Literature Review
Childhood obesity has been on the increase in the past few years making it an international problem. Waters et al. (2011) carried out research to how efficient the current childhood obesity prevention methods were. In their research, they found out that intervention strategies to prevent obesity in children can be effective. However, they suggested that implementation should be effective to scale, ensure equitable outcomes, and sustain the impacts of the program over time. In another research, Anzman, Rollins, and Birch (2010) suggested that the first years of life provide opportunities for preventing childhood obesity. During this period, parents can control most activities of their children. They concluded that parental behaviors and their feeding practices could impact eating and obesity risks of children.
Pocock et al. (2010) synthesized qualitative research regarding how parents perceive strategies for childhood obesity prevention. Their findings show that many parents view that obesity intervention strategies begin when a child is still young. Also, Sussner, Lindsay, Gortmaker, and Kim (2006) suggested that parents have a role in ensuring that their children develop healthy eating habits and participate in physical activities which would ultimately prevent childhood obesity. They concluded that parents are among the major stakeholders in the prevention of obesity in children. These articles show that prevention strategies are more effective when they begin while a child is still young. Also, they show that parents are the major stakeholders for an effective obesity prevention program that would improve the overall health of their children.
Apart from parents, research has also identified that schools can employ appropriate measures to prevent childhood obesity. Katz et al. (2008) carried out research to determine if school-based interventions were effective in preventing childhood obesity. Their findings showed that physical activity and combination nutrition strategies were among the most effective methods in an effort to prevent childhood obesity in school settings. The findings are mirrored in Foster et al. (2008). They found out that a nutrition policy initiative in schools is an efficient method for preventing obesity in children. The policy included parent outreach, school self-assessment, nutrition education, and social marketing. Still on school-based interventions, Veugelers and Fitzgerald (2005) wanted to find out how efficient these school programs were in their efforts to prevent obesity in children. The finding was that students who participated in the programs exhibited lower overweight and obesity rates. These research findings suggest that schools also have a role to play in preventing obesity in children.
Knowledge about the risks associated with childhood obesity is important for an effective intervention strategy. Franks et al. (2010) claimed that people poorly understand the consequences of childhood obesity in adulthood. They further concluded that obesity was among the risks in childhood strongly linked with increased premature death rates. Further, Pulgarón (2013) carried out research to highlight recent studies on the effects of obesity in children. His findings were that the major risks associated with childhood obesity were sleep problems, memory problems, and metabolic risk factors. Also, Lloyd, Langley-Evans, and McMullen (2012) specifically paid attention to investigating the link between obesity in children and risk of adults having metabolic diseases. Their findings were that childhood obesity was among the factors may cause metabolic diseases in adulthood, though it was not independent. These research shows that childhood obesity possesses various health risks hence the need to implement appropriate programs to prevent the condition.
Action Item Checklist
References
Anzman, S. L., Rollins, B. Y., & Birch, L. L. (2010). Parental influence on children's early eating environments and obesity risk: implications for prevention. International Journal of Obesity, 34(7), 1116-1124.
Foster, G. D., Sherman, S., Borradaile, K. E., Grundy, K. M., Vander Veur, S. S., Nachmani, J., & Shults, J. (2008). A policy-based school intervention to prevent overweight and obesity. Pediatrics, 121(4), e794-e802.
Franks, P. W., Hanson, R. L., Knowler, W. C., Sievers, M. L., Bennett, P. H., & Looker, H. C. (2010). Childhood obesity, other cardiovascular risk factors, and premature death. New England Journal of Medicine, 362(6), 485-493.
Katz, D. L., O'connell, M., Njike, V. Y., Yeh, M. C., & Nawaz, H. (2008). Strategies for the prevention and control of obesity in the school setting: systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of obesity, 32(12), 1780-1789.
Lloyd, L. J., Langley-Evans, S. C., & McMullen, S. (2012). Childhood obesity and risk of the adult metabolic syndrome: a systematic review. International journal of obesity, 36(1), 1-11.
Pulgarón, E. R. (2013). Childhood obesity: a review of increased risk for physical and psychological comorbidities. Clinical Therapeutics, 35(1), A18-A32.
Pocock, M., Trivedi, D., Wills, W., Bunn, F., & Magnusson, J. (2010). Parental perceptions regarding healthy behaviors for preventing overweight and obesity in young children: a systematic review of qualitative studies. Obesity Reviews, 11(5), 338-353.
Sussner, K. M., Lindsay, A. C., Gortmaker, S. L., & Kim, J. (2006). The role of parents in preventing childhood obesity. The Future of children, 16(1), 169-186.
Veugelers, P. J., & Fitzgerald, A. L. (2005). The effectiveness of school programs in preventing childhood obesity: a multilevel comparison. American Journal of Public Health, 95(3), 432-435.
Waters, E., de Silva-Sanigorski, A., Hall, B. J., Brown, T., Campbell, K. J., Gao, Y., & Summerbell, C. D. (2011). Interventions for preventing obesity in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 12(00).
