Urban Health - Child Obesity in Lambeth - Essay Example

Child obesity in Lambeth Introduction The status of health in the London’s borough of Lambeth is poorer than the country’s average health status. Researches have established that the life expectancy of people in the region is averagely lower with most deaths arising from smoking, crimes and drug misuse among other lifestyle complications (Davis & Martin, 2008). The latest yet equally worrying trend is the rising cases of child obesity with statistics indicating that three out of five children in the borough are obese. Such are worrying statistics that validate the research, which seeks to establish the causes of child obesity and the best ways the local authorities in the region and the many health practitioners can best deal with the rising cases of child obesity. As stated in the brief introduction, obesity is a lifestyle complication a feature that validates the investigation of the social structure of the society and the roles the planning of the city and the coordination of the activities of the state authorities can help mitigate such as the report below reveals. The borough has various public and private health facilities that strive to improve the health status of the borough. The NHS Lambeth works effectively with the various partners including both the private sectors and many other non-governmental organizations with the view of improving the living standards in the region and curb the rising lifestyle complications including child obesity (Spence, 1975). The NHS for example prioritizes healthy lifestyle practices in a bid to help change the social structure in the region. The government in conjunction with the local authorities has improved the quality of health services providers by the various service providers in the region through the provision of incentives and the sensitization of the importance healthy living. The research revealed that the government of England carries out various activities in the borough with the view of curbing the lower life expectancy in the region since most deaths result from lifestyle related complications. Child obesity is medical condition in which children gain excess body weight. The disease has various causes including genetics and poor lifestyle, which is the main cause. Health practitioners have developed the term obesogenic environment to refer to a combination of factors that create a conducive environment for the prevalence of obesity in both children and adults. Most children with obese parents are likely to become obese. Researchers indicate that such may not arise from the genes but from the lifestyle, the obese parents accord their children. Such is the environment in the borough of Lambeth in which the population of obese adults continues to rise. This implies that the environmental factors in the borough are the likely major contributors to the rising cases of child obesity. Such therefore require effective planning to ensure that the people access basic health and other fundamental services thereby minimizing the prevalence of child obesity (Sollecito & Johnson, 2013). Physical activity is an equally major contributor to the rising causes of child obesity in the borough of Lambeth. Adequate body activity helps the metabolic system burn out excess calories thereby preventing the accumulation of such fat under the skin. Appropriate physical activity helps prevent child obesity. The rising cases of child obesity in the borough on the other hand portray that the children in the borough engage in minimal physical activity thereby facilitating the accumulation of fat below the skin (Simunic, 1980). Furthermore, the rising cases of child obesity in the borough further depict an ineffective policies and planning of the activities in the borough. Major obesity prevention mechanisms require both parents and caretakers of children in the state to engage the children in appropriate physical activity thereby minimizing the prevalent of such diseases. The rise in child obesity in the borough should for example implore the authorities to impose effective policies to both parents and schools to engage the children in appropriate physical activities in order to curb the spread of the diseases. The research proved that the borough had various schools both public and private, which offer the English curriculum. The curriculum should for example have appropriate physical activity capable of enhancing health living in the children (March, 2007). This makes policy the major deferent to the endeavors of mitigating the rising cases of child obesity. Besides physical activity, dietary is yet another fundamental factor that contributes to the rise in child obesity. The pattern thus implies that dietary is an issue that requires immediate redress since the people in the borough access particular foodstuff thereby expediting the spread of obesity in children (Scutchfield & Keck, 2003). Home environment is a social factor that is an equal contributor to the spread of child obesity. The planning of the borough contributes to the social structure thus enhancing the particular lifestyle that makes the children susceptible to thee lifestyle complication. Home environment refers to the placement of various features of the society including the homes, schools and hospitals among other social amenities in the society. The accessibility of the features makes up the home environment thereby contributing to the susceptibility of the children in the borough. The location of the amenities determines their accessibility while their structures determine the activities that the population undertakes in such places. The presence of elevators in most of the skyscrapers in the urban