Literature Review: Childhood Obesity
Literature Review: Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity has become a global scourge and an uphill task for many parents to handle. Obesity is a condition that is characterized by an increase in body weight caused by excessive intake of fats. Parents are the main determinants if their children will become obese or not. Therefore, educating parents on how to tackle childhood obesity by providing healthy lifestyle choices to them is the main way of preventing obesity in children. Childhood obesity is preventable.
This review will discuss ways to educate parents on how to tackle childhood obesity. Obesity is considered to be a global epidemic affecting most children in the 21st century. Researchers have identified a number of ways parents can use to tackle the obesity scourge in their children. The effects of obesity in children have a huge impact ranging from low self-esteem, to an increase in cardio-vascular diseases. According to Leann (2011), the most effective way parents can use to tackle the obesity scourge in their children is prevention. It involves addressing the main factors that cause obesity and overweight, which involves diet and physical inactivity, and what can be done to cure obesity in children who already have it. Parents can work together with their children in preventing obesity, and use prevention to abolish the obesity epidemic.
According to Gable and Lutz, parents are the cause of obesity in their children, and they are the people who can prevent it (2000). A further study indicates that, children living with obesity are getting it from the foods they are served from their homes (Gable and Lutz, 2000). Parents are fond of feeding their children on junk food, instead of a balanced diet, and they can prevent obesity in their children by feeding them a balanced diet. Prevention is the best cure for obesity, and parents are to be educated on how to prevent their children from becoming obese. Childhood obesity is an epidemic that can be addressed from home by parents by preventing their children from becoming obese. This can be done by feeding them on the right food stuffs.
Research has shown that, children with obesity feed on foods with an increase in fats (Mille, Rosenbloom, and Silverstein, 2004). Many school-going children make the wrong choices of food with large fat content. Parents together with teachers can collaborate in educating their children on the right choices of food to take while in school and away from home. Moreover, parents can insist on the closing of canteens in school compounds that sell junk food to children while at break or during lunchtime hours. School cafeteria’s or canteen serves junk food full of fats.
Another way parents can use to tackle childhood obesity is encouraging physical activities for their children. When children fail to get enough exercise, they are prone to obesity. Parents should put a lot of emphasis on physical activities both at school and at home for the safety of their children from obesity. Li and Hooker state that, physical activities decrease the risk of children becoming obese (2010). Obesity is caused by a lot of calories in the body, and physical activities are the main way to burn the calories. Parents should make sure that their children exercise on a regular basis in addition to eating a balanced diet (Koplan, Liverman, and Kraak, 2005). In addition, they should limit watching television and playing video and computer games, and encourage more of bike riding, jumping ropes, and skating. When parents encourage their children to exercise, this will help prevent them from becoming overweight and obese.
A study done by Crow and Golan (2004) showed that, through seminars, parents will be able to learn the best ways to prevent their children from obesity. Parents will be educated on the best ways to handle this epidemic and they will be able to teach their children on eating a balanced diet. Parents can be educated through seminars and community based programs on how to tackle childhood obesity. Through these seminars, parents will be fully equipped on ways to reduce childhood obesity prevalence. Moreover, they will learn about feeding their children on healthy foods and the types of exercises, their children need to do on a daily basis (Lindsay, Sussner, Kim, and Gortmaker, 2006). Besides, through seminars, parents will be able to learn on how to evaluate their children’s growth on a regular basis and this will help them to monitor any abnormal weight in their children. Parents should be taught the nutritional knowledge and this will help them control the food made available at home and provide a balanced diet for their children.
Childhood obesity can be prevented prior to conception. This is possible through educating parents on the risks of obesity in the family. Future parents can be taught on ways to prevent obesity in their children, for instance by breastfeeding them for at least five-six months (Pruitt, 1998). Furthermore, they can be taught to teach their children to eat less food and avoid foods that are rich in fats as they grow up. This is one of the best ways of preventing childhood obesity as children will grow up knowing which kind of food is good for their health. In addition, as children grow up, they can be taught that exercising on a regular basis, for instance paying outside with their friends is the best thing to do other that sitting and watching the television or playing video and computer games.
Parents should focus on a more active healthy lifestyle for their children. In addition, parents should enhance their parenting skills and develop an authoritative approach in shaping their children’s eating habits, and regular exercises in order to prevent obesity in their children. As they have been depicted to be the main cause of obesity in their children, parents should try their best to prevent obesity in their children, and reduce overweight in the children who already have obesity. According to Brown and Ogden (2004), children’s food preferences resemble those of their parents; therefore, parents should also become role models for their children by eating healthily.
In conclusion, childhood obesity is a global epidemic. According to many studies done on this topic, it is evident that parents are the main cause of obesity in their children. According to the literature review above, parents can stop their children from becoming obese by giving them the right food with a balanced diet, in addition to encouraging them to exercise on a daily basis through physical activities. The best cure for obesity is prevention, since when it is prevented, the problem will not exist. Parents can use the knowledge they acquire from community organized seminars on how to tackle the obesity scourge and save their children from this worldwide epidemic. Parents determine whether their children become obese or not depending on the food they give them. Therefore, it is vital for parents to work out on the best ways to prevent their children from the obesity scourge, and this is by prevention, and encouraging, regular exercises. In addition, parents are supposed to focus on taking good care of their children by watching their diet, unless they are comfortable with them becoming obese. Obesity is preventable, and it starts with parents as it extends to the community.
References
Miller, J. Rosenbloom, A. and Silverstein, J. (2004). "Childhood obesity". J. Clinic. Endocrinol Metab. 89 (9): 4211–8.
Lindsay, A. C., Sussner, K. M., Kim, J. and Gortmaker, S. (2006). The Role of Parents in Preventing Childhood Obesity. Future of Children, 16(1), 169-186.
Leann, B. L. (2011). Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/alltitles/docDetail.action?docID=10520724&p00=childhood obesity risk facto
Li, J. and Hooker, N. H. (2010). Childhood Obesity and Schools: Evidence from the National Survey of Children's Health. Journal of School Health, 80(2), 96-103. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier.
Pruitt, D. (1998). Your Child. New York: Harper and Collins.
Brown, R. and Ogden, J. (2004). Children’s eating attitudes and behavior: a study of the modeling and control theories of parental influence. Health Education Research, 19(3) pg 261-271.
Crow, S. and Golan, M. (2004). Targeting Parents Exclusively in the Treatment of Childhood Obesity: Long-Term Results. Obesity Research, 12(1) pg 357-361.
Gable, S. and Lutz, S. (2000). Household, Parent, and Child Contributions to Childhood Obesity. Family Relations, 49(3): 293-300.
Koplan, J.P., Liverman, C.T. and Kraak, V.I. (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity: health in the balance. Washington, DC: The National Academic Press.
