Prevalence Of Overweight And Obesity Essay

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than one third of children are overweight. This figure is increasing rapidly. This epidemic puts children at risk for various health problems such as type two diabetes and heart problems. Although they are several risk factors for obesity, parents play a significant role in this issue. This paper will look into how parents are influential to their children, how they contribute to this problem and how they may help fight the fight against obesity. Obesity is a very serious problem and there are solutions that parents can apply to help their children lead a healthy lifestyle. Obesity does not only affect a person physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.

Obesity and being overweight are very common worldwide issues around the world, especially in the U.S. There are more than 3 million cases per year. By changing your lifestyle such as diet and exercise, losing weight can seem effortless. Desirable junk/fast food or even irresistible fast food commercials can tempt you to do the unthinkable. We are all victims of this advertising war. Quick-service restaurants (QSR) generate these advertisements in hope to attract more consumers or to increase their popularity rates around town. These commercials bombard our state of mind only to convince us to buy unhealthy food for worthless money. The increase in fast food commercials in the U.S. has led to an increase in both QSR revenues and the obesity rates. Regulating commercial frequencies will lead to a decline in the obesity rate. Our country has more than enough issues that frequently affect our population. Despite these alarming cautions, the food industries with their advertiser use every available media outlet to promote and sell their products. Pushing food and drinks high in sugar is unethical and unjust. We learn to

Nickelson discusses how discouraging sugar-sweetened drinks consumption can make an impact on childhood obesity. This heavily effects preschool age children and the proportion of children consuming sugar-sweetened beverages increases over time. Soda being the most studied is associated with taste preference, habit intentions, television viewing, soda availability at home and school and parental willingness to purchases sodas for children. Other influencers such as child care could reflect on the child’s intake of the sugary drinks. This article also held a study where they figured out that preschool aged children intake more sugary beverages than between the ages of 1 and 2. It’s thought that school settings would be best to intervene to prevent

The previous paper presented an overview about obesity rates in children. It looked at the health and economic issues that arose from obesity in our society. The prevalence, etiology, consequences and treatments for childhood obesity were explored. In the second paper the aim is to explore the theories and intervention strategies currently used to treat individuals, families and groups experiencing this condition. Research evidence will be presented to support the effectiveness of the current practices and policies to ameliorate this condition.

Obesity in the United States is on the rise and there is no end in sight. Obesity is a health problem that does not discriminate, it effects all ages, genders, and races. There are many factors that can cause an individual to become obese. These factors can include calorie intake, amount of physical activity, genetics, and environment. The rise of obesity in the United States has posed health and financial problems for this country that need to be dealt with.

Childhood obesity has become staggering in the United States. Children are considered obese if they have thirty percent amount of body fat or more and is measured by body mass index (BMI). Body mass index conveys the correlation of body weight to height. If a child’s BMI is at or exceeding over the 95th percentile, meaning if their body mass index is greater than 95% of other children that are the same sex and age, they are obese. Doctor Jeffrey Levi, an executive director of the Trust for America’s Health Organization and an advocate of the public health system, has declared along with his associates that childhood obesity rates have tripled since the year of 1980 (8). This committee oversees health issues like obesity and obesity-related diseases. In the year of 1991, children were 10-15% obese nationally, whereas today more than 25% of adolescents ages two to nineteen are considered obese. In our nation, there are many potential causes that contribute to obesity. A child’s socio-economic status, physical position, and eating habits shape the obesity stratum. Genetics have very limited impact, but behavioral and environmental factors augment the chances of a child reaching obesity. According to the Center of Disease Control, “the portion of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012…the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.”

The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States has greatly increased in the past two to three decades 1, while incidence of obesity has doubled worldwide since 1980 2. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates over 170 million children and adolescents worldwide are overweight. Particularly in the United States, prevalence of obesity in children has increased from 13.9% in 1999 to 31.8% in 2010 3. After nearly two decades of increase, the rates have started to plateau 4. Thresholds of body-mass-index (BMI) have been used internationally to define underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity in adults and children1. In the U.S., a child is defined as overweight if BMI is between the 85th and 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. A BMI at or above the 95th percentile is considered obese 5. Weight gain in children is a result of an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure 6. Therefore, a combination of overeating, increased caloric intake and decreased activity all contribute to an “energy gap” which ultimately result in children becoming overweight or obese. The obesity and overweight epidemic is influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors which may contribute to weight gain in children. In addition to these factors, there are health disparities such as: gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status putting populations at risk for becoming obese. However, recent research suggest the

Childhood obesity is a complex health issue. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health. It occurs when a child is well above the normal or healthy weight for his or her age and height. If one parent is obese, there is a 50 percent chance that their children will also be obese. However, when both parents are obese, their children have an 80 percent chance of being obese. In the past 30 years, the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than doubled among children ages 2 to 5, has nearly tripled among youth ages 6 to 11, and has more than tripled among adolescents ages 12 to 19. Research has shown that obese children are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults.