center discourages the use of the stairs thereby sustaining obesity in both adults and children. The small playground in schools also discourages extensive physical activities both in the schools and in at home. This therefore encourages the poor lifestyles that enhance the prevalence of child obesity (Farooqi, 2005). Planning of the borough of Lambeth facilitates the spread of child obesity. Urban areas have numerous distinctive characteristics most of which facilitate the spread of contagious diseases and prevalent of accidents two features that command strategic management and planning in order to curb the spread of such. An urban center is a small densely populated location often habited because it has various resources capable of sustaining the rising pressure. The population pattern of urban centers varies depending on the availability of the resources. Coupled with effective planning, an urban center becomes capable of sustaining the people without presenting any health risk to the human population. The large population results in increased human interaction a feature that presents huge health risk since such high population foster the spread of diseases among the population. Urban center planning and the formulation of tailored health care services is a fundamental governance feature capable of minimizing the health risks in urban centers (Dubois, Girard & Potvin, 2006). The effective planning of the city incorporates the placement of such facilities as parks most of which are public resources managed by the local authorities. Others such as gyms, food outlets and corner shops are private businesses and therefore depend on the prospectors’ determination of markets. The city has hundreds of streets all of which have various business venture including gyms, food outlets and corners shops. The planning of the city secluded specific parts of the city for the construction of industries while leaving the rest for both private residence and different private business facilities. Police stations, fire stations, schools and hospitals are among the strategically placed facilities that contribute to the maintenance of law and order in the small urban centers (Yuen, 2005). Planning of urban centers influence the cost and quality of the health care services, the high population in cites for example increases the demand for health care services. Health care and insurance service providers therefore use the high demand to inflame the cost of such services thereby making the services affordable to most of the city’s population. Health care services are expensive in the city, the price of the services depend on both the survive providers and the needs of a client. However, the cost of health care services in the country is expensive since the government requires the dispensation of high quality medical services in the most hygienic environments within the city. The service providers therefore strive to maintain the standards set by the government but such require increased value of the services a feature that explains the high cost of health care services in the country. Conclusion Obesity is a social issue; the prevalent of child obesity in the London’s borough of Lambeth epitomizes the entrenchment of the poor social mechanization in the region. The borough has various health problems with the borough having the highest teenage pregnancy in England, double the national standards. Such statistics including the rising cases of child obesity in the borough are indicators of the poor social structures in the borough. The placement of such social amenities as schools and hospitals are strategic in order to increase convenient access to all the members of the society (Baggott, 2004). The city has wide streets and hundreds of entertainment and sanitation centers. The local authorities strive to develop a peaceful and clean environment through the provision of effective security and sanitation services. The wide streets facilitate transportation within the city using various means including private cars, train and public buses that ensure the accessibility of every part of the city. The large streets and roads facilitate the movement of people even under duress. They provide clear passage to ambulances and fire fighters who strive to contain any emergency within the borough. Child obesity, the mater of investigation is a major social and health issue in the borough. The spread of child obesity indicates myriad social features that enhance the spread of obesity both in children and in adults. The planning of the borough and the placement of various important social amenities enhance the spread of the problem. To remedy, the concerned parties including the NHS, the health practitioners and the local authority must work concurrently and develop effective structures that would help curb the worrying trend. Enhancement of physical activities would for example help burn calories in the children thereby mitigate on the social and health problem. References Baggott, R. (2004). Health and health care in Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Davis, H., & Martin, S. (2008). Public Services Inspection in the UK. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Dubois, .L, Girard, M. & Potvin, K. M. (2006). "Breakfast eating and overweight in a pre-school population: is there a link?". Public Health Nutr 9 (4): 436–42. Farooqi, I. S. (2005). "Genetic and hereditary aspects of childhood obesity". Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 19 (3): 359–74. March, P. (2007). "Fattened statistics". Social Issues Research Center.04-21. Scutchfield, F. D., & Keck, C. W. (2003). Principles of public health practice. 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