Obesity in Children in the United States

Obesity in Children in the United States Name: Institution: Date: The increasing rates of childhood obesity are a worrying trend, and the issue has been in the public domain over the last decades since it is a public health problem. Besides calls for action by health practitioners, the entry of politicians in the debate on childhood obesity has necessitated actions with regards to programs, policies and research on the link between childhood obesity and the overall health situation of the American population. Similar to adulthood obesity, there is increased health risks associated with childhood obesity. In addition, childhood obesity increases the likelihood of adult obesity. In any case the cost implications of obese related diseases are enormous and prevention of childhood obesity ought to be a top priority among health professionals. For there to be effective intervention strategies, there is a need to measure obesity using consistent definition and criteria. Even though obesity levels decreased between the years 2003 to 2010, approximately 2.5 million American children and adolescents were obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013) Child obesity affects the functioning of the organ system leading to serious complications including insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, dylispidaemia, fatty liver disease and also psychological problems (Han et al., 2010.In addition, research suggests that the atherosclerotic process is more common among obese and overweight children, and these children are also more prone to disorders including metabolic syndrome. Other disorders that may be accompanied with childhood obesity include cardiovascular diseases and pulmonary disorders. Nutrition deficiencies are also associated with child obesity, particularly with regards to the low concentration of vitamin D. In addition, obese children are twice as likely to be iron deficient than their normal weight counterparts (Han et al., 2010). Other complications brought about by childhood obesity are the alteration of the development, this mainly are the changes in the onset of menarche and thelarche, the development of boys during puberty and undesirable development of the bone structure for both boys and girls. The association between skeletal development and adipose tissue is also associated with child obesity, whereby androgens may be altered to mimic estrogen. Another mechanism through which obesity affects the timing of puberty is through signaling brought about by leptin and insulin which then affects the reproductive mechanism. The occurrence of orthopedic discomforts including impaired mobility, fractures and other complications affecting the musculo skeletal system affect obese children more than others (Han et al., 2010). The American Obesity Association states that, childhood obesity in the US has tripled in the last three decades to the extent that approximately more than a third of the children and adolescents are now obese or overweight as quoted by Sharmila (2008). Equally, there has been an increase in the number of girls between the ages of 10 and 19 with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes medication in this age group has also risen sharply to almost 59% from the year 2001 to the year 2006. The rise in diabetes complications has mostly been associated with teenage girls, to the extent there are more likely to affect girls than boys by a factor of two and half (Sharmila 2008). Similarly, health insurers are concerned over the increased cost burden of obesity related disease and are tackling for urgent actions to avert future crises in this industry. In essence, there are alarming reports that if childhood obesity is not addressed then there is a likelihood of increase of both heart diseases and premature death (Sharmila, 2008). According to the New England Journal of Medicine, by the year 2030, the current generation of children will have 44% obese women the same as 37% of men. Consequently, this generation may have more medical complications related to obesity, including chronic chest pains, heart attacks and premature death before they reach 50 years of age (Sharmila, 2008). However, there is no universally accepted definition of obesity, but the Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most common measure for obesity and overweight. Research suggests that there is a relation between the BMI of children, adolescents and mortality in adult life. In essence, these studies suggest that a high BMI increases the risk of mortality during adult life. Even though, some studies have not shown any relation between BMI and cardiovascular risk, there are noted short effects of increased cardiovascular complications. These complications include threat of atherosclerosis in the early stages adult life, damage of intimamedia thickness, impaired arterial distensibility and weakened endothelial function (Whincup& Deanfield, 2005). There are also other viable methods that are used to distinguish between obesity and normal weight, but all methods measure the percentage of body fat. These other approaches include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), underwater weighing (densitometry) and multi frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (Dehghan et al ., 2005). On the other hand, clinical approaches mostly use BMI or other techniques including, skin thickness and waist circumference. Even though, research methods may be more accurate than these techniques the approaches are nonetheless effective in recognizing risk. BMI may be widely used among adults, but for children the approach may be ineffective, as it does not identify fat free mass or fat. In addition, BMI may also overestimate the obesity levels of more muscular children (Dehghan et al,. 