Child Obesity In Australia

“During the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity in children has risen greatly worldwide. Obesity in childhood causes a wide range of serious complications, and increases the risk of premature illness and death later in life, raising public-health concerns.” (Ebbeling, Pawlak & Ludwig, 2002 p.471) Currently in the Australian community and schools there is an obesity epidemic in young people with many children doing less and less physical activity then advised. “In 2007-08 the National health survey, run by the Australian Government indicated that 24.9% of children aged 5-17 years old were either overweight or obese” (Healthy Active, 2009). These figures show that children are not being properly educated about healthy

Obesity in childhood has become a global epidemic in developed and developing countries, and is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st Century (Chan, Deave, & Greenhalgh, 2010; Fleming & Parker, 2015). One-quarter of all Australian children between the ages of five and seven in 2007-2008 were overweight or obese (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABOS], 2015). Obesity in childhood is known to have a significant impact on both physical and psychological health (Wieting, 2008). These children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop non‑communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age (Hoey, 2014; Perpich, Russ, Rizzolo, & Sedrak, 2011; Throsby, 2007). It is widely

Childhood obesity is a medical condition defined as abnormal or excessive fat that can cause short and long term health problems to children (National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC], 2013). The obesity epidemic is recognized worldwide and is a fast growing concern for Australians; data from The OECD Health Data 2010 shows Australia’s obesity rate of 25% is similar to the United Kingdom and below the United States 34%, Mexico 30% and New Zealand 27% (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2010).

Childhood Obesity is a growing epidemic within Australia. Studies have shown that children who are obese during their childhood are more likely to stay obese and are at an increased risk of developing both short and long-term health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes as they transition into adult hood, (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). Important key concepts can reduce the risk of childhood obesity such as educating individuals of the risks and the detrimental factors that childhood obesity can cause if left untreated. Health care professionals such as nurses, doctors and health practitioners all play an important role

A Growing Threat The threat of childhood obesity is not just a threat in Australia, but globally. In West Australia alone 30% of the adolescence are classified as obese, deeming this by the government public health threat. A study conducted in 2012 shows that childhood obesity has not only doubled but quadrupled. In the 1980’s five percent of children globally were classified as obese, now 30 years later that number has risen to an absurd 21 percent in 2012.

Overweight and obesity is an alarming situation, it threatens the health and employment of the people in Australia and around the world. For working people it is the biggest threat to cause unemployment and inefficient work. Obesity and overweight have seriously affected and economic development of many national educations as it affects young labour force and ability to do the job of the people. Particularly Australia, obese people have jobs accounted for 60% and this figure may rise, while obese people unemployed (44%). But in fact that person aged 18-24 unemployed due to obesity and overweight accounted for 3%. Moreover, the person who worked full-time at risk of obesity than those who work part-time. That shows chalk causes obesity is due

I write to you today in order to urge you to do more about the rising problem of childhood obesity. Until now, Australia has completely underestimated the role and scale at which obesity is at work in our country, not only with our adults, but also, and especially, with our children. From 1985 to 1995, we witnessed a large increase in the number of obese 5-6 year olds alone, from boys jumping from 10.7% to 20.5% and girls from 11.8% to 21.1%. Between 1995 and 2007-8 there was only a slight increase from 21% to 22%. In 2011-12 the number was 26%. Many statistics show that from 1996 onward, the childhood obesity rates in 5-6 year olds have plateaued. However, this does not mean Australia is doing enough. While there has been only slight increases over the years and nearly unnoticeable change, the rates remain high and cause concern, and therefore must be addressed accordingly.

