Obesity In Australia Essay

In 2015, 15% of children between the ages of 2 to 15, in Scotland, were at risk of obesity, in relation to their Body Mass Index (Scottish Health Survey, 2015). For children, the BMI ranges changes as they grow and get older, as well as being dependent on gender. For example, if a 12 year old boy and a 9 year old boy have the same BMI, and the 12 year old is classed as healthy, it doesn’t mean that subsequently the 9 year old is healthy too. It can, in fact, allude that the younger boy is overweight. Obesity in childhood can lead to a plethora of health issues in later life, and the children are more likely to be obese or overweight in adulthood. The World Health Organisation identified some of the future health outcomes of being obese in childhood. These include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, such as osteoarthritis, and in the worst case; death. WHO has estimated that, globally, over two million people die annually from health problems associated with being obese or overweight (WHO, 2016). There are several contributing factors to a child’s weight, including; parental weight and activity level, geographical location and deprivation.

Obesity in America is real and profoundly alarming when you look at the major impact it has on our communities. Major health concerns like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure cases are at an all time high. Specifically, the disparity between low-income urban inner cities in regards to obesity as compared to more upper class wealthier communities makes you take pause. This relates to my professional goals of going back into my community as an activist and organizer of issues related to my environment, like health and education.

Canada is the largest North American continent by land area. It is also the second-largest country in the world in terms of land area. Canada is home to 35 million people. It borders the United States. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is also the fifth most populous city in Canada.

Childhood obesity in Aboriginal peoples is not solely dependent on diet and physical activity, it relates to prenatal circumstances, feeding practices, food insecurity and policies (National Aboriginal Health Organization, 2012). Obesity among Aboriginal children is multifaceted and intersects with historical, geographical, biological, cultural, social and economic contributing factors. The ecological model (Willows et al., 2012) highlights the interacting relationships between various factors that play a part in the high rates of childhood obesity in Aboriginal communities. This model recognizes the overreaching influence of colonization but shows that the community, physical and socio-cultural environment a child lives all play roles in obesity

Teachers have a key role in addressing and preventing obesity. An important key would be to be a role model ourselves. (Briley + Roberts-Gray, 2005: Jana + Shu2007) state that ‘modelling healthy eating to children can help develop healthy eating themselves’. A way we could do this would be taking a piece of fruit to school to eat every day and also watching us drink plenty of water.

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% .

“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 can be defined as being 20% or more over the ideal body weight for your age and height. It is a chronic disease that can lead to a number of different illnesses and other diseases . These potentially deadly illnesses include diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, coronary vascular disease, heart attack, stroke, sleep apnoea and even cancer. Obesity is becoming more common in Australia as we speak with 10% more adults being overweight or obese in Australia than in 1995. According to recent statistics 63% of adults and 1 in 4 Australian children are overweight or obese.

Obesity is best referred to as the "red alert health zone". The thing that makes obesity that dangerous is the fact that today's society does not view obesity as a serious threat. It is important to understand the fact that obesity is not just being fat or having a BMI i.e. Body Mass Index greater than that of an overweight person. Obesity is a serious problem that can fatally damage the physical as well as mental health of a person. While all of us understand how obesity can affect the physical health, a few of us know how mental health is affected due to obesity. A person suffering from obesity is termed as obese. Such a person is usually a victim of mockery and insult due to his appearance. No matter how educated we are we as a society have failed to keep in account the fact that obese people are also humans and deserve to be treated normally.

Obesity is a medical condition, in which a person’s excessive body fat accumulates to a point where it may have a negative impact on their health causing serious illness, disability and premature death. In Australia the rate of obesity has gradually increased over time, where in 2011-2012 it was found that 35.3% Australians aged 18 and over were overweight and 27.5% obese. (WHO reference)This health condition is the outcome of a range of social determinants that warrant attention. However this report will focus on and discuss two social determinants that could conceivably lead to obesity or being overweight.

Obesity has been increasingly taking over the nation in the past 30 years or more. Although food choices are different from person to person, the underlying cause is not primarily the individual’s choice, but a combination of predetermined inherent attributes. Race, gender, social class, and age have significant roles in how obesity affects the nation.

Obesity in America is a growing problem. There are too many fast food restaurants and many Americans aren’t physically active. Food advertising is targeting children for high calorie, high fat snacks and sugary drinks. Americans are exposed to oversized food portions in restaurants, fast food places, gas stations, movie theaters, super markets, and etc. Some Americans even have a lack of access to healthy foods. If the government had a say in our diets, problems like these would be prevented.

Sadly, in Australia, one in five teenagers are obese, while twenty four percent are overweight. The guiding questions to my issue are: 1. What are the causes and therefore possible methods of preventing childhood obesity? 2. How do parents influence their children’s

With society’s ever increasing price tag of education, public schools have gone to great lengths to cut costs from the unessential activities during and after school hours. First it was music programs and art classes; however, with the desperate need for teachers, athletic programs have felt the grunt of this expedition. Now, more than ever, youths in our communities are battling serious problems. Not only are sports and organized athletic programs vital to physical development, but also mental growth and offer children structure and goals. Unfortunately, many schools have to cut back or even eliminate sports/athletic programs due to lack of funding.

Childhood obesity is a major health concern in NZ (No, Kelly, Devi, Swinburn & Vandevijvere, 2014). Evidence has illustrated a rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity among NZ children. The most recent NZ health survey revealed