CHILD OBESITY

Child Obesity



Chapter I

Research Topic: Child Obesity

Years ago there were not that many overweight children seen. In recent years, the number of children who are overweight or obese has been rapidly climbing, despite the efforts of some schools and communities to curb this (Mokdad, et al, 1999). As these numbers grew, so did the rate of diabetes and other health problems that were typically only seen later in life. The theory is that the increased obesity rates in children were related to these health problems, and it becomes necessary to look at the problems that overweight and obese children have, both physically and emotionally.

Physically, these children deal with a lot of ailments at an earlier age than was previously assumed to be common, and even heart disease can begin in childhood when a sedentary lifestyle and a high calorie diet causes a lot of weight gain (Epstein, et al, 1995). Emotionally, many of these children also struggle with depression and are uncomfortable with their bodies and their lives. This is a serious problem for most of Western society, and it can leave physical ailments and emotional scars that do not go away as children age. Instead, they continue to affect children as they grow into adults who are often overweight or obese (Flegal, 1999).

It is necessary, therefore, to look at obese children based on what they do physically and what they do emotionally, as well as their involvement in family life. Whether these children can be helped by parents and their feeding practices (Baughcum, et al, 1998; Gillman, et al, 2001), by the type and duration of exercise the children do, and by the way they are taught to feel about their bodies as they grow up. If these things make a difference, either on their own or in combination, the 'why' of that must be discovered. To discover that 'why,' the following must be answered: Will exercise programs in schools make a difference? Will better nutritional education for parents change this problem? Can body image issues be adjusted to make children (especially female children) more comfortable with who they are? Answers to these questions are important to the future of society.

Bibliography

Baughcum A.E., Burklow K.A., Deeks C.M., Powers S.W., & Whitaker R.C. (1998). Maternal feeding practices and childhood obesity: a focus group study of low-income mothers. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine,152:1010-1014.

Epstein, LH, Valoski, AM, Vara, LS, McCurley, J, Wisniewski, L, Kalarchian, MA, Klein, KR, & Shrager, LR. (1995). Effects of decreasing sedentary behavior and increasing activity on weight change in obese children. Health Psychology 14: 109-115.

Flegal, K. (1999). The obesity epidemic in children and adults: Current evidence and research issues. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 31(11), S509-S514.

Gillman, MW, Rifas-Shiman, SL, Camargo, CA Jr., Berkey, CS, Frazier, AL, Rockett, HR, Field, AE, & Colditz, GA. (2001). Risk of overweight among adolescents who were breastfed as infants. JAMA 285: 2461-2467.

Mokdad, AH, Serdula, MK, Dietz, WH, Bowman, BA, Marks, JS, & Koplan, ...