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Apr 6, 2017
Research Papers / Causes and effects of child obesity - Rough Draft [2]
Introduction
Obesity is the condition whereby an individual has an abnormal quantity of body fats and in this case more body fats than the required in the body that may have in one way or another an adverse effect on one's well-being. The opposite if obesity is emaciation where an individual has a less than the average body fat content. Obesity causes the likelihood of various diseases especially heart disease and types 2 diabetes. Demographic data shows that in the American Society there is a high prevalence of teenagers with obesity. According to the American Heart Society, almost 13 million children aged between 2-19 years are obese in the U.S., nearly 1 in three of U.S children are obese or overweight. Shockingly more than a third of U.S adults are obese. These puts the future of the American society at risk. The danger that looms to them is unexplainable with kids exposed to diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes at an early age. Why manage these condition is a fancyfee. Yet again these children have very small chances of surviving to maturity or an adult age.
Causes of obesity
What would cause obesity in children or the population in general? Why would children be affected by a condition that is associated with the people that are rich or people that are old? Themost cause attributed to child obesity is an imbalance between calories intake and how the body uses them. The current society has shifted to depending on foods that have a high energy content that is sugar and fats and reducing a number of vitamins, vitamins, and micronutrients consumed. There is also a reduced physical activity due to the change of lifestyle majorly on the mode of transport which has shifted to vehicle transport. Also attributed to it is urbanization whereby most people are moving from rural areas to urban areas for settlement.
Also associated to child obesity is genetic inheritance. Some studies have shown that 25-40% of BMI genes are inheritable. These genes can be directly passed from parents to their offspring. Evidence of genes is seen in diseases such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome.It has been discovered too that obesity cases can concentrate on the family affected with the probability ranging from 2-8 in a family tree. Genetic factors, however, need to pair up with environmental factors to in synergy affect body weight. However still environmental factors account for up to 5% of cases of child obesity. These, therefore, leads to the conclusion that while genetic inheritance maybe associated with child obesity, it is not a primary cause.
Environmental factors are also another cause of childhood obesity. These are the factors that surround the children and influence the uptake of food and their physical activity. The various environments that children interact with effects in many ways their weight in one way or another. For instance, children spend most of their time in a school environment. It is in school that the children may have the chance to a healthy lifestyle which includes the motivation to consume appropriate food components and the involvement of required physical activities. At a home environment to children have the opportunity to either have a healthy lifestyle or an obesity-promoting lifestyle depending on what choice of lifestyle their parents may be living in. Also how the children interact with their parents is also an important factor to should be considered. These either promote a healthy lifestyle or vice versa. The community environment is also another factor. Some communities may not have access to healthy foods, or rather some communities may choose to incline to a lifestyle that is not healthy which may mostly lead to thegrowth of obesity all in general.
Behaviors also largely affect obesity in children. Some practices may promote obesity in the children while others may promote healthy living. Some kids may consume foods with a high sugar and caloric content hence the promotion of obesity. Also, lack of enough physical activity leads to a risk of child obesity. These are a clear indicator of energy imbalance. Normally, there should be a balance between energy intake and expenditure. Lack of physical activity leads to the accumulation of calories in the body hence obesity. A "relaxed" lifestyle has been seen as a necessary fuel for obesity. In the modern society children have the joy of sitting in cozy sofa sets enjoying an animated movie on television while punctuating their time with high-calorie snacks such as biscuits candies and sweet drinks, more to the factors are computer games which take most of their free time that is considered a trend. These mainlyreducea number of physical activities that the children engage in. This is according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), article on Child Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis.
Effects of Child Obesity
Apart from the most common known thing that obesity does; exposing one to the risk of deadly diseases there are several other implications of child obesity that are experienced in the society and the whole population at large. In one way or the other everybody is either affected or has been exposed. This is a modern generation whereby things have changed to suit the times.
Prevalence rates of obesity in children are increasing by the day both in countries that are considered developed and in countries that are considered to be underdeveloped. A question that should be asked is what is the magnitude of child obesity in the society. Again how does it affect us?
The effects of child obesity can generally be classified into health consequences and psychological health issues. In these bracket also lies another class of unknownresults but are worth the significance that they should not be overlooked.
