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Dilemma on Childhood Obesity1

Manola Falaniko
English 1010
Professor Celestino
Dilemma on Childhood Obesity
Obesity in children is a big problem around the world. Fast food, lack of exercise, or even
simply eating in your own home. Children today would rather watch or play games inside rather
than release endorphins while running and playing outside. Children back then relied on their
imagination, while children today rely on technology. From 2008 to 2015, childhood increased
triple the amount it did back then growing at a percentage of 2.5.
Childhood obesity didnt come around until the late 80s. Browlyn McHugh writes that
in Australia, a quarter of the children are obese. Obesity at any age may have a result due to
their society, environment, economics, and culture or lifestyle. (4, 3) Before they reach the age
of five, 40 million of the worlds children will have become obese. If this is the case then why
arent we doing anything about it to prevent this from happening? Children need exercise
because they have so much endorphins inside their body that they need to release through
exercise also known as playing outside.
Obesity can lead to so many different types of life threating diseases. Diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, cancer, and joint or arthritic conditions. Obesity also makes children feel
anxiety, depression, poor self-image, less happiness, have less time to living life(1,3) childhood
obesity can also lead to breathing difficulties, apnoea, hypertension and insulin resistance, fatty

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liver, high blood fats, low self-esteem, and behavioral problem, that obesity also considers age,
culture and individual indent to the mix. Stating that children only learn from what they are
taught but their responsible adult figure. So if the adult doesnt eat healthy, never works out, the
child might think thats normal and just accept that this is what adults do and so I should do it to.
(2, 5)
Krushnapriya Sahoo writes childhood obesity reached epidemic levels in the United
States as well as other countries, can have physical and psychological health issues. Childhood
obesity is believed to be known as a disorder with multiply causes. (1,2) Obese children have an
increase in calorie and fat intake, also sugar intake from soft drinks. The growing issue of
childhood obesity can be slowed, if society focuses on the causes. There are many components
that play into childhood obesity, some being more crucial than others. (4,3)
A combined diet and physical activity intervention conducted in the community with a
school component is more effective at preventing obesity or overweight. Moreover, if parents
enforce healthier lifestyle at home, many obesity problems could be avoided. What children
learn at home about eating healthy, exercising and making the right nutritional choices will
eventually spill over into other aspects of their life. This will have the biggest influence on the
choices kids make when selecting foods to consume at school and fastfood restaurants and
choosing to be active. Focusing on these causes may, over time, decrease childhood obesity and
lead to a healthier society as a whole.
The author John Reilly writes that Obesity has recently become very common in children
and adolescents and its prevalence is still increasing rapidly. (1,2) Childhood obesity does
matter in the short-term (for the obese child) and the long-term (for the adult who was obese as a
child). In childhood and adolescence the most common complications of obesity are increased

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risk of: orthopedic problems (particularly in the foot and hip); asthma symptoms and
psychosocial morbidity (largely the result of teasing and stigmatization, particularly in
adolescents and in girls). Childhood obesity will continue to rise at an increasing rate in the
future. We also know that it will bring a number of medical and other health problems that cause
children to be overweight. Tackling the epidemic of pediatric obesity will require greater
understanding of the problem among the public and health/other professionals, and greater
research funding directed at developing effective preventive interventions. (5,4)
The authors of this article writes that obesity in children is increasing in prevalence and
now affects 10% of 6 year olds in the UK. Recent research has focused on nutritional causes that
may begin in utero.(2,3) Future prevention strategies may be directed towards optimal nutrition
in pregnancy. Previous recommendations that small for gestational age infants receive abundant
nutrition in the postnatal period to provide catch-up growth may need to be revised in light of
recent research showing the potential risks of such strategies. Finally, dietary changes in
childhood, focusing on increasing consumption of LGI foods, as well as increasing physical
activity levels, may provide another way of tackling the growing problem of childhood obesity.
(6,3)
This article has two authors who write that the onset of psychiatric symptoms and
disorders is relatively common in childhood, occurring among youths across the weight spectru.
(1,1) Childhood obesity is marked by signify cant psychiatric comorbidity. Available data
suggest that obesity is related to numerous disorders and symptoms in youths, most notably LOC
eating, depression, and ADHD.(3,3) It is not clear whether psychiatric comorbidity is a cause or
consequence of obesity, or whether common factors promote the expression of both obesity and
psychiatric disturbance in susceptible children. Current research suggests that aberrant eating

