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Childhood Obesity Research

Decent Essays

Childhood obesity has been a longstanding issue that researchers have been analyzing for many years. Researchers Wells, Eves, Beavis, & Ong (2014) states that obesity is one of the most rapid epidemics. The prevalence of obesity has increased ten percent from 1988 to 1994 with the incidence of being overweight in adolescents (12 to 19) increasing from 11% to 17%. A different study dating back to 1998, evaluated children that entered kindergarten that same year. Researchers realized that 14.9% of the children initially entered overweight and the prevalence of obesity will reach to 20% by the time they reach the 8th grade (Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan 2012). They make the claim that this is not only true for the specific population but the …show more content…

Both Shih et al., (2012) and Demment, Haas, & Olson, (2014), both focused on obesity rates in children in low income populations. Demment, Haas & Olson found that children who live in low income communities throughout their childhood have a greater chance of maintaining being overweight, in comparison to their counterparts that have never lived in a low income neighborhood. Regardless if the children moves to a better community, the prevalence of them being overweight will still be higher than the children in the neighborhood. This study followed 700 children from birth until the age of 2 with 18% of them below standard poverty levels. Shih et al. (2012) supports this by adding in their study that the prevalence of childhood obesity in communities with “highest hardship quartile” based on an index of six different indicators, is more than double than the “lowest hardship quartile” (26.9% versus 12.5%). Children from low socioeconomic communities, are more likely to have overweight mothers which in turn leads to a higher risk of childhood obesity (Gibbs & Forste, 2014). Additionally, the researchers believe that racial and socioeconomic status accounts for at least 24% of childhood obesity rates among different …show more content…

It is important that interventions focus on individual needs rather than one intervention for everyone no matter their differences (Pulgarón et al., 2013). For example, in a study done by Hoelscher et al. (2015) they used a Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (TX CORD) to implement and evaluate the communities through the use of both primary and secondary preventions programs within low income societies. The population was predominately people of color. Similar to Pulgarón et al., researcher explained that there were barriers to implementing interventions such as cultural issues like language and food barriers. Through the TX CORD primary intervention, through their primary intervention that specifically catered to the communities needed, they discovered that it is possible to get the ethnically diverse population if effort is put into reaching that specific audience. Branscum et al. (2013) evaluated a theory that is important in understanding behavior. Through the use of the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), they were able to evaluate a program that was done years before. Through the use of self-efficacy, self-control, and expectations, researchers were able to see how each of these related to the individuals behavior. With this theory, researchers were able to successfully target behavior change in children. For the

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