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Childhood Obesity: A Case Study Essay examples

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Introduction In the past three decades, rates of childhood obesity have increased precipitously. Between the years and 1980 and 2000, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 6.5% to 19.6% among 6 to 11 year old children and 5.0% to 18.1% among 12 to 19 year old adolescents x(National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2010). This condition is accompanied by many physical and psychological consequences for these children. There are two common postions in the debate about the causes of this condition. One belief of the cause of childhood obesity is that it is a question of “personal responsibility” or in the case of children, of “parental responsibility.” That is, increasing rates of obesity are due to …show more content…

In these circumstances, when parents attempt to limit children’s ingestion of these foods, they may be inadvertently be reinforcing the children’s desire to consume these unhealthy nutriments (Birch & Fisher, 1998). Other investigators have concluded that when parents leave food selection to the preference of the child, the children often choose a sizable quantity of food of meager nutritional value (Klesges, Stein, Eck, Isbell, & Klesges, 1991). Case Study Kayla Matos-Galos, a 4-year-old girl from Land O’Lakes, Florida, is significantly obese, weighing nearly 105 pounds. The author has been asked to create a plan for the mother of Kayla, Ms. Luz Matos, to help her daughter improve her eating habits and overall health. Ms. Matos was advised that the goal of treatment should be weight maintenance as opposed to weight loss. This plan permits the child to increase in height but not in weight, resulting in a decrease in BMI-for-age into a healthier range. Ms. Matos was additionally informed that this will not be an easy task and that a considerable amount of effort should be made in maintaining Kayla’s weight. Kayla needs to increase her physical activity in addition to eating a healthy diet (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research [MFMER], 2010b). The success of this plan is contingent upon the commitment of Ms. Matos to helping Kayla adjust to these changes. The most efficacious method to treat

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