Child Obesity: Causes And Prevention

            According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), childhood obesity is a complex health issue that occurs when a child’s normal weight surpasses the healthy weight for his or her height and age. The causes of obesity in children are similar to the causes of obesity in adults with genetics and the person’s behavior being some of the cause factors. This article reviews the topic since childhood obesity is one of the major public health challenges in the 21st century. It is a worldwide problem and the condition is steadily affecting both developed and developing nations, especially for children who are in urban settings. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased at an alarming rate. Estimates of overweight children under the age of five back in 2016 were over 41 million globally.  Half of these children were from Asia while a quarter was from Africa. Children with obesity in most cases end up growing into obese adults. Adult obesity is linked to an increased risk of several serious health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. 

Obesity is a condition of being significantly overweight. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a value that is derived from the ratio of weight and height of an individual. Calorie refers to the amount of energy required to raise a certain mass of water by 1 0 Celsius. According to the CDC, thyroid disease refers to any dysfunction of the thyroid found at the base of the neck. Steroids consist of drugs used to relieve inflammation and swelling. 

            Obesity in the 21st Century has become an epidemic in both developed and developing countries. This epidemic has been attributed to the modern lifestyle of people and the intake of food with high calories such as fast food without limitation. Obesity in childhood is known to have a significant impact on both psychological and physical health. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem in the US. Obesity prevalence affects about 13.7 million children and adolescents. Children aged two to five years with obesity comprised 13.9% while children aged six to 11 years constituted 18.4% of the population. The purpose of the article is to educate parents and society at large about the causes of obesity in children, symptoms, increased disease factors associated with obesity, and the various methods to prevent and address obesity. The education of childhood obesity through the report and relevant resource materials provided will help control this epidemic of the 21st century. 

What is Childhood Obesity 

            Childhood Obesity is a condition in which a child is significantly overweight for his or her height and age. The extra fat that has accumulated may hurt the health of obese children. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure used to determine childhood obesity and overweight. 

            According to WHO (World Health Organization), excessive daily caloric intake relative to daily caloric expenditure is the leading cause of obesity in children. Poor quality food choices such as fast food high in fat and sugar calories have high amounts of calories. It is a biological fact that excessive intake of food with high calories leads to excess calories that the body does not need hence stored as fat in the body Reducing caloric intake without increased caloric utilization only helps temporarily. This is because the body’s metabolism switches to conservation mode and learns how to get by on fewer calories. Physical activity that leads to calorie-burning equation encourages the breakdown of fat and excessive carbohydrate stores. This kind of physical activity and low caloric intake will lead to long-term health. 

            Excess body weight that is not necessarily due to excessive body fatness is a reflection of genes, behavior, metabolism, socioeconomic status, and culture. These are relatively infrequent causes of childhood obesity. Studies have indicated that if one of the parents is obese, the likelihood of having an obese child is three times more than a child born to parents without this condition. The likelihood of a child becoming obese is 10 times higher if both parents have obesity compared to a child born to parents without obesity.   Diseases such as brain tumors, Thyroid disease, polycystic ovary disease, and other conditions are minor causes of obesity. Pediatric obesity is linked to the intake of medications such as chronic oral steroids; however, the association is very low. The other cause of obesity is an increase in the frequency of some cancers such as liver, colon, gallbladder, and breast. 

            Many parents and children do not recognize the health problem until they are already overweight. Almost half of children with obesity are considered to have an average body size. It is worth noting that not all children with extra weight are obese. The most commonly used tool for quickly evaluating the proportionality of children is the measurement of height and weight. The measurement of height and weight allows for the calculation of the body mass index (BMI). Having excess weight as expected for a particular height is documented to be caused by excessive fat tissue. However, certain individuals such as weightlifters may be over-muscled. 

            Some of the most common symptoms in obese children include stretch marks on the abdomen and hips, fatty tissue deposition in the breast area, dark, velvety skin around the neck and other areas, eating disorders, shortness of breath during physical activity, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, dislocated hip, irregular menstrual cycles in girls, and early puberty among others. 

The consequences of childhood obesity can be divided into three groups; physical, mental, and economic as discussed below 

Physical. Childhood obesity increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. This is due to excessive secretion of insulin and organ resistance to insulin. Childhood obesity may increase the risk of infertility, heart attack, menstrual irregularity, stroke due to hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, asthma, and Orthopedic and Metabolic issues. 

