CHILDHOOD OBESITY

The Effects of Insurance and Risk Management on Childhood Obesity

The Effects of Insurance and Risk Management on Childhood Obesity

Introduction

The paper attempts to describe the concept of obesity and BMI (body mass index) and relate it with childhood obesity. It also provides some statistics on childhood obesity in the United States of America. The paper discusses the part played by health insurance and risk management of schools as well as other organizations with the common goal of controlling and reducing obesity in children. The paper concludes with recommendations in this regard and attempt to provide a possible picture of childhood obesity in the United States of America for the days to come.

Discussion

Obesity is a worldwide public health problem and its importance during childhood and adolescence is based on its commitment to biopsychosocial. Obesity is a major risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases such as hyperlipidemia, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and osteoarthritis (Cismaru, 2008).

Obesity

Obesity can be defined as the extensive body fat accumulation especially under the adipose tissue. This can be determined by the gain in body weight once it crosses 20 percent of ideal weight for the specifc height, age, and sex of child at issue. In the United States of America, there are several factors that hinder a better understanding of the prevalence of this pathology (Saunders & Pate, 2000). A socioeconomic disparities, we must add the lack of population studies in adolescents. In addition, often there are different tables for diagnosing obesity, particularly among adolescents. The less information on this group in the region, probably due to the population of the anthropometric data available, from usually records of patients enrolled in MCH programs (Cismaru, 2008).

Body Mass Index

Obesity is judged by the indicators of body size and body mass, which are then presented as body mass index BMI. BMI is the measures of body mass in kilograms divided by body size in meters. If BMI is more than 30, the person being diagnosed is said to be obese. At a value of more than 35 BMI, children are considered as extremely obese by the health authorities in the United States of America (Gostin, 2007).

Childhood Obesity

Obesity in children also have important negative psychosocial consequences. Obese children are in many cases of discrimination by peers and adults. Children and adolescents who are overweight and obese have the same risk of developing health problems that overweight adults. These disorders include diabetes, blood pressure, hypertension, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, asthma, gallbladder disease, bone and joint problems and liver diseases (Saunders & Pate, 2000).

Obesity among children in the United States of America takes on frightening proportions. According to a recent study, more than seven percent of boys and five percent of the girls are extremely obese. That is more than four million people in the age group of 2-to 19-year-olds (Saunders & Pate, 2000). A survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) on obesity deduced that obesity and overweight have reached high percentages throughout the globe and it is not only ...