2005). Childhood obesity in the US cannot be underestimated because the current generation of children may become the first to have a shorter life span than there parents because of obesity (Sharmila, 2008). Even though, there is increased awareness the obesity epidemic still persists ,increased cases obesity related diseases has not led to much action from the public. However, tackling childhood obesity may not be easy, as there is a need integrate a public private partnership in order to alter behavior. An agreement by big food giants to limit the advertising of fast foods targeting young children in 2007 was a big step in stemming the tide of obesity (Sharmila, 2008). Nonetheless, more needs to be done by food companies by presenting a consistent message on the need to fight obesity, rather than simply focusing on profits. In the US government agencies have instituted numerous programs aimed that cater for the hearth needs of children. The earliest of these laws is the National School Lunch Act in 1946 that aimed to safeguard the health status of American children while also helping agricultural economy. In essence, this Act allowed children to partake low cost lunches and allocated funds to these programs. Other Acts followed that sought to improve the health status of school children including the Child Nutrition Act in 1977 and other subsequent amendments. However, most of these Acts brought nutrition programs without accompanied education (Lueke, 2011). At the heart of the debate on the increased rate of childhood obesity is the role of energy imbalance. In essence, energy imbalance occurs when energy intake far exceeds the level of energy expenditure, which may be a result of either excess energy intake or less energy expenditure. The reduction of energy intake in the American society is typically a manifestation of sedentary lifestyles where there is less engagement in physical activities among then children, too much time in front of the television and computer. For infants, the presence of excess of fat deposition arises due the change in the protein to energy ratio. Typically, this occurs when the infant’s diet is supplemented with either fat of carbohydrates, even if the protein level does not change (Schwartz & Bhatia, 2012). Some studies suggest that children who took solid foods by the age of three were more likely to be obese. Risk factors and determinants of child obesity The obesity epidemic in America has been accompanied by various risk factors and determinants, the factors tended to be both technological and biological. Historically, the occurrence the process of natural selection and food scarcities has influenced metabolism rates in people through the thrifty gene hypothesis. In America, communities that tend to follow traditional lifestyles that advocate for physical activities have less chances of being obese. Both genetic and non genetic factors interact with the environment to cause child obesity. The change in the adiposity and other biological mechanisms that determine energy balance through leptin alteration are said to determine weight levels. Essentially, leptin and insulin secretion serve as pathways through which there are adiposity signals that facilitate the regulation of energy (Han et al., 2010). There have also been studies that suggest that genetic predisposition plays a role in determining childhood obesity. Nonetheless, the suggestion that genetic susceptibility plays a role in determining the weight levels of children should not be thought of as the main determinate, but should rather be looked into by also taking into account the influence of the behavioral and environmental factors. Thus, one cannot say with certainty than a single factor is responsible for causing weight problems, the interaction of various factors influences weight. Though, there are factors that are responsible for energy imbalance, in including excessive consumption of unhealthy foods. In addition, the home and school environment also influence the eating habits and participation in physical activities. The interaction between genetics and other risk factors are the main determinants of child obesity, but the influence of the home envroment is also associated with weight problems. The parents are normally the first socialization agents that children encounter and they hence have a profound impact on the children’s eating habits. Thus, behavioral monitoring or changes influence the eating patterns, whereby the use of reward systems is likely to have a negative impact on the regulation of food intake. Placing too much concern on what children eat may be detrimental to their health as there is also reduced food intake regulation which then influences obesity. Therefore, parental role in influencing the weight levels cannot be ignored, to the extent that where possible, Americans parents ought to be sensitized on having less authoritarian parenting styles (Thompson, 2010). Even though, the interactions of the level of physical activities, dieting and genetic have been found to have the greatest influence on weight, the influence of sugar intake in the diets cannot be ignored. Sugar consumption has ...