Obesity occurs when an individual accumulates excess fat in the body. This affects their health negatively. The BMI is used to measure the shape of the body based on a person’s weight relative to their height. It is used to categorize the body as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. A BMI of between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 and above is considered obese. A child is considered obese when his weight is above normal for his age and height. This condition makes them susceptible to a spectrum of adverse health effects such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol. Childhood obesity is a serious global health problem. Its prevalence has increased alarmingly, particularly in urban settings.
In the United States of America, about 17% of children and adolescents of age between 2 and 19 years are obese. The occurrence of obesity has generally increased by almost three folds since 1980. Obesity is more likely to occur among young children who hail from low-income families than those from high income families. Different racial and ethnic backgrounds show some variations in the prevalence of obesity in the US. For instance, young Hispanic boys have a high likelihood of being obese than non-Hispanic white boys. Moreover, non-Hispanic black girls are more susceptible to obesity than non-Hispanic white girls.
An imbalance between energy input and energy output, resulting also leads to obesity. Energy input is the total amount of energy acquired from the food and fluids consumed by the body, while energy output is the amount of energy consumed by the body to maintain its normal activity. A positive energy imbalance, therefore, means that the amount of energy consumed is more than the amount of energy used by the body-for its maintenance and physical activity. A positive energy balance of 10 calories per day will produce a weight gain of one kilogram over a period of one year. This is usually highly small and not noticeable.
Genetic factors have been shown to cause obesity. Genes may determine the likelihood of obesity to develop. This can be explained in two ways: one is the likelihood to overeat despite meeting the normal daily energy requirements of the body, and two is having a normal drive to eat regardless of low energy requirements. These two characteristics can be explained by the fact that there are genetically programmed pathways that influence appetite and the drive to eat. Genetic defects can cause syndromic obesity, which manifests in patients with Trisomy 21, Barder-Biedl syndrome and Prader Willi syndrome.
Environmental factors can also contribute to obesity. Sedentary lifestyle among most children is a major cause of obesity. These kinds of children are popularly referred to as ‘couch potatoes’. This is because these children spend so much time on the couch either watching television or playing video games and extremely little time on physical activities. The body accumulates more energy, that is converted into fat, since extremely little or non-of it is used on physical activities such as running, playing in the field and cycling. Watching of television has also been linked to high food consumption. TVs are full of fast food advertisements that mainly target young children. A lot of weight is gained by these children because they consume these high energy fast foods and use extremely little of this energy.
The high increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity has been associated to the increased consumption of fast foods by the young generation. Fast foods have a high content of macronutrients and high density of energy. Take for instance, a fast food meal that contains a total of 2200 calories. If the body uses the calories at a rate of 85-100 calories per hour, then it might require a full marathon to use all the energy. Beverages that are sugar sweetened also contain empty calories that add to the total Caloric intake.
Most children prefer the use of motor transport to walking or cycling. Parents drive their children to and from school to ensure their safety. Other kids own and ride motor cars instead of cycling. All these factors contribute to a sedentary lifestyle and facilitate the accumulation of energy hence obesity. The number of parents, especially single mothers, who work outside homes, has risen. Most of these parents serve their children with fast foods because they lack sufficient time to prepare a home cooked meal. It is also worthy to note that children learn from their parents, and those whose parents consume a lot of fast foods are more likely to do the same. Increased consumption of fast foods enhances positive energy imbalance causing obesity.
Smoking during pregnancy can also contribute to childhood obesity. Women who smoke during their pregnancy are more likely to give birth to underweight children. Obesity that results in such cases has been linked to the catch up growth during the first year of life of the child.
Obese children are at a high risk of developing health problems such as type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. They are more likely to carry these conditions into their adulthood. Diabetes is a condition where the body cannot utilize glucose from the food consumed. Type 2 diabetes results from the resistance to insulin, a hormone that facilitates the uptake of glucose into cells. The resistance also causes abnormal breakdown of fat. Since glucose cannot get into cells, its amount in blood higher than normal (hyperglycemia). Obesity increases the risk to develop cancers such as breast cancer, colonic cancer and cancer of the kidney. An obese person is also at a high risk of developing chronic kidney disease. Many diabetic patients present with diabetic nephropathy. Almost all obese patients are diabetic. Therefore, obesity increases the risk of kidney failure. Obesity can also affect the pulmonary system. Approximately 7% of obese children present with obstructive sleep apnea. Other studies have linked asthma in children to obesity. Many obese children are always ridiculed and judged because of the size of their bodies. As a result, they develop low self-esteem, withdrawal syndrome and depression.
The fight against obesity will involve the parents, society and the government. Parents have the role of setting a positive example to their children. They can achieve this by adopting a healthy dietary pattern and eating habits. As mentioned earlier, children are more likely to copy the eating patterns of their parents. Parents should consume more nutrient-rich foods with low energy densities. These include foods like fruits, green vegetables and low fat dairy. These ensure low energy intake high quality diet. Parents can also involve their children in physical activities such as cycling or running. Physical activity uses most of the energy consumed by the body to create zero or negative energy balance. Positive family behavior such as having a meal together as a family may help to monitor the eating habits of a child and control what is consumed by the child. Young children can be educated by their parents to make healthy choices regarding the types of food they buy and consume, hence healthy living habits. Parents should also monitor the Body Mass Index of their children to know it they are underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.
Most consumers of fast foods defend their diet choice by claiming that they are much more affordable than the healthier diets. It is the responsibility of the government to make the healthier foods more affordable to every citizen regardless of their financial status. This can be achieved by implementing policies such as subsidies and tax to influence food prices. If the tax on fast foods is raised, it will make them more costly and extremely few people will be able to afford them. Their consumption will reduce and this will help to control the increase in childhood obesity. Subsidies on nutrient rich foods will make them more affordable, encouraging many people to buy and consume them. Food providers also need to provide quality information on the foods they produce. These may include the Caloric content, nutritive content and other health benefits. The government can also ban the marketing of fast foods that are unhealthy to children.
Childhood obesity is a global health problem. It has negative health effects on children since it exposes them to conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, kidney failure and mental health problems. Parents need to adopt lifestyles that will help their children make healthy choices in terms of diet and physical fitness. The government needs to make policies that will make healthy foods more affordable and control the consumption of fast foods.
Works Cited
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