Approximately 9 million Australians over the age of 18 were estimated in 2001 to be overweight orobese, (ie Body Mass Index BMI* > 25) with 3.3 million in the high-risk obese group (BMI > 30).Levels of overweight and obesity have increased rapidly in the last twenty years.The problem is of enormous health, social and economic concern because overweight and obesitycause a wide range of debilitating and life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular disease,Type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancers, osteoarthritis, kidney and gall bladder disease, and respiratory and musculoskeletal problems. In addition, obesity can destroy self-esteem, lead to socialdiscrimination and contribute towards mental illness. Overweight and its associated illnesses also create a huge financial burden for governments andsociety as a whole. Latest estimates suggest that the true costs of obesity may now be as high as$1.3 billion per year and rising

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic. The UK has estimated through their schools’ National Child Measurement Program that one-third of the children there are overweight, and by 2050 that number could rise to an alarming two-thirds (Phillips 2).

Obesity is a widely known and recorded problem in Australia (Heading, 2008). It affects over 60% of the adult population (National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC], 2013). This is a frightening statistic and sadly it isn’t restricted to adults. Nearly 25% of Australia’s children and adolescent population is also affected by obesity (Moir, 2013; NHMRC, 2014; Obesity Australia, 2013).

Obesity is categorised under the non-communicable diseases class (WHO, 2017). The National Health Priority Area initiated by Australian government has selected obesity as their main focus with the objectives to lower the burden of disease on the Australian community. Furthermore, obesity is linked with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, mental health, cancer, quality of life and mortality. It is therefore very important to empower the community by providing education on these risk factors to persuade people diagnosed with obesity of the benefits of managing their health and improving their quality of life. This essay will focus on obesity associated with cardiovascular diseases education in Australian

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia has been steadily increasing over the past 30 years. From 1990 to2005, the number of overweight and obese Australian adults has increased by 2.8 million, which means almost 2 in 3 Australian adults (63%) are overweight or obese. Most worryingly, national data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children indicated 17% of 2-16-year-olds were overweight

Childhood obesity has multiplied exponentially in the past two or three decades. More than one third of children and young adults were classified as obese or overweight in 2012. Childhood obesity has become an epidemic all over the world but especially in the United States. Health is the most important part of a person’s life and it is unaccepta-ble for multitudes of people to be at a disadvantage when it comes to health at such an early and tender age. There are some trends of society that can be seen as apparent rea-sons for this increase in childhood obesity such as the rise of a more sedentary lifestyle and the growing access to unhealthy food. However, children and parents are not solely to blame, rather, society as a whole may be

Childhood obesity, particularly within Australia, is increasingly becoming more and more of an issue in today 's society; with obesity expecting to raise around 33% by 2025 (Figure 1). In place are current policy 's, legislations and campaigns to assist and promote the prevention of obesity within children and their families. However, looking at statistics, these factors are only making a slight impact on the overall population, this creates an even smaller outcome in the avoidance of childhood obesity in particular. 'Hit the 100 ' is a new campaign created to strive to prevent obesity, whilst encouraging healthy living and providing education to children and their families. The health problems arising from obesity are significantly dangerous to one 's health and need to be prevented early on, which is why the 'Hit The 100 ' campaign targets children.

There have been many different methods used to classify children’s weights, the most recent being from the CHMS 2009-2011 in children ages 3 and older. The CHMS uses standards created by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and World Health Organization (WHO). The standards are created with age- and sex- specific classification cut-offs. The IOTF standards are better used for populations, whereas the WHO standards are best for individuals (Roberts et al., 2012). In 2009-2011 using the WHO standards, 31.5% (about 1.6 million) Canadian children ages 5 to 17 were overweight or obese and among children ages 5 to 11, boys are three times more likely to be obese than girls their age (Roberts et al., 2012). A recent study of all Canadians showed that over time, an increase in waist circumference dominated an increase in overall BMI. There is evidence to support that a stable BMI with poor distribution of body fat may increase health risks (Roberts et al., 2012). These results reflect the importance of teaching and learning about nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle choices in schools. This comes with many challenges and barriers, as well as considerations of environmental and social factors that play a role in children 's health that are often beyond our vision. The following research and literature reviews contain some aspects surrounding these obstacles, considerations that must be made by