Childhood Obesity: Causes and Proposed Intervention Measures

Childhood Obesity in the US
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Introduction
Childhood obesity has been on the rise, and it has tripled in the last few decades  CITATION Cen181 \l 1033 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). It is a disturbing trend that casts doubt on the future of the country because it affects the next generation. It also shows there are some things which need to be looked into that are fueling this trend because it is a result of multiple factors. Childhood obesity can be decreased by creating intervention measures, education in schools and physical activity.
Background Information
Obesity prevalence in children aged 5-19 in the United States has tripled since 1970 CITATION Fry14 \l 1033 (Fryar, Carroll, & Ogden, 2014) and data from 2015-2016 show that nearly 1 in 5 school age children and young people (6 to 19 years) in the United States have obesity. Obesity has immediate and long-term effects on the physical, social, and emotional development of the children. Obese children are more likely to be teased and bullied by colleagues in school. Bullied children have low self-esteem and are more likely to be depressed which adversely affect their academics. Secondly, obese children are more likely to be obese in their adulthood if the necessary steps are not taken to ensure the child grows into a healthy weight and maintain it. Thirdly, obese children are at higher risk of having other chronic health conditions and diseases that influence physical health. Some of these conditions include heart diseases, bone, and joint problems, sleep apnea, asthma, etc. The incidence of childhood obesity shows that obesity is highest at the youngest ages and it decreases with age through adolescent CITATION Che161 \l 1033 (Cheung, Cunningham, Naryan, & Kramer, 2016)Incidence proportions may differ by gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status and hence strategy to fight this issue must account for its prevalence and differences in age and demographics. The variables greatly vary, but the is an underlying commonality; fast food industries, children, targeted marketing with unhealthy sugary foods, lack of proper awareness of the issue in the community and poor design of children's programs which do not encourage regular exercise to metabolize excess calories.
Causes
Secondly, there is compelling evidence to show that parenthood is a major contributor to childhood obesity. According to CITATION Fat10 \l 1033 (Huffman, Kanikireddy, & Patel, 2010) ‘parental involvement in the development of school- and community-based obesity prevention programs are suggested for effective health initiatives.’ Children are dependent on their guardians and parents who provide for them. If the parents only provide unhealthy foods like junk foods and or they do not teach their children healthy eating habits, then the children are likely to be obese. Hence, parents/guardians are partly to blame because as the providers and have authority over the children, cannot either provide proper diets or have not taught their children about healthy eating habits or both.
Children watch more TV and are glued to other technological devices more than ever before. Advancement of technology has availed a plethora of devices to kids, and they find themselves engrossed in their use. Children are also having more screen time at homes as opposed to playing outside which burns more calories and help the children to keep fit CITATION Kar12 \l 1033 (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012). Rather, they stay indoors with their friends either playing video games, watching TV and or even browsing the internet. Almost all personal devices come with an inbuilt feature for ‘kids mode,’ or it is accessible for free or for a few bucks. This shows the likelihood of kids to use these devices sometimes at the expense of healthier activities which would help their mental and physical growth CITATION Kar12 \l 1033 (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012). The availability of these devices and the increasing concern of parents and teachers to have children engage in activities which are safe (hardly to sustain a physical injury) has predisposed kids to have a sedentary lifestyle.
It is not a secret that high-calorie foods are flooded in the market, and they seem to be the only ‘convenient’ choices for consumption for Americans. There have been increasingly targeted advertisements by the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of these unhealthy food options which has greatly increased their consumption. The fast-food industry is one of the main contributors of childhood obesity since their menus are hardly healthy and typically have either saturated fats and or over-processed proteins and starch CITATION Luc13 \l 1033 (Reisch, et al., 2013). The combination of over-processed proteins and starchy foods which are highly absorbable by the body coupled with their lack of the higher fiber content leads to more fat deposited in the body. Advertisement of these unhealthy foods has not spared children, and they are more inclined to make poor choices about their foods. The parents are also subconsciously affected by these advertisements, and they also gravitate to take unhealthy foods and make unhealthy choices for their children. Additionally, candies and other sweet confectioneries which are available and aggressively advertised in America have also contributed to childhood obesity CITATION Luc13 \l 1033 (Reisch, et al., 2013). These ads also target vulnerable children who are more predisposed to demand them despite their grave health concerns.
Some people are predisposed to be obese. It is likely that a child born of two obese parents is genetically predisposed to be obese. Obesity genetics are also more prevalent among black Americans than other ethnicities in the United States. Though this predisposition is unavoidable, it is still manageable. If children who are predisposed to have obesity are intr...