CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity remains to be a major problem in today's society. There are numerous factors contributing to this health concern. In my opinion, the major factor that contributes to this is parent lack of knowledge in regards to nutrition and serving size. The factors that contribute to childhood obesity also place a child at risk for many other health problems due to obesity. Nurses are educators and play a major role in preventing this health concern.

An article entitled “Being Overweight and Obese: Black Children Ages 2-5 Years” painted a vivid description about childhood obesity. This article informs readers about the prevalence of obesity in the black community. Obesity in preschoolers is more prevalent in Afro Americans than in Caucasians (Hudson, 2009). The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), stated that an increase in childhood obesity was significant in Mexican American and African American children. A total of 39.9% of Mexican American and 35.9% of Afro American children are at risk of overweight or are currently overweight (Berkowitz & Borchard, 2009). The many factors emphasized in this article that contributed to childhood obesity includes: diet, activity level, parental knowledge, culture and environment. ).

Children from ethnic minorities and rural low income populations are particularly at risk for obesity and its co-morbidities. “A major contributor to childhood obesity is a physical and social environment that promotes foods high in fat and calories and minimizes the opportunities for physical activity” (Budd & Hayman, 2008). The problems that an obese child is at risk for includes cardiovascular diseases and Type II Diabetes Mellitus (Hudson, 2009).

The purpose of this paper is to review a scholarly article about a community health concern and the role nursing plays within the community setting. Because community health nursing focuses on providing care and implementing health ...