group has a part to play in ensuring that obesity is reduced in Australia among the children. The parents have to change their behaviors concerning healthy eating among their children. The guidelines given by the American heart association can help the parents in planning diets for the children. The government has to make regulations and policies that target reduction of obesity among the children. This involves regulating the fast food advertising and making policies that encourage physical education among the children. The fast food industry has to be responsible in their advertising. Responsible advertising involves making sure they do not advertise fast foods during the children’s programs or reduce the number of adverts per hour. From the essay, it’s evident that the blame on obesity cannot be directed to a single group but it is collective. This is due to the fact that each group has a part to play in reducing obesity among the children. References Dixon, Nicolee. Childhood Obesity. Brisbane: Queensland Parliamentary Library, 2004 Karnik, S, and A Kanekar. "Childhood Obesity: a Global Public Health Crisis." International Journal of Preventive Medicine. 3.1, 2012: 1-7. La Rocca, JD. Childhood obesity: Is parental nurturing to blame? The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice 7.1, 2009:1-5. Wake, M, JM Nicholson, P. Hardy, and K. Smith. "Preschooler Obesity and Parenting Styles of Mothers and Fathers: Australian National Population Study." Pediatrics. 120.6, 2007: 1520-7. Warren, J M, C J. K. Henry, H J. Lightowler, S M. Bradshaw, and S Perwaiz. "Evaluation of a Pilot School Programme Aimed at the Prevention of Obesity in Children." Health Promotion International. 18.4, 2003: 287-296. Read More