Of these, the much that can be deduced is health related problems. These affects the children both in their childhood and in their adulthood. In most cases rarely do the concerned children survive to maturity unless the change of lifestyle. These means that by and large obese children have the ability to become obese adults. Other health conditions that maybe harmful to the children include high blood pressure and high cholesterol which are implicated with the CVD- cardio-vascular-disease. One study showed that 70% of obese children had one of the associated factors while 39% had two or more factors. Glucose Intolerance, Insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes are also some of the consequences. Health problems such as breathing problems, sleep apnea, asthma are also a result of obesity in children. Muscular and skeletal discomfort due to heavy weight is also a common condition in the affected children. Fatty liver disease, gallstones, and gastroesophageal reflux are also associated with child obesity. The above-mentioned cases are but a few of the broad rangehealth-related effects of child obesity.
Psychologically, obese children and adolescents are in one way or another affected. According to healthychildren.org, in their online document The Emotional Toll of Obesity; social stigma, self-esteem and school bullying, depression, emotional eating, and discrimination are the common psychological problems in child obesity. In the society, it is considered that obese children are less likable than their counterparts the "thinner" ones. This is a stigma that the obese children have to cope up with. These most often can be seen evident in obese children and their words. Lower self-esteem is likely to be observed in obese children due to the shame of their weight. Somehow some obese children may be popular amongst their peers but then again somehow their "thinner" counterparts may bully them or harass them especially in a school setting. Imagine a football team in class with a fat boy may be considered losing to a match. Or instead of them being given a major task on the group, they are given a task considered to be less such as goalkeeping. When such conditions occur to such children, they may feel to be less wanted in their society making them feel that they do not belong in any of the settings. This can run on for some days leading to withdrawal and eventually depression. Now another funny occurrence is emotional eating where the child may resolve to eat as the consolation to their problems. This is a danger added on another danger as now more calories are addedto their bodies which translate to more and more obese. Most a times dark children are solely discriminated due to their weight. The same thing happens to teenagers and adolescents too. Better still overweight women and ladies find it a hard time when searching for marriage partners. Why? They are considered to be less attractive in the society. They also find themselves unwanted and unattractive. Some researchers have shown that obese or overweight children may fail to be secured in prestigious learning institutions.
Another effect of obesity that is not health related is the economic impact. An online document published by Public Health England showed that in 2007 there was a very high expenditure of several Euros that was used to treat and manage cases of obesity and overweight.According to their projections, it is estimated that indirect cost of managing the condition is even much higher. Shockingly enough is that the figures keep on increasing year to year. The social care associated to households with such cases is also unexplainable as it shows so much expenditure. Other than the cost of treatment and management, there lies a large amount of labor that is required to work for them. With the numbers of the affected that have been shown in the several studies in U.S alone, it means that the other population that works for obese cases ranging from medical personnel, community health officers, accountants, drivers, house helps, and other populations are a lot more. That is in the U.S alone. What is the population that translates in the whole world for the known cases? What is the translation that is in unknown cases? It would, therefore,translate to the entireglobalpopulation, in general,being associated in one way or another.
Conclusion
Obesity has over the years been associated with the rich people in the society and the old people. Recently researchers have proven that it is affecting more and more children in the society as the years go by. These means that if a long lasting solution is not taken towards solving this problem, then the future society holds for nothing other than looming danger in either way as such as health or economically or both conjoined. There are urgent need and concrete need to solve the threat that is overlying ahead at all levels of the world and population as a whole. There should be activities aimed towards solving the problem of child obesity in all walks of life.
To address the problem, some factors need to be considered. First, the problem itself should be identified, and its magnitude is established. These means that data should be collected showing the levels of effects number of children affected, nationalities changed, the number of resources available and the various types of conditions. Then there must be a joint surface for everything. For instance there might be an effort in each nationality to clear off the problem but there is no organized manner nor is there any standardized way of solving the problem. There should be a standardized way of managing the problem at all levels that are from the youngest children to the oldest children. These also translates that there should be standard remedies taken for relevant populations. Time is also a primary factor to be considered in the pool of finding a joint surface and should not be overlooked as well if success is a thing to think of.
Local programs and state programs should also be undertaken to solve the crisis. This can either through partnering and involvement of various departments and institutions towards one common goal of preventing child obesity.
