The increasing trend of childhood obesity - Essay Example

Childhood Obesity Introduction Overweight along with Obesity has increased significantly over the last few decades globally. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization (2012) it is observed that approximately 170 million children below the age of 18 years are overweight. The increased prevalence of overweight along obesity leads to serious health issues. In other words, it can be stated that overweight along with obesity are the independent risk factors for the upsurge in morbidity as well as mortality throughout the life cycle of an individual. Childhood obesity is linked with various health related complications which upsurges the premature illness risks and even death. The issue of obesity among the children is showing a growing trend and raising the concern of the public health as noted by Ebbeling et al. (2002). The issue of childhood obesity is gaining its importance in the public health care. In order to ensure healthy life style and to create awareness among the general public widespread awareness programs through televisions, internet, and schools newsletters along with magazines of parenting are being executed. Various policies were and are being incorporated in the national priority lists. However the people are not sure regarding the effectiveness of the policies in order to combat the problem of childhood obesity. According to The Trustees of Princeton University childhood obesity is deciphered as societal issue due to the influence of several factors including the environmental, biological along with behavioral. With the increasing trend of childhood obesity this is becoming one of the severe health challenges in the 21st century (Future of Children, 2006). The thesis paper will evaluate the various aspects regarding childhood obesity based on a literature review related to the contemporary issues. The impact of the academic knowledge on the people of the society and global communities are evaluated in the thesis paper. Moreover the principles of active citizenship and their impact in the future five to ten years are examined in the thesis. Literature Review According to Ebbeling et al. (2002), childhood obesity is one of the multisystem diseases with devastating effects in the future years. Obesity causes severe ill effect on the health of the children such as hypertension, chronic inflammation and hyper insulinaemia. In this context, Deckelbaum & Williams (2012), stated that there has been an increasing trend in the childhood obesity in the United States and globally. The growth in the childhood obesity has been the matter of concern in every racial along with ethnic group across the world. Childhood obesity has a negative impact on the child as it leads to lower self-morale, decreased self-esteem and low quality of life in the society as noted by Sinnott (2011). According to Hewitt-Taylor et al. (2004), it is connected with various health related disparities and it is notified as a disease which requires treatment in order to have a healthy life ahead. Moreover, the body mass index acts as an effective tool in analyzing the weight and height of the people. There are various effects of childhood obesity in the life of the people. It is deciphered that the poor health of the child in the childhood might lead to overweight and obesity which has its subsequent affect in the adulthood. The raising issues of obesity are linked with the lifestyle and the changing food habit of the children. It is reflected that children in the earlier days were healthy and had proper body mass index due to proper diet and physical activity. However in the 21st century children are over weighted and obese due to the inclination of the children and the youth towards the fast food. The lifestyle have changed dramatically giving rise to unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical activity. Moreover, the size of the children and their weight has great impact on the physiological and psychological appearance leading to distress and dissatisfaction (Hewitt-Taylor et al., 2004). There are various issues which are giving rise to obesity such as the food habit, lack of knowledge regarding proper diet and physical fitness. There are myriad reasons that increase obesity and in order to create awareness the social media are being extensively used in generating awareness among the masses. As per the view of Paxson, Donahue, Orleans & Grisso, parents are also responsible for the increase in the childhood obesity as they are indulging their children into a society where they have no time for outdoor games and playtime. Moreover, the busy schedule of the parents especially in the urban cities is also claimed to contribute towards the growing trend of obesity in children. The reasons for increasing cases of obesity is attributed to the lack of time of the parents and reluctance to cooking nutritional food leading to the unhealthy food habits of the children at large. Obesity is reflected as a societal issue and thus requires special attention of the people in the society to reduce its ill effect on a large scale (Future of Children, 2006). Notably Ebbeling et al. (2002) shed a light on the early life factor which lead to the childhood obesity and that should be mitigated in order to avoid the problem of obesity in the adulthood. The lifestyle considered with lack of physical activity from the childhood might lead to obesity. It is stated that the risk of obesity in a child decreases by 10% if vigorous physical activity is done for at least an hour per day while the risk increases if the child is continuously surfing the internet and using social media instead of the one hour of fitness regime. Improper diet, fast food and the family can also be identified to increase obesity among the children. . It is further stated by Stephen Daniel that the childhood obesity has several consequences on the health of the nation’s children due to the changing behavior and lifestyle. It is evidential from the researches that the market of the country plays a vital role in the rise of childhood obesity. As