Brittani Scott
Obesity refers the condition of an individual who has excess body fat, reflecting serious health risks associated with it (O’Dea & Eriksen, 2010). This health condition is not new to the public. In fact, there are many communities around the world where one would find many obese people getting out of their air-conditioned cars, or sitting on their nice and soft couches in the office, or taking the elevators, or eating large amounts of food in a fast-food restaurant. Besides, it is no wonder why many gyms are established in our cities, and many physical trainers are being called up for help. Obesity is simply something many find difficult to deal with. However, this reality is not merely for adult individuals. Obesity, along with its adverse effects on the physical health of an individual, also manifests itself among today’s children and youth. The World Health Organization asserts, “Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st Century” (World Health Organization, n.d.). The reason for this is that obesity does not only degrade the outward physical appearance of people, but it goes deep within the bodies of a person. It has serious health risks. Worse than this, obese children are more likely to stay in that condition until their adult years. This implies that childhood obesity is a serious matter and should be addressed accordingly. This paper will include relevant considerations, supported by research studies, pertaining to this health issue. Its objective is to indicate what makes obesity a serious health condition for individuals – particularly the children. This will include considerations of other aspects of society associated with obesity - such as ethical, cultural, and environmental considerations. Also, the purpose of this paper is to bestow the knowledge on [professional] clinical practices for obesity preventions upon both students and practitioners. Such knowledge on this issue is definitely necessary for practical applications in the real life – which results in what is good and beneficial for every society.
One of the considerations established by research studies pertaining to childhood obesity has to do with carbonated drinks. A controlled trial was conducted with 644 children aging 7-11 years old. It is asserted that energy imbalance is one reason for excessive weight gain (James, Thomas, Cavan, & Kerr, 2004). Carbonated drinks are energy dense, since they contain a high glycemic index. Children who regularly consume carbonated drinks gain 10% more energy than non-consumers (2004). Since more people in urban societies consume such drinks than those who do not, this becomes a good treatment measure. The controlled trial concluded that the targeted, school-based education program was able to produce a significant reduction in the consumption of carbonated drinks, which “was associated with a reduced number of overweight and obese children” (2004, p. 1).
Literature also discusses the relationship of breast-feeding to obesity. Arenz, Ruckerl, Koletzko, and Kries (2004) conducted a systematic review, wherein nine studies with more than 69,000 participants were used for the analysis. It is necessary for such meta-analysis to have randomized, controlled trials for breast-feeding on an individual level (Arenz, Ruckerl, Koletzko, & Kries, 2004). However, since it didn’t seem ethical for them to [directly] intervene with nursing mothers individually, interventions were performed in hospital level and through cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies (2004). The result of this meta-analysis shows that “breast-feeding is associated with small yet consistent protective effect against obesity risk in later childhood” (2004, p. 1254). As for the entire review, the researchers concluded that breast-feeding significantly reduced the risk of obesity (Arenz, Ruckerl, Koletzko, & Kries, 2004).
Another research study conducted to discuss this issue has to do with a child’s physical activity. In the introductory paragraph, it is said that the prevalence of overweight and obesity are already at epidemic levels, particularly in developed and developing countries (Tremblay & Willms, 2003). For instance, the percentage of obesity among Canadian children was tripled from 1981 to 1996. One study suggests that excessive television watching and video game playing were identified as “a stimulus for excessive eating and sedentary behavior” (Tremblay & Willms, 2003, p. 1100). In asking parents about their children’s activity, certain data were required, such as: how often the child has taken part in organized/unorganized sports in school; how often the child was involved in non-sport activities (i.e. music, dance, art); how often the child has taken part in clubs and community organizations like Scout programs; and how often the child played computer or video games. The analyses also included a measure of socioeconomic status (SES), which comprises the parent’s educational attainment, the parent’s occupation, and the family income (2003). Some of the data indicated that watching TV either less than 2 hours a day or more than 3 days a day has strong relation to family background. On the other hand, playing video games and watching TV between 2 to 3 hours a day are weakly associated with family background. Thus, SES, family structure, child activity and inactivity are ‘overlapping’ factors (2003). Nevertheless, the result at the end of the study clearly shows something. Just between 1986 and 1996, the number of households with home computers tripled, while the number of households with two or more color TVs was more than doubled. Indeed, the physical and social environment of the children in the later generation widely differs from the previous ones, and “is conducive to a reduction in energy expenditure” (2003, p. 1104).