Dilemma on Childhood Obesity4

may characterize a particular obese phenotype, particularly in girls, and partially explain the
overlap between psychiatric disturbances and obesity. Hypothesis-driven longitudinal studies of
children of diverse backgrounds may help youths who are at risk for adverse health outcomes.
Targeting intervention efforts may improve both the physical and mental health of children and
prevent t Examines the effects of childhood or adolescent onset obesity on adult morbidity and
mortality. Mechanisms by which childhood and adolescent obesity cause adult diseases;
Indication that psychosocial consequences represent a second major source of adult morbidity
related to obesity in children and adolescents; Identification of the risk factors for adult disease
that are associated with obesity in children and adolescents. He persistence of health problems
into adulthood.
Noori Danesh writing indicates that parents have varying foci on causation of obesity, and differ
in focus on nutrition and physical activity. Most of the parents in this study were aware of
healthy nutrition, and about one third of them believed in the benefits of physical activity for
children and did not see being overweight or obese as a barrier to physical activity.(3,5) The
first group was confident in being able to deliver healthy nutrition to their family, and the second
group was characterized by a focus on physical activity and its role in childhood obesity. Both
groups agreed that exercising and sports are very important to a childs health status.(4,2) The
findings from this study indicated that most of the parents were aware of healthy nutrition and
benefits of physical activity for their children and did not see being overweight or obese as a
barrier for physical activity.
Most of them were quite confident in their ability to deliver healthy nutrition to their
children. Although it is important to further educate parents regarding childhood

Dilemma on Childhood Obesity5

obesity and its health consequences, there is urgent need for multicomponent commercial and
social activities including integrated nutritional and physical activity such as noncompetitive
sports (e.g., dancing) in the school curriculum and increasing time for physical activity.
So Ive talked about the negative aspects of childhood obesity and now we are going to
talk a little about what we plan on doing to prevent it from spreading like a disease.
Obesity is a major problem in the United States, particularly among socio-economically
disadvantaged Latino and Black children. Effective interventions that can be disseminated to
large numbers of at-risk children and their families are needed.
The goals of the Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Program (ECHO) are to examine
the12-month efficacy of a primary obesity prevention program targeting the first year of life that
is delivered by home visitors and that engages mothers as agents of change to modify their own
behavior and their infants behavior through education and skill-building around nutrition,
physical activity, and wellness, and then echoes her training with linkages to neighborhood
programs and resources, to prevent childhood obesity and reverse the staggering increases in
obesity prevalence over the past 40 years are needed. Interventions need to not only be
successful but to also be capable of wide dissemination and implementation at reasonable cost.
it is important to understand how all ecological contexts work together to influence early
childhood overweight/obesity.
From the study findings, family, school, and community contexts explained early
childhood overweight/obesity. As a result, to prevent childhood obesity, there is a need for
family, school, and community collaboration to identify the childhood obesity problem and
design interventions to be implemented in multiple contexts that affect children, especially in the

Dilemma on Childhood Obesity6

at-risk group. Obesity-prevention efforts need to expand to target not only individual, child, or
family levels, but also the childrens other contexts.
In conclusion I think that if we teach children at a young age to eat healthy and put more
of a healthier choice in front of them then obesity would change drastically because children are
only taught what to put in their mouth. So if you grow up thinking bad food is good for you than
youre going to be obese from child to adulthood.

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References
McHugh, Bronwyn.
"The Childhood Obesity Epidemic." Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine
Society 22.2 (2016): 94-98. CINAHL Complete. Web. 3 Aug. 2016.
Sahoo, Krushnapriya,
"Childhood Obesity: Causes and Consequences." Journal of Family Medicine & Primary
Care 4.2 (2015): 187-192. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Aug. 2016.
Reilly, John J.
"Childhood Obesity: An Overview." Children & Society 21.5 (2007): 390-396. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 3 Aug. 2016.
McIntyre, Emma C., and Peter B. Sullivan.
"Obesity in Children -- A Growing Problem." Current Medical Literature: Clinical
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Kalarchian, Melissa A., and Marsha D. Marcus.
"Psychiatric Comorbidity of Childhood Obesity." International Review of Psychiatry
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Dietz, William H.
"Childhood Weight Affects Adult Morbidity and Mortality." Journal of Nutrition 128.2
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Akhtar-Danesh, Noori,

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"Parents' Perceptions And Attitudes On Childhood Obesity: A Q-Methodology Study."


Journal Of The American Academy Of Nurse Practitioners 23.2 (2011): 67-75.
AcademicSearch Premier. Web. 3 Aug. 2016.
Cloutier, Michelle M.
"The Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Program (ECHO): An Ecologically-Based
Intervention Delivered By Home Visitors for Newborns And Their Mothers." BMC
Public Health 15.1 (2015): 1-13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Aug. 2016.
Wang, Y.
"What Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs Work? A Systematic Review And MetaAnalysis." Obesity Reviews 16.7 (2015): 547-565. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3
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