per the research conducted it was observed that the average cooking time in an US household has reduced to a considerable extent which implies that the habit of having food in the restaurant have increased leading to obesity and other health related issues. Another factor which led to obesity is also indirectly linked with the economy of a country or the purchasing power of nation. It is reflected that obesity is largely found among the children belonging to low income family due to the increasing price of nutritious food such as fruits and vegetables in comparison to the fast food which are readily available (Future of Children, 2006). Government is taking measures to educate the people through various campaigns and programs in order to make children as well as their parents aware of the negative consequences of obesity. However, it is criticized by the experts that although the awareness regarding childhood obesity is increasing throughout the world but the number of obese children are not decreasing to the desirable extent. Global strategies are taking place in order to prevent obesity. In this regard, World Health Assembly certified Resolution WHA57.17 be identified as one such global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (DPAS) in order to promote healthy life style and reduce the possibility of obesity. Moreover in the year 2012, to reduce the level of unhealthy intake and monitor the health of the children World Health Assembly adapted the Resolution WHA65.6 in order to implement plan for the health of the maternal and young child nutrition. All these approaches and steps taken up are being criticized by the experts as the outcome of the programs, growing advertisement through the use of social media and internet are not being effective to the desirable extent. Due to the rising negative effect of the childhood obesity globally the First Lady Obama inaugurated ‘Lets Move’ initiative in order to influence the people of every ethnic group to help in eliminating the Obesity in the generations to come and improve the quality of life. The major objective of the campaign is to empower the care givers along with the parents regarding the increasing concern of obesity. Furthermore in order to reduce the level of childhood obesity it is important to have healthy food in not only home but also schools. Thus, the ‘Lets Move’ initiative is expected to provide healthy food to the students of low income group in order to reduce the obesity. The initiative also intends to provide healthy food to the people at an affordable price to reduce the market for the fast food. This initiative can be termed as an effective step undertaken by the government towards the society by making the food available to every child at a lower rate (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). According to Deckelbaum & Williams (2012), the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity is vital and reflected the fact that the tempting food of McDonalds including the double cheeseburger meal has more than 1800 calorie which a child intakes have significant impact on increasing obesity. Impact of Academic Knowledge on Social and Local Communities Obesity is a disease interrelated with the social culture, environment and behavior of the children. It is thus important for the children to have a proper academic knowledge in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Today in the modern day context schools are taking special attention towards the health of a child by sharing nutritional knowledge. This will have positive impact on the children as they will know which food is the best for them. According to Devaux et al. (2011), it is evidential that the academic knowledge is beneficial for the society to reduce obesity and overweight. Many years of proper schooling reflects a healthy lifestyle less likely to be overweight or obese and maintain proper diet. Similarly academic knowledge gained through proper studies in colleges and schools will help the young generation to be more active and participate in exercise, which acts as preventive measures for obesity. The relation amid education and health is nonlinear with the increase in the School-Based Interventions for childhood obesity. Children today are more aware regarding the Body Mass Index (BMI) and its importance for a healthy life. The academic knowledge that the child gets in their early childhood is of importance in the form of elementary education. Physical exercise in the schools has a great impact in the society in reducing the number of obese children. The impact of academic knowledge on the social community is such that people are motivated towards involving in regular exercise as well as developing healthy eating habits. Moreover, with the nutrition based knowledge they have a better understanding to how much calorie they might intake in order to have a proper healthy BMI. However, even though people have enough academic knowledge they tend to become obese because of the life style and the social environment. As stated above family spent much of their time and money in restaurants rather than cooking healthy at home. Due to the increasing academic knowledge the government has taken strategies in order to improve physical activity and providing nutritious diet to reduce childhood obesity. This is due to knowledge and the changing perspective of the people towards their child. The knowledge gained in the schools will be effective for the society and the local communities in reducing the threat of overweight as people will lead a healthy life as they will have enough knowledge regarding obesity and its consequences. The importance of having vegetables, fruits and other dietary products will be known to the people and the child minimizing the effect of overweight and obesity. The academic knowledge helps the people of the society to be responsible towards the health and its ill effect on the society. The society will not be attracted to the advertisements of the fast food and restrict their diet to a considerable extent due to the information they have gained throughout their life. The