Another research (Dehghan, Danesh & Merchant, 2005) discusses the causes and the preventive ways pertaining to this issue on obesity. Certain behavioral and social factors were taken into consideration. For instance, the food ‘lifestyle’ of people changed drastically over the decades. As the authors asserted, “The concept of ‘food’ has changed from a means of nourishment to a marker of lifestyle and source of pleasure” (Dehghan, Danesh, & Merchant, 2005, p. 3). No matter how people increase physical activity, it is still not likely to counteract an energy rich, poorly nutritive diet, which people easily afford in fast food restaurants and supermarkets (2005). The study suggests that weight loss in adult years is difficult, and since there are a more ways of interventions for children, “it would be more sensible to initiate prevention and treatment of obesity during childhood” (2005, p. 4). Some preventive measures will be discussed more in the succeeding discussion.
Considering the studies mentioned above, prevention and treatment for obesity is indeed possible. For the first consideration, which pertains to breast-feeding for infants, hospitals and home members should be well-advised to adopt the practice of breast-feeding. This clearly shows that human society has drastically changed today. Historically, when there is still no such thing as advertisements for processed cow’s milk, breast-feeding is a natural human practice for mothers at home. In contrast, women today seem to be more work-oriented that they find breast-feeding to be difficult. In relation to this, mothers should be given care and guidance in caring for their infants. First, there should be an adequate supply of good prenatal nutrition and health care (Deckelbaum & Williams, 2001) for every mother. This ensures that the mother’s milk is healthy and without defect, letting the child receive proper nutrition. Information about the goodness in breast-feeding and good health care advice should be given to people. Another solution regards having physical activity. This should be well-addressed in school curriculums and in every home. To some extent, it would be advisable to establish built-in environments, which include walking and cycling networks, open spaces/parks, and other public recreation facilities. It would even be good to provide sports activities to children, such as public sports clinics and leagues. Furthermore, the problem of obesity is related to food. Along with the efforts of the government authorities, this would require health care specialists to be involved. Since fast-food and other low-nutritional foods are mostly the ones with lower prices, an additional tax should be imposed upon them. It would be reasonable to do so since these things bring harm to people in terms of obesity. In fact, advertisements about these kinds of food should be either fully prohibited or limited. Another solution could be additional labeling of foods in order for people to distinguish nutritional and healthy food from those that are not. By this, one will know the health benefits and risks of a specific food. For instance, it is good to know that the intake of hydrogenated fats found in bakery products and fast foods increases the risk for both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, while unsaturated fats from vegetables and marine food decrease that risk (Ebbeling, Pawlak, & Ludwig, 2002). Health care specialists should be careful to label every product people purchase in the market and restaurants.
The comprehensive research studies above reviewed the causes of obesity and its effects upon an individual. These accounts could bring harm to certain sectors of society, such as the food industry and the entertainment industry. Nevertheless, these studies are necessary for the good of everyone. The dietary and physical behavior of children are influenced by various sectors of society, including families, government agencies, medical care providers, the media, and the fast-food industries (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Nevertheless, since healthy lifestyle habits, such as healthy eating and physical activity, can prevent obesity in an individual (both child and adult), health care advisors and providers should be careful to encourage people to adopt the healthy way of living, instead of being an advocate of less nutritional products (i.e. fast food or processed foods) and practices (i.e. formulated cow’s milk instead of mother’s milk). Eating less nutritional food and not having exercises could be easy and more convenient, as in the case of eating fast food in front of a television, but they only bring people painful and adverse consequences. Healthy conditions always require healthy lifestyle.
References
Arenz, S., Ruckerl, R., Koletzko, B. & Kries, R. (2004). Breast-feeding and childhood obesity – A systematic review. International Journal of Obesity, 28, 1247-1256.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). Childhood obesity facts. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm
Deckelbaum, R. & Williams, C. (2001). Childhood obesity: The health issue. Obesity Research, 9, 239S-243S.
Dehghan, M., Danesh, N. & Merchant, A. (2005). Childhood obesity, prevalence and prevention. Nutritional Journal, 4(24). Retrieved from http://www.nutritionj.com/content/pdf/1475- 2891-4-24.pdf
Ebbeling, C., Pawlak, D. & Ludwig, D. (2002). Childhood obesity: Public-health crisis, common sense cure. The Lancet, 360, 473-482.
James, J., Thomas, P., Cavan, D. & Kerr, D. (2004). Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks: Cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 328. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38077.458438.EE
O’Dea, J. & Eriksen, M. (2010). Childhood obesity prevention: International research, controversies, and interventions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tremblay, M. & Willms, J. (2003). Is the Canadian childhood obesity epidemic related to physical inactivity? International Journal of Obesity, 27, 1100-1105.
World Health Organization (n.d.). Childhood overweight and obesity. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/
