Childhood Obesity Health Education Program

Childhood Obesity Health Education Program
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Introduction
Childhood obesity has become a widespread problem that requires undivided attention. Many parents, policy makers, as well as public health officials, have a similar concern regarding the rate by which childhood obesity increases. In most countries around the globe, several factors are believed to contribute to the childhood obesity. These factors may be social, behavioral, or those related to environmental risks (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012). There is fear that if the rate in which childhood obesity spreads is not reversed, it will also suffer from several health complications whereas the society will encounter the rising costs of health care. Thus, implementation of the right health programs is commendable for the community affected. In a place like Lawton Oklahoma, in the United States, several factors are likely to hinder the implementation of childhood obesity health education program.
Oklahoma is a place that has experiences of inadequate access to primary care, which clearly explains the history of the increased cases of childhood obesity in the area. Lawton area may pose some challenges that would hinder the implementation of childhood obesity health education program. The people of Lawton are poverty stricken and try to maximize every opportunity they get to earn daily income (Kumar, 2012). Thus, finding time to attend the workshops of health education program may be quite challenging, as only a few might turn up in different sessions. In addition, they may fail to practice the necessary measures such as activities that would balance the energy because of their busy lifestyle. Some people in the area may have the primitive idea that being a heavy weight is a sign of good health rather than a problem. Their inadequate education may cause them to ignore the program thinking that it’s a waste of time since they are not willing to change their routine. Moreover, the lack of adequate education may also contribute to their lack of understanding the lessons taught in the workshops. Lawton has also registered infrastructure problems that may hinder the implementation of the health education program to the residents, as health care facilities are limited. This means that accessing the community with health care consultations is quite challenging. Continuous lack of adequate nutrition will hinder the implementation as some foods like fruits and vegetables are not easily available in the area (Nasreddine, Zeidan, Naja & Hwalla, 2012). Therefore, it would be really important that these factors be considered in the childhood obesity education health program planning phase, so that a sufficient strategy can be formed.
During the implementation of the childhood obesity health education program, school based approaches are helpful especially when targeting the school aged children around the age of six to seventeen years. However, some cultural responses may hinder the implementation through school based approach (Koukourikos, Lavdaniti & Avramika, 2013). Since the school based approach may include dietary interventions as well as physical activities, some ethnic groups may fail to eat some meals that could be prohibited in their cultures, while others may avoid some physi...