academic knowledge has an impact on the behavioral aspect of children and adolescents. Impact of Principles of Active Citizenship on Obesity Active citizenship is the one who concerns everyone. They are the people who are responsible and empower their rights for the betterment of the society at a large extent. In this regard it can be stated that active citizenship refers to the deliberate capacity of citizen in achieving shared common goal for the up gradation of the society. They work for the society and take care and efforts to reduce the health issues prevailing in the environment. The impact of the active citizen is more and strong as they are the common people from the mass who come together for the betterment. Healthy living and social responsibility are their objective and hence they can influence the society with their positive attitudes and responsibilities. The impact of the active citizen is perceived to be strong and more influential the next five to ten years. They are the responsible citizens of the nation who are there to promote good actions and healthy living through their actions which includes small role play, video and health care for the treatment of the obese. There work for the welfare of the society will make them hold a major position in the society making them influential. Through their leadership, attitude, determination and care for the children the citizen will be more influential than the other government measures and policies. The spirit of active citizenship is such that they do not work for them but for the common people for a better society. Thus, it can be stated that the citizenship will play an active role as it a merging issue damaging the society and its welfare. Moreover the active citizen will be effective in the long run to reduce obesity as they will use the social media to show the negative impact it has on the health, psychology and self-esteem. Evaluation of the Article on Childhood Obesity The article “Obesity Is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years” published in the website http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/science/obesity-takes-hold-early-in-life-study-finds.html?_r=1 shed a light on the effect of childhood obesity in their adulthood. The article reflects the fact that nearly 7000 children of the kindergarten are overweight and obese due to the change in the lifestyle. The article stated the fact that obesity is gaining hold in the life of the early childhood which was visible through the study conducted. Approximately 12.4% of the children were obese with a BMI of 95th percentile. Moreover the blog revealed the negative and the increasing trend of obesity due to the unhealthy habits. From the study of the article it can be stated that in order to reduce obesity in the early stages of the life of the children it is important for the parents to stay healthy and change their lifestyle. The lifestyle of the family influences the child the most in building a healthy habit. The article suggests the fact that reduction in childhood obesity can be effective if the knowledge regarding the BMI, healthy meal and physical activity is shared with the children. The academic knowledge gained by the children in the early life will be effective in maintaining a healthy life throughout and reduce the chances of health issues such as sugar, cholesterol and high blood pressure in the young children. The article provides an underlying fact that the life of the child is precious and should be protected and cared by sharing healthy habits and lifestyle. The death of obese child is due to the unhealthy lifestyle, physical fitness and the lack of awareness of the people towards the proper nutritional diet. The article in the last statement expresses the grievance of a mother whose child is 212 pounds (The New York Times Company, 2014). According to this article, it can be evaluated that impact of obesity on children not only have fatal consequences on them but it also cause their family members to suffer for a long time. Conclusion It has been observed form the foregoing discussion that childhood obesity is a rising issue in the present day scenario because of the changing environment and society. School, family, society and the behavior of the people also is ascertained to have major influence on childhood obesity. It was also evident from the literature review that the economy and the low income family are more vulnerable towards obesity as they are unable to buy healthy and nutrition rich food. Thus to minimize the growing issue of obesity among children it is recommended that the children from the early life should develop a healthy habits. It implies that the children will not be stopped from having fast food but will be advised to intake food in a balanced way. This will help in reducing the issue of obesity and make the child feel confident as they will be able to enjoy the food and play effectively. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Obesity among low-income preschool children. Obesity, 1-4. Deckelbaum, R.J., & Williams, C.L. (2012). Childhood obesity: the health issue. Obesity Research, 9(4), 239-243. Devaux, M., Sassi, F., Church, J., Cecchini, M., & Borgonovi, F. (2011). Exploring the relationship between education and obesity. OECD, 121-159. Ebbeling, C.B., Pawlak, D.B., & Ludwig, D.S. (2002). Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure. The Lancet, 360, 473-482. Future of Children. (2006). Childhood Obesity. Princeton University, 16(1), 3-224. Hewitt-Taylor, J., Alexander, J., & McBride, J. (2004). Overweight and obesity in children: a review of the literature. Institute of Health and Community Studies, 5-45. Sinnott, C.H. (2011). The impact of childhood obesity, poor nutrition and inactivity on public school systems. Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion, 2-41. The New York Times Company. (2014). Obesity Is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/science/obesity-takes-hold-early-in-life-study-finds.html?_r=0 World Health Organization. (2012). Childhood obesity prevention. Population-based approaches, 7-48. Read More