Obesity is a Disease Essay

Research has shown that overweight children are at an increased risk for adverse health outcomes,

I have decided to research Childhood Obesity. I chose to research this topic because I am currently working with families that are not aware of the types of food that promote good health for their kids and the statistics of “Childhood Obesity”. I plan to effectively limit the topic to just stating the main causes of obesity in America, statistics and the History of “Childhood Obesity”. During my research, the claim I plan to argue will be “Confronting America’s Childhood Obesity Epidemic”, and “How the Health Care Reform Law Will Help Prevent and Reduce Obesity”. In this paper I will present the truth and facts about “Childhood Obesity.” While studying here at Ashford University over the past weeks, I have learned how to properly research information pertaining to my topic. Over the years obesity has become an Epidemic and my research will touch on the areas that statistics show that are the major causes for obesity. The USA is the leading country with obesity? After my research I will have a better understanding and more knowledge in many ways and from different viewpoints about this Epidemic. The Internet has a lot of knowledge about the history of obesity, the causes of obesity and the proper steps to take to prevent this sickness that has become an epidemic from getting out of control.

Despite the best efforts of public health officials, educators, dieticians, and many parents, childhood obesity remains a stubborn problem in the United States. This document and the accompanying PowerPoint presentation is the group’s final presentation of a health information campaign to combat childhood obesity. We cover the nature of the problem and why it’s import, our target audience, the message of the campaign, channels we intend to use, our tested messages, and our evaluation plan. We will also discuss the theoretical underpinnings of our campaign and

An increase in the average weight of children has been observed throughout the past several decades. This is due to many varying factors, such as diet, lack of knowledge of general health for both parent and child, and social class standings. Child obesity is defined by the BMI, or body mass index, percentage in relation to the child’s personal weight and height. Studies have shown that the main causes of childhood obesity are attributed to the parents’ diet for their child, the amount of exercise the child participates in, or lack thereof, and the amount of the child’s consumption of particularly unhealthy foods. Major health concerns include the development of heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea and social discrimination due to the child’s possible extreme health issues.

Children in America are experiencing an epidemic where obesity and obesity-related disease is staggering, not only for adults, but also for children. The CDC reports, “childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents over the last 30 years. In 2012 more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese” (CDC, 2014). This generation’s life expectancy is predicted to be the first in history to be less than their parents; they will be sicker and die younger (The New England Journal of Medicine, as cited in the New

There are number of factors that lead to being obese and being overweight is also a factor for obesity if the behavior patterns are not changed. Being obese has a lot of health consequence, such has high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, Coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and many other that are correlated to being obese. There is lots of health issues regarding being obese and being overweight is a factor to become obese if the behavior pattern is not changed such has a drinking or eating or doing physical activity and being physically active. It is good to understand if the habits we have leads to overweight, such has consumed caffeine for pregnant

General health, strength, age and of the child, or nature of the problem determine the approach to questioning” (Ball et al., 2015). First, the child’s medical history should be collected. By collecting the child’s medical history, the nurse can identify disorders that contributes to the child’s weight gain such as hypothyroidism and other hormonal disorders. Second, the nurse should identify the child’s eating and actives habits. There might be a great number of overweight individuals in the child’s family, so family history is important as well. 24 hours dietary recalls and dietary screener questionnaire are tools used to gain additional information on the child’s health. In this case, the parents are sensitive because they are overweight themselves. “ Sensitive issues, which might be difficult to discuss are important to address” (Ball et al., 2015) Three questions that would be asked are what does the child’s dietary intake consist of? Does the child has any current medical problems? Are the child in any physical actives and what are their

According to their study, one of the highest predictors of obesity in kindergarten was if and when the child surpassed the 85th percentile for their weight. More than 50% of the children who were studied and who were at or beyond the 85th percentile by the age of nine months became severely obese by the time they reached kindergarten. If a mother suffered from gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, her child was three times more likely to become severely obese. Other factors reported to increase the risk for severe obesity were mothers who were extremely obese prior to the pregnancy and families who have more than five adults living in the household during the child’s early years (Flores & Lin,

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits.

Being overweight can have both psychological and physical ramifications. Obesity is linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, total mortality and certain cancers in adulthood (Harlan 2). Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine states that "obesity present in young women was associated with an adverse impact associated with an adverse impact on household income, education, and rates of marriage, poverty, and college completion" (Gortmaker 1008). Reducing the incidence of obesity will benefit these parts of society as well.

Physical exercise plays a large role in maintaining the homeostasis and health of an individual. The benefits of being active not only promotes a more stable and functional body, but also strengthens various organs, systems, and muscles. The heart, in particular, receives a great advantage from physical exercise.

Doing physical things for your body is healthy. That’s common sense, but did you know that it lessens risk of getting high blood pressure, heart disease, and osteoporosis along with other chronic diseases. Getting these diseases are a big hassle and can be prevented by simple regular exercise. The effects of not exercising also can cause premature death. There was a study in 2012 that showed

31% of children aged between 2 and 19, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), are overweight. Half of this population is considered to be obese. The rates of obesity, however, vary by age. 8 percent of children between 2 and 5 are obese. Among those between 6 and 11, 18 percent of these children are obese (Segal, Rayburn, & Alejandra, 2016). Finally, 21 percent of those 12 and 19 years are obese. As mentioned before, obesity among children between 2 and 5 are decreasing. But those among age groups 11 and 19 are increasing. This may explain the constant rate of obesity among children.

Approximately 17% of children in the United States have been diagnosed as obese (Prevention, 2011). Although the prevalence of obesity has plateaued in the most recent years, the amount of children who are obese is still higher than what is desired. These obesity rates are alarming due to the effect it will have on them and their healthcare. As more children are diagnosed with obesity, the more children increase their risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and insulin resistance later as adults (Newby, 2007). This should come as alarm to parents and caregivers alike.

There are many reasons for obesity, the first main reason is the consumption of energy. People have taken more energy, but used less energy in daily life, also few