Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic over the past ten years in the United States. It is also becoming a national problem. Children all over America are not getting in enough physical activity and aren't eating healthy for a number of reasons. There are roughly 22 million under the age of 5 years who are overweight around the world. There are many ways to prevent and or help children with obesity and also many reasons for child obesity which will be explained throughout the essay.

In the last two to three decades the amount of overweight children and adolescents has doubled in the U.S. These rates are also being seen worldwide in developing countries that are being westernized with our behavioral and dietary lifestyles. The increase in obesity has been seen in the U.S. and internationally from preschool children to adolescents. The National Health and Nutrition Surveys databases show that nearly 8 percent of children ages 4-5 years old in the U.S. are overweight. With this statistic girls have been effected more then boys. Also with children older then the age of 6, the numbers of obesity have doubled in boys as well as girls in the U.S. in the same time (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg2).

There is a very big connection with how childhood obesity predicts overweight when you're an adult. Many studies have provided supportive evidence that higher levels of body mass Index during your childhood can predict overweight later in life (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg3). In Japan studies showed that approximately one-third of obese children grew into obese adults. Studies also show how important family environment is in being apart to the increasing prevalence of obesity (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg4). The increase in weight is most likely influenced by food supply and calorie intake together with low physical activity.

There are many Comorbidities of childhood obesity. Data from Bogalusa Heart study shows us that 60 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 10 who are overweight also had a cardiovascular risk factor such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, or elevated insulin levels. With the extreme increase in childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes is increasingly a pediatrician's problem. Astounding studies from Asian countries that are Westernizing their way of life are showing that in urban Japanese children plasma total cholesterol levels and LDL cholesterol now are higher then those found in the United States (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg4) .

Psychological and biological problems are also a factor in childhood obesity. Some psychological problems that are associated with obesity are negative self-esteem, withdrawal from interaction with peers, depression, anxiety, and the feeling of chronic rejection. In different ethnic groups evidence suggest that aerobic capacity is lower in African Americans then in white children and may be more significant than energy expenditure leading to obesity (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg5). "Goran concluded that fasting insulin and acute insulin response are significantly higher, and insulin sensitivity is significantly lower in African American than in white prepubertal children; these differences are not explained by differences in body fat, body fat distribution, diet, or physical activity. These findings are important because they suggest that prevention and treatment strategies may require different approaches in different racial/ethnic populations." (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg5).

There are many ways to prevent and treat childhood obesity. The main reason for childhood obesity is the increase in energy intake and decrease in physical activity. Lets contrast a 45-minute exercise to eating a McDonald's value meal. The 45-minute exercise with a 75 pounds child should roughly burn off between 90 and 525 calories during continuous biking, running, walking and dancing. This loss of calories can be contrasted to the difference of a regular size McDonalds meal, which provides 600 calories vs. a super-sized McDonald's value meal, which provides more then 1800 calories. Having this information the calories expended in the exercise do not clearly cover this difference (Deckelbaum and Williams, S239 pg6). There are three levels on preventing childhood obesity. The first one is primordial prevention, which is focused on keeping a normal BMI throughout childhood and adolescence. The second is primary prevention. This is focused on preventing overweight children from becoming obese. The

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