Obesity in Children
Obesity can be described as excess quantities of fat in the human body. The professional way of diagnosing obesity is by using body mass to determine if a child is obese. Body mass index (BMI) also considers the age of a child to determine obesity. It is also determined by referencing the weight of a child against his height. The variation between the weight, height and age is used to determine whether a child is obese or not. In previous years, obesity was a rare issue and thus was seldom discussed. Today, obesity is a leading health concern for children. It is no longer a simple word used to define weight and body fat. It is has become a major health problem for young children and carries the risk of early death. It not only cripples children to the point of incapacitation, but it eliminates the fun and excitement of childhood. Not all children should necessarily be lean, but their well being should be a chief concern to both the children and their parents . Parents can assist their children to avoid obesity by ensuring they eat healthily, work out, and partake in outdoor activities.
As mentioned earlier, obesity used to be a non-issue before but today, it’s a health problem all over the world. The media is giving a lot of attention to obesity. It also has been converted into a topic of discussion in political rallies, and children all over are advocating for solutions to this issue using advertisement posters . It has become the most burning health concern among children universally. For example, in America alone, fifteen percent of children between the age of six and eleven years, and nineteen percent of teenagers aged between twelve and nineteen years, are obese according to American Obesity Association. These numbers are rising by the day as children keep disregarding healthy eating habits and participating less in outdoor activities in favor of video games and other virtual ways of participating in sporting activities.
Obesity comes with a substantial amount of physical disability to the child since it not only affects their physical health but also their ability to be energetic and more dynamic in outdoor activities. Obese children have a high propensity to developing “category two diabetes which, though more frequent in adults, is being diagnosed more often in obese children” . Type Two Diabetes is a staid ailment that arises when the body resists insulin leading to high amounts of blood glucose or blood sugar in the body. Obese children, especially girls, experience early puberty or menstruation due to the effect that excess body fat has on hormone production and hormonal balance in the body.
“Obese children are, in addition, under the threat of higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels or triglycerides”. Elevated levels of LDL cholesterol will coagulate in the arteries exposing these children to more grave cardiovascular and heart problems as they mature. Obesity also increases the odds of developing asthma and further breathing problems since excess body fat strains the lungs, and possibly upsetting their growth. These problems not only affect children in their younger years, but their adverse effects are felt even later in life if they are not adequately dealt with early enough.
Weight problems also affect sleep and rest. “It causes sleep apnea or obstructive sleep apnea which is portrayed by periodical involuntary breathing problems while sleeping, snoring or disrupted sleeping patterns depriving them of enough rest”. This lack of sleep further leads to irritation, drowsiness and/or behavior problems in obese children. Further effects of obesity to children include: orthopedic problems which lead to more impasses that make physical activeness of these children harder and facilitates further weight gain due to inactivity of these children.
Managing obesity is a task that should be assumed by both the parents of overweight children and the children themselves. These children need help to loose weight. This can be accomplished through consulting from an expert who is capable of establishing an effective diet for safe weight loss. This should also go hand in hand with an enjoyable physical activity that is not less than sixty minutes every day. Parents and other family members are advised to participate actively so as to motivate children to engage in physical activities. Parents should also discourage lazing around and control television watching time for children. This is because most obese children may prefer to sit on the couch all day and watch television rather than going outdoors and engaging in recreational activities with other kids.
Conclusively, it is obvious that obesity has developed from a small problem to the most troubling problem affecting children today. It is not about to diminish as long as bad eating habits and intake of unhealthy foods, especially junk food and snacks, will continue amongst the young ones. Children are faced by the challenge of overcoming obesity before it leads to many early deaths. Parents also have a key duty to perform in managing obesity in their children’s lives since dealing with obesity requires encouragement and emotional support. Obesity is not a permanent problem and can be dealt with if all the concerned parties in the society play their part. The struggle against obesity can be worn if we all join in to help the affected people among us without discriminating or condemning them. This will greatly reduce the number of deaths associated with obesity.
References
American Academy of Child and Adolecent Psychiatry. (2011, March 11). Facts of families obesity in children and teens. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from www.aacap. Org: Http//; aacap. Org/cs/roots/facts_for_ families/obesity_in_in children_and_teens
Center of Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, April 01). Obesity rates among all children in the United States. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from www.Edc.gov: Http//:www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_07_08/obesity_child_07_08.htm
Center of Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, April 10). Overweight and obesity basics about childhood obesity. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from www.cdc.gov: Http//:www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basic.html
Ferry, R. (2007, October 26). Obesity in children. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from www.Emedicinehealth.com: Http//: www. Emedicinehealth.com/obesity_in_children/article_em.htm
