The Childhood Obesity as a Serious Issue of Health Concern

Question: Discuss Childhood Obesity as a Serious Issue of Health Concern? Answer: Introduction Childhood obesity is a growing concern in the society today. A lot of children in urban cities of all races and ages suffer from obesity. There are various reasons these children are obese which has now become a growing concern. According to various research as will be discussed in this essay, children are overweight due to the changing lifestyles in both their physical, social and nutritional activities. For example, children who are used to playing video games all the time may not have a chance to get enough exercise to burn off extra calories, which is a necessity for a child to stay healthy(Han, et al., 2015). Children who are constantly on television sets and computers can hardly notice the amount of calories they are gaining on a daily basis and they tend to over eat. For example, video gamers consume an average of 163 more calories every day. According to a blood test for appetite related hormone level it was reveal that playing games usually make these children hungrier forcing them to consume more food. But the problem is much more than just gamers, it is discovered that in kindergartens as well, children are growing to become much heavier that those who were in kindergartens back In the 1970s and 80s. most studies indicate that children of the present generation are most likely to become heavier in the years to come. According to (Tyrrell, et al., 2016), the issue is not just on kids, this is an entire shift where people who have normal weight are also gaining more and more weight. There is thus need to put up several measures that ensure there is a lot of control in weight gaining among children. Social Economic Factors One of the most common factor that has led to the development of obesity among children is the social and economic trends. The changes in the environment and other social and economic factor. This is especially true since children who come from families with lower income or educational levels are usually disproportionate and more likely to become obese. According to Mech, et al., (2016), children that had parents with less than 12 years of education were likely to experience obesity rates of 3.1 times higher ( 30.4) per cent than children whose parents were educated with a degree ( 9.5 Percent). It was also found that children who lived below the required national level of poverty have an obesity rate of 2.7 times higher ( 27.4 percent) than children who live in a household that is more that 400 percent in terms of the national poverty levels of the country(Moschonis, et al., 2010). Also it was found that children that live in the low income neighborhoods, in the united states were 2 0 percent to 60 percent more likely to be obese or to gain more weight that those who lived in high social and economic status neighborhoods or much more healthier neighborhoods(Moschonis, et al., 2010). Other statistics indicated that girls of ages 10 to 17 that lived in lower social and economic characteristics were more likely to become obese as an overweight that those girls who came from high economic status neighborhood. This data clearly shows that the diet composition of children from low income areas is not well followed since people are not able to afford a recommended balanced diet. In addition, most of these families consume fatty and sugary or carbohydrate filed foods that eventually will increase their body metabolic index. Also their social and economic status may exist in a much more inverse manner(Schaefer, et al., 2015). In this case obesity is likely to be much higher in rich men than uneducated women since rich men do not have time to take a balanced diet as they are busy taking fast foods due to less time in nutritional knowledge. Advertisement and emergence of technology According to (Mech, et al., 2016), nearly one in three children in eh united states are overweight. This shows that obesity among children is growing, placing a very high risk on more and more children becoming overweight as they develop to adulthood. Other illnesses that come in as a results will be cardiovascular disease, diabetes and several forms of cancer. As much as there is not sing cause known for obesity among children, food advertising is one of the most common factors. According to a report during the 2016 child obesity awareness month in the united states, it was recognized that corporate advertising and marketing contribute to the type of uncontrolled diet that children take at home. The food industry is reported to spend over $1.6 billion every year in the marketing of their products(Schaefer, et al., 2015). Most of these marketing of food products is aimed at children at a younger age which eventually affects their choices of food, preferences and their eating habit. This is one main concern since the majority of such products will be for foods which contain a lot of calories, sugar, fat and sodium. The most unfortunate part about this is that there is a strong association between food advertising and the rates of obesity, since most of the food advertised is basically non nutritious. These foods become popular since they are easily accessible, are sold cheaper due to industry competition and are easy to prepare(Tyrrell, et