Did you know that The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that between 1977 and 2002, the intake of sugary beverages doubled in all age groups? Half of adolescent young men drink more than two six-packs of soda pops each week. Kids in the U.S.from ages six to nineteen are three times as liable to be overweight as they were in 1970. Because of these realities, I have come to the conclusion that there should be a tax on sugary drinks.

Sugary beverages are drinks that provide energy by containing large amounts of added sugars but are overall unhealthy and provide no healthy nutrients. Soft Drinks, fruit drinks, cordials, sports drinks, energy drinks and vitamin waters all fall under the category of sugary sweetened beverages. Nine to ten teaspoons of sugar can be typically found in a 12 ounce can of a sugary drink. This can add up to 150 or more calories. Across the world more and more people are becoming obese. Of this obese population, the children and adolescents are especially concerning. Zheng and O’Leary state that “in 2011, 43 million or 6.7 percent of children under the age of five years were overweight or obese across the world” (2).

policy makers, have begun proposing new taxes on sugary beverages so as to raise revenue and dedicate the revenue for the prevention programs like Nutrition Education and elimination of beverages in and around school areas. “The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a tax of 3¢ per 12 oz. drink would raise just under $5 billion per year (2).” It is expected that sugar-sweetened beverage taxes will have a greater impact in the tax revenue and it helps to prevent obesity and increase in health promotion programs. There is also more support of sugar-sweetened beverage tax campaigns when voters learn that some of the funds will be used to prevent and to manage some health programs. In a recent research by American Academy of Pediatrics, the healthcare cost to obesity could reach between $861 and $957 billion by 2030. Nearly half the health care costs associated with obesity and diabetes is paid for through taxpayer-funded Medicare and Medicaid programs and through higher insurance payments in private plans. And, nearly everyone agrees that U.S. health-care system needs changing (4 - pg 538). A recent note developed by the Urban Institute on behalf of the American Heart Association stated that there should be immediate implementation of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes because of the obesity epidemic in children. In most of the world, national governments have been the main leads on enforcing taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, however in the United States, local governments typically take the lead. “Although local governments have passed and implemented excise taxes, they face more challenges compared to national or state governments including state limits on their authority to tax, the greater potential for consumers to make untaxed purchases beyond local boundaries and limited resources for enforcement

The high risk of obesity in the United States has stirred a lot of controversy about the long time solution to this debate. Until recently it has shown that obesity and stress causes younger girls to enter puberty at an early age. The problem with obesity and stress in young girls is that “ early puberty can lead to eating disorders, depression, substance abuse, early sexual activity and , later in life, breast cancer” (The New York Times, 1). Early puberty is mostly seen in specific demographic groups of young girls. It was researched that “by the age of 7, 23 percent of black girls, 15 percent of Hispanic girls and 10 percent of white girls had started to develop breast” (The New York Times, 1). Many of the food young adolescents eat are sugary drinks and overly greased food. Changing school lunches can be a step towards progress but is not the solution to an over grown problem. To protect girls from early puberty, we should focus on lowering obesity levels in the United States because the levels of obesity are showing a physical change in young girls and affecting how fast they develop.

The basis of research for this topic is the rising endemic of obesity in children in the United States. The fact that if parents do not recognize they are raising an overweight child means that it is unlikely that the child will ever receive any time of health attention or help. The purpose of this whole research is to offer the mothers of overweight children the knowledge to make a

A study focused on obesity published by Navaneelan and Janz (2014) concluded that, “Obesity has become one of the world’s greatest health concerns and threatens to undo gains made in life expectancy during the 20th century” (p. 1). “Obesity is defined as abnormal excessive fat accumulation that may impair health” (World Health Organization, 2015). In order to tackle the concerns of obesity, nurses should develop an understanding of the family’s needs and goals in order to determine family nursing roles. The nurse’s role of communicator, educator, and advocator may be helpful towards families dealing with obesity. The Primary health care setting may facilitate these nursing roles due to its accessibility and familiarity among families. This setting provides nurses with the opportunity to address obesity management given the frequent contact between the nurse and the families. The nurse develops a better understanding of the family’s needs and wants which in turn allows the nurse to develop nursing diagnosis, prevention and treatment interventions regarding obesity (Gordie and Brown, 2012, p.15). The purpose of this paper will emphasise the role of nurses as communicators, educators and advocators along with role challenges in supporting families with the lifestyle and conditions of obesity.

The prevalence of obesity has increased significantly in populations worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2015) estimated that 400 million adults were considered obese worldwide and is projected to double by the year 2015. Traditionally, obesity is associated with high caloric intake and lower levels of physical activity in high income Western countries. However, low and middle income countries are increasingly becoming obese and becoming a major public health concern in regards to quality of life and life expectancy (WHO, 2015). Many serious health conditions in the developed world are associated with obesity, including stroke, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, certain cancers, and cardiovascular