The community should also put effort towards solving the problem. There is need for a better lifestyle to be taught to the community and the need for the practice itself. The community needs to employ healthy foods for a better lifestyle. The population as a whole needs to uphold physical activities that would for a good course eradicate child obesity. Virtues that promote a healthy society of children should be taughtto the children themselves. Programs that would incorporate a healthful society should be availed in learning institutions at all levels of education. Parents too should employ a method that can increase better interaction between them and their children for a better society. Parents too should expose to their children a variety of food nutrients that would hinder obesity. A diet that would be balanced in all the requirements should be available to the children. They should also employ other methods of relaxation and recreation that consist more of physical activity such as swimming, walking, jogging, mountain climbing and others other than sitting in front of television sets.
For the affected children, they should not be discouraged to do several physical activities. The unaffected children should be educated to accept their counterparts. Some genetically inherited characteristics can be reversed if discovered early. This therefore means that parents should be aware of their gene composition and what risk may beget their children. Also if that should happen what measures that are exposed to their access or not that they should take.This can help to at a certain percentage lower the risk genetically associated obesity in the children. This can be done if the parents visit their doctors on a regular basis.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their online document Strategies for Controlling Obesity postulate that solutions towards child obesity is not a simple but a complex fete. This means that state agencies, local agencies, learning institutions such as schools colleges and universities, business organizations, community leaders and the population, in general, must work together in clearing this epidemic. Through the several ways exposed to them, there is an assurance that the problem can be solved and maintained in all walks of life and out from the common walls.
Work cited
Aacap.org, "Obesity In Children And Teens." Aacap.
Cdc.gov,. "Obesity Facts | Healthy Schools | CDC." Cdc.Gov
Cunningham, Solveig A., Michael R. Kramer, and KM Venkat Narayan. "Incidence of childhood obesity in the United States." New England Journal of Medicine 370.5 (2014): 403-411.
Dawes, Laura. Childhood Obesity in America: Biography of an Epidemic. , 2014. Print.
Ogden, Cynthia L., et al. "Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: The United States, 2011-2014." NCHS data brief 219.219 (2015): 1-8.
Phillips, Keydra L., et al. "Prevalence and impact of unhealthy weight in a national sample of US adolescents with autism and other learning and behavioral disabilities." Maternal and child health journal 18.8 (2014): 1964-1975.
Xi, Bo, et al. "Trends in abdominal obesity among US children and adolescents." Pediatrics (2014): peds-2014.
Child Obesity Research Paper
Introduction
Obesity is the condition whereby an individual has an abnormal quantity of body fats and in this case more body fats than the required in the body that may have in one way or another an adverse effect on one's well-being. The opposite if obesity is emaciation where an individual has a less than the average body fat content. Obesity causes the likelihood of various diseases especially heart disease and types 2 diabetes. Demographic data shows that in the American Society there is a high prevalence of teenagers with obesity. According to the American Heart Society, almost 13 million children aged between 2-19 years are obese in the U.S., nearly 1 in three of U.S children are obese or overweight. Shockingly more than a third of U.S adults are obese. These puts the future of the American society at risk. The danger that looms to them is unexplainable with kids exposed to diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes at an early age. Why manage these condition is a fancyfee. Yet again these children have very small chances of surviving to maturity or an adult age.
Causes of obesity
What would cause obesity in children or the population in general? Why would children be affected by a condition that is associated with the people that are rich or people that are old? Themost cause attributed to child obesity is an imbalance between calories intake and how the body uses them. The current society has shifted to depending on foods that have a high energy content that is sugar and fats and reducing a number of vitamins, vitamins, and micronutrients consumed. There is also a reduced physical activity due to the change of lifestyle majorly on the mode of transport which has shifted to vehicle transport. Also attributed to it is urbanization whereby most people are moving from rural areas to urban areas for settlement.
Also associated to child obesity is genetic inheritance. Some studies have shown that 25-40% of BMI genes are inheritable. These genes can be directly passed from parents to their offspring. Evidence of genes is seen in diseases such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome.It has been discovered too that obesity cases can concentrate on the family affected with the probability ranging from 2-8 in a family tree. Genetic factors, however, need to pair up with environmental factors to in synergy affect body weight. However still environmental factors account for up to 5% of cases of child obesity. These, therefore, leads to the conclusion that while genetic inheritance maybe associated with child obesity, it is not a primary cause.