al., 2016). One of the people blamed for this is the media which continue to increase the popularity of these foods. It is however important to note that most companies also do not adhere to advertising policies which is supposed to inform users of side effects. Statistics in the united states for example, indicate that every day children aged between 2-17 will view an average of 12-21 of food commercials in their television. In addition, a lot of these compelling advertisements target their parents and themselves. This is also evident as famous cartoon characters are used to advertise food products for popularity purpose. The situation is also in schools where nearly half of the united states middle and high schools also authorizes for advertising of less healthy foods. Other areas that commercials make a go is in child video games, game websites, internet through social media sites and product placement during a movie launch where vouchers are provided for those who purchase the non-nutritious food product for their children(Mech, et al., 2016). All these factors of corporate advertising have positively affected the obesity rate in the united states. The issue is even worse as most children spend more time on the internet or with their iPad and smart phones more than they do with family. In addition to this is the busy lifestyle of their parents as they try to meet the economic needs of the family, for this reason, whatever is advertised will be prepared for the child. Advertisers also known that children and youth are great marketer since they will influence their parents towards a particular product in the market enabling it gain popularity all round(Moschonis, et al., 2010). For this reason, most governments are called upon to control the advertising content or regulate the time for airing such advertisements. It this is well done, then the issue of food advertising can be used for the general good of reducing obesity among people who take food commonly known as junk. In the united states for example, obesity continue to increase over time. It is estimated that overweight people spend an average of $30,000 more than what healthy people will due to various medical conditions that come with obesity like obesity, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, heart attacks and other forms of food related cancer(Rossman, 2017). It addition, there is the productivity effect that is associated with obesity since most overweight people lose about $93,000 in wages over their lifetime. This is as a result of obesity related conditions that is nearly the double of their normal weight loss between 44,000 and $49,000. It is thus important that the country looks in to these factors and find ways of reversing the trend(Rossman, 2017). Conclusion In conclusion the weight of children will usually depend on the social, physical and nutritional practices of their daily lives. Research indicates that people with high body mass index when they reach age 18 are most likely to continue that way in their coming years. It thus becomes more important that parents take time to teach their children the importance of physical activities. The basic place to begin with is for parents to learn to spend more time monitoring the eating habit and general lifestyle of their children. If this is done well then they will be in a better position to monitor and protect their children from harm caused by bad diet and lack of exercise. It is also important that the united states government put more regulation on the childhood nutritional practices. Foods that are found to diminish the health of young children should be regulated. In addition, advertising agencies need to also be put to task to ensure they exercise the moral authority of protecting chi ldren from harmful food, which can be done through responsible advertising. It will also be important that school physical education is made mandatory as it will allow this children a chance to burn of excess cholesterol in their bodies and allow them a normal healthy life. References Han, T. et al., 2015. Associations of obesity with socioeconomic and lifestyle factors in middle-aged and elderly men: European Male Aging Study (EMAS). European journal of endocrinology / European Federation of Endocrine Societies, 172(1), pp. 59-67. Mech, P., Hooley, M., Skouteris, H. Williams, J., 2016. Parent?related mechanisms underlying the social gradient of childhood overweight and obesity: a systematic review. Child: Care, Health and Development, 42(5), pp. 603-624. Moschonis, G. et al., 2010. Social, economic and demographic correlates of overweight and obesity in primary-school children: preliminary data from the Healthy Growth Study. Public Health Nutrition, 13(10), pp. 1693-1700. Rossman, S., 2017. Overweight kids are costing America billions. [Online] Available at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/01/exercising-three-times-week-can/307656001/ [Accessed 9 May 2017]. Schaefer, S. et al., 2015. Assessing Child Obesity and Physical Activity in a Hard-to-Reach Population in California's Central Valley, 2012-2013. Preventing chronic disease, 12(12), p. 117. Tyrrell, J. et al., 2016. Height, body mass index, and socioeconomic status: mendelian randomisation study in UK Biobank. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), Volume 352, p. i582.