Mental. Childhood obesity can trigger depression that is associated with eating disorders, lowering of self-esteem often due to bullying at school as well as being referred to as abnormal by the entertainment industry, society, and media. 

Economic. Childhood obesity tests, treatment, and maintenance have direct and indirect costs. The direct costs consist of the expenditures due to medical center visits, diagnosis, and therapeutic services. Indirect costs are both short-term and long-term term such as the decrease in productivity due to absenteeism and premature death. Studies have revealed over $147 billion is spent annually on the various costs associated with obesity. 

            Child obesity can be treated like most diseases. Since consuming a high amount of calories relative to energy expenditure is the leading cause of obesity in children, therapy is normally used to reverse this metabolic equation. There are many dietary programs put in place to attempt to address obesity. These treatments are effective if the patient embraces very low caloric food intake as part of his/her lifestyle commitment. Surgery and drugs are normally used to address severe cases of childhood and adulthood obesity. 

            Studies have shown that childhood obesity must be dealt with before the teen years. Estimates indicate that 20% of obese children who are four years of age will grow up to become adults with obesity while 80% of teens with obesity will grow to obese adults. Other findings indicate that children aged six months to six years watch television for two hours every day where 34% of them watch more than two hours, children aged eight and 18 years spend about seven hours per day watching TV and other activities such as video games, computer games, and the use of cell phones. The basic approaches to preventing and addressing childhood obesity include breastfeeding during the first year of life since studies have shown children who are properly breastfed have a lower risk of becoming obese and consuming healthy food and beverages such as milk with low calories while avoiding high caloric foods such as fast foods. Other approaches include encouraging physical exercise for children in schools and at home, limiting activities that encourage sedentary behaviors such as watching TV, playing video and computer games, and the use of cell phones by children, and the use of healthy fats in meals such as olive oil. 

Websites to Research about Childhood Obesity 

·       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html 

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html 

http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/index.htm 

·       National Institutes for Health (NIH) 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesityinchildren.html 

·       World Health Organization 

http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/ 

Some of the laws that exist are designed to address childhood obesity. These laws involve schools should set aside time for physical activity, school foods and drinks should be healthy including those sold at canteen and vending machines, fresh fruits and vegetables should be bought at farmer’s markets, schools should be supported with resources so that they can produce their fresh produce and also supplied with fresh produce as well. These laws were designed to help children have access to healthy food and drinks so that child obesity in the US can be addressed. 

            The proposed policy targets children mainly. The campaign slogan of Little Bites to Prolong Life Long will involve educating children on eating healthy meals in small quantities, 6 times a day. The proposed policy will involve an additional 5 minutes of daily exercise. This policy can be implemented through modification of the existing policy such as schools should set aside time for physical activity, and school foods and drinks should be healthy including those sold at the canteen and vending machines. The law for physical activity in schools should be modified to accommodate daily physical exercise by children for at least 5 minutes. All children should be involved in these exercises so that the number of obesity in children can be reduced. The law that states food meals and beverages at school should be modified to include water during main meals. Soft drinks can be replaced by water while there should be limited access to fast food daily.        

            The modification of the existing law should be announced through social media, the use of posters in public places, the use of media such as radio, and holding meetings that consist of parents, children, school heads, and the relevant authorities. The modified law should be observed by all pupils to ensure the number of obesity cases in children is reduced. 

            A simple definition of obesity is excess body fat. Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries. However, its prevalence is also increasing in developing countries. Childhood obesity serves as a major factor that causes type 2 diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease which are known to begin during childhood. Studies have shown that there has been a steady rise in childhood obesity globally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website (http://www.cdc.gov) has demonstrated on the rise in obesity over the last 30 years using the United States as an interactive map. The basic approach to preventing and addressing childhood obesity consists of adopting a healthy lifestyle and nutrition practices as a daily routine. Intake of unhealthy food should be highly monitored and controlled and daily physical activity should be highly encouraged in schools. Surgery and drugs are normally used to address severe cases of childhood and adulthood obesity. The proposed policy states that there should be minimal of 5 minutes’ physical exercise performed daily by children. This is supported by the law recommended by CDC where is designed to increase amount of physical activity such as physical education in schools and increase extracurricular activities as well. This will ensure all children in school are involved in physical exercise thus reduce number of obesity cases in children. Provision of incentive to food retailers so that healthier food and beverage can be offered in underserved areas will help all the schools in the US have access to healthy food and beverage available.