Environmental factors are also another cause of childhood obesity. These are the factors that surround the children and influence the uptake of food and their physical activity. The various environments that children interact with effects in many ways their weight in one way or another. For instance, children spend most of their time in a school environment. It is in school that the children may have the chance to a healthy lifestyle which includes the motivation to consume appropriate food components and the involvement of required physical activities. At a home environment to children have the opportunity to either have a healthy lifestyle or an obesity-promoting lifestyle depending on what choice of lifestyle their parents may be living in. Also how the children interact with their parents is also an important factor to should be considered. These either promote a healthy lifestyle or vice versa. The community environment is also another factor. Some communities may not have access to healthy foods, or rather some communities may choose to incline to a lifestyle that is not healthy which may mostly lead to thegrowth of obesity all in general.
Behaviors also largely affect obesity in children. Some practices may promote obesity in the children while others may promote healthy living. Some kids may consume foods with a high sugar and caloric content hence the promotion of obesity. Also, lack of enough physical activity leads to a risk of child obesity. These are a clear indicator of energy imbalance. Normally, there should be a balance between energy intake and expenditure. Lack of physical activity leads to the accumulation of calories in the body hence obesity. A "relaxed" lifestyle has been seen as a necessary fuel for obesity. In the modern society children have the joy of sitting in cozy sofa sets enjoying an animated movie on television while punctuating their time with high-calorie snacks such as biscuits candies and sweet drinks, more to the factors are computer games which take most of their free time that is considered a trend. These mainlyreducea number of physical activities that the children engage in. This is according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), article on Child Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis.
Effects of Child Obesity
Apart from the most common known thing that obesity does; exposing one to the risk of deadly diseases there are several other implications of child obesity that are experienced in the society and the whole population at large. In one way or the other everybody is either affected or has been exposed. This is a modern generation whereby things have changed to suit the times.
Prevalence rates of obesity in children are increasing by the day both in countries that are considered developed and in countries that are considered to be underdeveloped. A question that should be asked is what is the magnitude of child obesity in the society. Again how does it affect us?
The effects of child obesity can generally be classified into health consequences and psychological health issues. In these bracket also lies another class of unknownresults but are worth the significance that they should not be overlooked.
Of these, the much that can be deduced is health related problems. These affects the children both in their childhood and in their adulthood. In most cases rarely do the concerned children survive to maturity unless the change of lifestyle. These means that by and large obese children have the ability to become obese adults. Other health conditions that maybe harmful to the children include high blood pressure and high cholesterol which are implicated with the CVD- cardio-vascular-disease. One study showed that 70% of obese children had one of the associated factors while 39% had two or more factors. Glucose Intolerance, Insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes are also some of the consequences. Health problems such as breathing problems, sleep apnea, asthma are also a result of obesity in children. Muscular and skeletal discomfort due to heavy weight is also a common condition in the affected children. Fatty liver disease, gallstones, and gastroesophageal reflux are also associated with child obesity. The above-mentioned cases are but a few of the broad rangehealth-related effects of child obesity.
Psychologically, obese children and adolescents are in one way or another affected. According to healthychildren.org, in their online document The Emotional Toll of Obesity; social stigma, self-esteem and school bullying, depression, emotional eating, and discrimination are the common psychological problems in child obesity. In the society, it is considered that obese children are less likable than their counterparts the "thinner" ones. This is a stigma that the obese children have to cope up with. These most often can be seen evident in obese children and their words. Lower self-esteem is likely to be observed in obese children due to the shame of their weight. Somehow some obese children may be popular amongst their peers but then again somehow their "thinner" counterparts may bully them or harass them especially in a school setting. Imagine a football team in class with a fat boy may be considered losing to a match. Or instead of them being given a major task on the group, they are given a task considered to be less such as goalkeeping. When such conditions occur to such children, they may feel to be less wanted in their society making them feel that they do not belong in any of the settings. This can run on for some days leading to withdrawal and eventually depression. Now another funny occurrence is emotional eating where the child may resolve to eat as the consolation to their problems. This is a danger added on another danger as now more calories are addedto their bodies which translate to more and more obese. Most a times dark children are solely discriminated due to their weight. The same thing happens to teenagers and adolescents too. Better still overweight women and ladies find it a hard time when searching for marriage partners. Why? They are considered to be less attractive in the society. They also find themselves unwanted and unattractive. Some researchers have shown that obese or overweight children may fail to be secured in prestigious learning institutions.
