CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

Introduction

An obese child's quality of life can be compared to that of a child with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, according to a study published in 2003 (Wood & Vega, MD, 2007). “Dr. Philip Thomas, a surgeon in England, working with obese patients was asked in 2006 to comment on what seemed to be societies reaction to the skyrocketing number of obese children, and he was quoted as saying that, “This is going to be the first generation that is going to have a lower life expectancy than their parents, it's like the plague is in town and no one is interested” (Press, 2006).

The rapidly increasing prevalence of childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and continues to soar, with studies predicting that 50% of North and South American children and one out of every five children in China will be obese by the year 2010 creating a public health tragedy that will stem from the significant health issues that were developed in childhood obesity and carried into adulthood, in order to prevent a tragic future, we must become a society willing to put forth more effort towards change, become more involved in prevention and focus on finding effective treatments.

Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has become a global crisis and appears to be accelerating out of control, fast becoming an epidemic worse than the gloomiest predictions. Worldwide, 155 million school age children and 22 million children under the age of five are overweight or obese (IOTF, 2008). The future is looking grim. Based on the dramatic increase of obese children, a crippled health care system as well as a tremendous threat to our economy is looming.

Children who are obese are more likely to become obese adults, continuing to become sicker as they get older, suffering from heart disease, strokes, and other illnesses stemming from their weight. Americans spend 5% of their total medical costs on obesity related illnesses, if the current trend continues to soar, the amount will do the same (Alliance, 2008). It seems that the U.S. Medical System is at a loss when it comes to obesity. Mainly, because health insurance companies do not cover any treatment of our biggest medical problem, obesity, until it results in a disease, like hypertension or diabetes. By the time this happens in children, the success rate of treatment is at its lowest. V

ery few physicians will even begin to tackle a patient's weight problem for fear of not getting paid. The ones that will treat obesity have strategies that rely on individual self control and unfortunately, this approach is proving to be ineffective. Especially in environments that are conducive to poor eating habits and sedentary activity. Rather than looking at obesity as an individual problem it should be viewed as a societal problem that addresses economical, communal, and environmental factors that are clearly evident in childhood obesity (Future, 2006). Major changes in society during the last several decades have influenced how we raise our children and this has affected their ...