Childhood Obesity Presents A Risk To Health

CHILDHOOD OBESITY Name: Institution: Course; Date: Childhood Obesity Introduction According to WHO, obesity is the abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. The fat accumulation is usually 20% more than their ideal weight. The most common standard for determining obesity and overweight conditions is the use of Body Mass Index (BMI) which is calculated by dividing one’s weight by the square of his/her height in meters. Many children around the world have suffered from this condition which hurts their health. Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that childhood obesity has doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. In the United States, one-third of all children are obese or overweight, and they are likely to be obese or overweight as adults which increases their likelihood of developing heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndromes and many other types of cancer. Additionally, CITATION Div18 \l 1033 (Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2018) notes that the children are often traumatized psychologically because they are ‘more likely to be bullied than their normal-weight peers and more likely to suffer social isolation, depression, and isolation.’ This worrying trend threatens the future of the victims and has a great ripple effect on the society as it struggles to grapple with the issue. It has to channel more funds to the treatment of the diseases that often come with obesity whilst attempting to prevent the continuation of the trend. Obesity is a manageable condition which is mainly caused by poor nutritional intake in children and it leads to adverse short and long terms effects. Causes The common causes of childhood obesity are genetic factors, lack or little physical activity, unhealthy eating habits and in rare cases hormonal problems. Often, it is a combination of two or more of these factors. The genetic factor is common in some families, and the children in these families have a higher risk of suffering from the condition. Cushing’s Syndrome and hyperthyroidism have been linked to obesity. Cushing syndrome condition in which the body contains excess amounts of cortisol which associated with accumulation of visceral fat. CITATION San16 \l 1033 (Sanyal & Raychaudhuri, 2016) observe that ‘mild hyperthyrotropinemia could well be secondary to obesity, so thyroid autoantibody status may help in establishing a diagnosis of subclinical hypothyroidism in obesity.’ The hormonal problem can be addressed by hormonal therapy. Unhealthy nutritional intake coupled with little or no the physical activity is the leading cause of overweight and obese issues. High energy foods if unused are converted into fat and stored in the body. Therefore, taking high energy foods typically carbohydrates and doing little or no physical activity is likely to lead to overweight and obesity. Children lately do not do physical activity as they spend much of their time watching TVs and playing video games which have resulted in increased prevalence of overweight or obesity issues. Social policies also play a key role in increasing or reducing obesity. In Nauru and other Pacific islands, obesity is at an all-time high due to poor social policies on food. Policies on how what and when children should eat while in schools, presence or sidewalks and bike paths, advertisements on candy and fast foods targeting children, physical education as part of curriculum among others. Family practices and eating patterns also play an important role in shaping a child’s behavior, prevalence and eating patterns. In developing countries, school going children are often fed unbalanced diet mainly carbohydrates which adds to their obesity woes. Most governments around the world have not prioritized obesity as a pressing health problem and devised mechanisms to reduce it and possibly create the necessary awareness of the problem and ways to prevent and control the condition. The Obesity Health Alliance in the United Kingdom has instituted various policies such as banning vending machines in schools, avoid running ads on unhealthy foods before 9.00 p.m. and banning sports sponsorship by manufacturers of unhealthy foods. Such measures go a long way into protecting children and families from being targeted by companies who manufacture unhealthy foods. Effects Childhood obesity has short and long-term effects. One of the short-term health effects is the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as blood pressure and high cholesterol. As the boy mass increases, the heart is tasked to pump blood to longer distances and coupled with thickening and hardening of the arteries due to cholesterol deposit. These conditions increasingly affect the performance of the heart and adversely affect its optimal functioning. Obese and overweight children are often bullied by their peers, and it affects their self-esteem. CITATION Mai16 \l 1033 (Maidenberg, 2016) Observes that obese children often resort to social isolation and might suffer depression. Obese children are also at a higher risk of having one development and joint problems due to their weight and probably poor nutritional value diet. Obese children are likely to be obese as adults. To change your diet and adopt a healthy lifestyle is a psychological challenge that very few people overcome and therefore obese...