Another effect of obesity that is not health related is the economic impact. An online document published by Public Health England showed that in 2007 there was a very high expenditure of several Euros that was used to treat and manage cases of obesity and overweight.According to their projections, it is estimated that indirect cost of managing the condition is even much higher. Shockingly enough is that the figures keep on increasing year to year. The social care associated to households with such cases is also unexplainable as it shows so much expenditure. Other than the cost of treatment and management, there lies a large amount of labor that is required to work for them. With the numbers of the affected that have been shown in the several studies in U.S alone, it means that the other population that works for obese cases ranging from medical personnel, community health officers, accountants, drivers, house helps, and other populations are a lot more. That is in the U.S alone. What is the population that translates in the whole world for the known cases? What is the translation that is in unknown cases? It would, therefore,translate to the entireglobalpopulation, in general,being associated in one way or another.
Conclusion
Obesity has over the years been associated with the rich people in the society and the old people. Recently researchers have proven that it is affecting more and more children in the society as the years go by. These means that if a long lasting solution is not taken towards solving this problem, then the future society holds for nothing other than looming danger in either way as such as health or economically or both conjoined. There are urgent need and concrete need to solve the threat that is overlying ahead at all levels of the world and population as a whole. There should be activities aimed towards solving the problem of child obesity in all walks of life.
To address the problem, some factors need to be considered. First, the problem itself should be identified, and its magnitude is established. These means that data should be collected showing the levels of effects number of children affected, nationalities changed, the number of resources available and the various types of conditions. Then there must be a joint surface for everything. For instance there might be an effort in each nationality to clear off the problem but there is no organized manner nor is there any standardized way of solving the problem. There should be a standardized way of managing the problem at all levels that are from the youngest children to the oldest children. These also translates that there should be standard remedies taken for relevant populations. Time is also a primary factor to be considered in the pool of finding a joint surface and should not be overlooked as well if success is a thing to think of.
Local programs and state programs should also be undertaken to solve the crisis. This can either through partnering and involvement of various departments and institutions towards one common goal of preventing child obesity.
The community should also put effort towards solving the problem. There is need for a better lifestyle to be taught to the community and the need for the practice itself. The community needs to employ healthy foods for a better lifestyle. The population as a whole needs to uphold physical activities that would for a good course eradicate child obesity. Virtues that promote a healthy society of children should be taughtto the children themselves. Programs that would incorporate a healthful society should be availed in learning institutions at all levels of education. Parents too should employ a method that can increase better interaction between them and their children for a better society. Parents too should expose to their children a variety of food nutrients that would hinder obesity. A diet that would be balanced in all the requirements should be available to the children. They should also employ other methods of relaxation and recreation that consist more of physical activity such as swimming, walking, jogging, mountain climbing and others other than sitting in front of television sets.
For the affected children, they should not be discouraged to do several physical activities. The unaffected children should be educated to accept their counterparts. Some genetically inherited characteristics can be reversed if discovered early. This therefore means that parents should be aware of their gene composition and what risk may beget their children. Also if that should happen what measures that are exposed to their access or not that they should take.This can help to at a certain percentage lower the risk genetically associated obesity in the children. This can be done if the parents visit their doctors on a regular basis.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their online document Strategies for Controlling Obesity postulate that solutions towards child obesity is not a simple but a complex fete. This means that state agencies, local agencies, learning institutions such as schools colleges and universities, business organizations, community leaders and the population, in general, must work together in clearing this epidemic. Through the several ways exposed to them, there is an assurance that the problem can be solved and maintained in all walks of life and out from the common walls.
Work cited
Aacap.org, "Obesity In Children And Teens." Aacap.
Cdc.gov,. "Obesity Facts | Healthy Schools | CDC." Cdc.Gov
Cunningham, Solveig A., Michael R. Kramer, and KM Venkat Narayan. "Incidence of childhood obesity in the United States." New England Journal of Medicine 370.5 (2014): 403-411.
Dawes, Laura. Childhood Obesity in America: Biography of an Epidemic. , 2014. Print.
Ogden, Cynthia L., et al. "Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: The United States, 2011-2014." NCHS data brief 219.219 (2015): 1-8.
Phillips, Keydra L., et al. "Prevalence and impact of unhealthy weight in a national sample of US adolescents with autism and other learning and behavioral disabilities." Maternal and child health journal 18.8 (2014): 1964-1975.
Xi, Bo, et al. "Trends in abdominal obesity among US children and adolescents." Pediatrics (2014): peds-2014.