Childhood Obesity And Its Effect On Children 's Wellbeing And Health

In United States of America (USA), the prevalence of obesity was 10% among children 2 to 5 years of age and 15% among adolescents. When children at risk for obesity (overweight) were included, the values increased to 20% and 30%, respectively. Therefore, > 1 of every 4 patients examined by pediatricians either is obese or is considered to be at high risk for developing this challenging health problem (Ogden et al.,

Child obesity is a condition characterized by the child having too much fat in the body to an extent of his or her health being in danger. In adults, it could be described as a state of having a body mass index of more than thirty (Paxon, 2006). Parents feeding them with too many calories bring about obesity in children. The excess calories are converted to fats that accumulate in the child’s body. This child will develop a big body because he or she will add weight and become quite fleshy. Obese children are at a risk of getting very adverse health effects, some of

Childhood obesity is becoming epidemic in the developed world, and is a condition in which excess body fat negatively affects a child's health. There are a number of effects this has on children, so many that it has become a public health concern that has reached national proportions

Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% .

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping through America. The key to understanding the threshold for the term obesity is to know the clinical definition. Obesity and overweight are two terms that are intermittently misused. Overweight is clinically defined as the excess body fat one has in terms to their height, muscle, bone, or in a combination of all factors (Childhood Obesity Facts). Obesity is simply the concept of having excess body fat (Childhood Obesity Facts). Adult obesity is the cause of multiple disease that are difficult to treat and most are fatal. Childhood obesity should be seen just as fatal, if not more, than adult obesity due to the higher risk children have to contracting

A tool known as BMI (body mass index) is used by medical providers to calculate an individual 's body mass index. It calculated by measuring a child’s weight and height and the found value is then compared to percentiles relative to other children of the same age and sex. For example, if a child aged anywhere from 2-19 is “more than 85% and less than 95%” they are considered overweight. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). This tool is not a method used to diagnosis childhood obesity but it 's a valuable way to measure the prevalence of obesity worldwide.

Unfortunately, there is no uniform definition of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has been variously described by absolute weight , triceps skinfolds , weight-for-height percentiles, percent of ideal body weight and, most recently, by body mass index (BMI weight in kg=height in meters squared). Although these measures reflect slightly different aspects of body composition or body size, they are moderately well correlated with body fat, even in growing children. In addition to the lack of consistency in the anthropometric measure , the degree of obesity varies from study to study; however, for the majority of studies, a BMI greater than either the 85th or 95th percentile, or a weight-for-height greater than 120% of ideal was considered obese.

Acquiring a clear cut definition of overweight and obese criteria is beneficial in reading through data on childhood obesity and will further simplify future statistical findings in my upcoming research. The Body Mass Index assessment, given by the author, helped clarify the mathematics behind the diagnosis. Additionally, many ways were presented in which body fat percentages can be attained, including the well-known skinfold test, and underwater weighing, among others. In my opinion it would be highly advantageous for children suspected of being overweight or obese to obtain a body fat evaluation; early intervention could prevent a lifetime of physiological and psychological health problems. Ultimately, the earlier a parent can set

The obesity epidemic holds the responsibility to annihilate many of the health benefits that have contributed to the increased durability recognised in the world today. In 2014, approximately 41 million children under 5 years of age were affected by overweight or obesity. Today, progress in extinguishing childhood obesity has been gradual and conflicting. A greater number of children are, even from before birth, on the brink to developing obesity. Children who are not yet at the bodymass-index (BMI)-for-age verge for the early staged of childhood obesity or overweight are at an all high of developing obesity.

The key words used for this search were children, primary care, BMI screening, and obesity interventions. These key words were selected based on their relevance to the research question. BMI, or body mass index, is a tool that assists providers in identifying overweight and obese children (Kwapiszewski & Wallace, 2011). BMI for children and teens is computed by calculating their weight in kilograms divided by their square height in meters, taking their age and sex into consideration (CDC, 2015). A BMI at or above the 85th percentile is considered overweight and a BMI greater than or equal to the 95th percentile is considered obese (CDC, 2015). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017), a healthy lifestyle is defined by a nutritious diet, participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and the maintenance of a normal body weight with a BMI between

The prevalence of obesity in childhood is a big concern because of its adverse consequences in the short and long term. According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2010), the rise in childhood obesity for the past ten years has been very alarming. It was noted that obesity now rank as the 5th leading risk factor for death (Larsen, 2015). It is also estimated that obesity is attributed to 44% in diabetes development, 23% in ischemic heart disease and 7 to 41 % of some certain cancers (Larsen, 2015). Childhood obesity is defined as a body mass index equivalent or greater than the 95th percentile of a child's body weight or body mass index more than 30 kg/ms (WHO, 2010). Obesity identifies biologically those children who will later in life

Obesity is a condition where someone is significantly overweight for their age and height. On a child, it can lead to life-threatening diseases and health problems in the future. This excessive amount of weight that a child bears can lead to future diseases and mental abuse from peers and even on rare occasion 's parents. Childhood obesity has become a national problem in the United States and continues to grow at a substantial rate. This growing health problem presented with children is affecting them negatively for the future. Is fast food really to blame, or is it the new lazy lifestyle that revolves around technology? With technology growing quickly, children seem to be less likely to play outside and live an active lifestyle than

One of the serious public health issues in the United State is obesity in children.”Obesity a condition with an excess accumulation and storage of fat content in the body is also defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex. (CDC, 2014). The rationale to choose this specific population is that obesity increases the risk for any serious physical complication in children such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep disorders, breathing problems, hepatic

Childhood obesity is a significant and increasingly detrimental health problem on both a national and worldwide scale. National studies conducted by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention predict that, “over one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2012” (“Childhood Obesity,” 2014). Additionally, researchers who have studied the prevalence of childhood obesity over time have found that the rate of childhood obesity in the United States has been exponential increasing, nearly tripling in the last three decades. Defining what constitutes as overweight or obese has also been an issue for professionals because of the variance in body structures in relation to gender, ethnicity, height, and bone structures. Most recently, obesity has been measured using a body mass index (BMI) scale which compares weight over height. For a person to be clinically obese, their BMI must be greater than the 85th or 95th percentile, or if their weight over height is over 120% (Must, & Strauss, 1999). For years, researchers and health professionals have been aware of the serious health risks associated with adults who are extremely overweight or obese, but work done to understand the implications of childhood obesity is a relatively new field of study.

Obesity has been a major health issue in the community for the past three decades, and has recently become a spreading concern for children (Black & Hager, 2013). Childhood obesity leads to many health and financial burdens in the future, and has become a public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016), childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Black and Hager (2013) state that pediatric obesity is a major public health problem that effects a child’s mental and physical health. Having childhood obesity also increases the risk of developing adult obesity and many other chronic illnesses. Childhood obesity will be further explored in the following sections and will include: background, current surveillance methods, epidemiology analysis, screening and diagnosis, and the plan of action.