Subclinical Atherosclerosis In Children And Obesity Case Study

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

Obesity is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity often begin in childhood and is linked to many psychological problems such as asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood. Childhood obesity is related to increased mortality and morbidity in adulthood as many obese children grow up to become obese adults (Johnson, 2016). In the last 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. In the United States, the percentage of children aged six to eleven years who were obese seven percent in 1980 has increased to eighteen percent in 2012. In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height, whereas obesity is having excess body fat. Childhood obesity can lead both immediate and long term effects on health and well-being. Obese children are likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. A population based sample of five to seventeen year old shows 70% obese children have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Obese children and adolescents are at risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as poor self-esteem and stigmatization. Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, stroke, type 2

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% .

Overweight and obesity, an excessive accumulation of body fat, is one of the major public health challenge in the 21st century, affecting one in every six people worldwide (World Health Organization, 2013a). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimation, globally over 42 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2010 (WHO, 2011). A recent study estimated that the worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children aged 2-5 years increased from 4.2% to 6.7% within two decades and is expected to reach 12.7% by 2020 (de Onis et al., 2010). The results of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated that in the United State (US) obesity among pre-school children increased from 5% to 10.4% between 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 respectively. In addition, about 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years were obese in the US in 2007-2008 (Pan et al., 2012). A recent study by Grow et al. (2010) found that obesity was mostly prevalent among poor or minority groups with low socioeconomic status residing in disadvantaged areas in the US.

Childhood obesity remains a chief public health concern nowadays. During the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity among children has increased 47% globally (Brown et al., 2016). The risk associated with childhood obesity including hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance as well as mental and emotional illnesses. Individuals who are obese during childhood are more likely to become obese during adulthood. When obesity continues into adolescence and adulthood, individuals are at risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, coronary vascular disease, and cancer. Obesity disproportionately affects children from ethnic minorities. Approximately one out of six US children are overweight

Obesity in our youth has been identified as one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. (Lobestein). Overweight children and adolescents are more likely to develop sleep apnoea, breathlessness on exertion and reduced exercise tolerance, some orthopaedic and gastrointestinal problems, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and early signs of metabolic and clinical consequences, such as hypertension, hyperinsulinaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and type 2 diabetes. (WHO, DENNY W) A major long-term consequence is that overweight children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults, with an increased risk of chronic diseases and early mortality. (BRIO FM)

Childhood obesity is increasing worldwide. Experts estimate that 1 in 5 kids between the ages of 6 and 17 are overweight. That means that as they get older they will be more at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart related diseases. Things that we used to associate with older people are now affecting younger and younger children. There are many reasons for this rise in obesity and this paper will look at a few of them. My goal is to show a correlation between what children are doing and how it affects their chances of being obese. My data comes from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. They sent a survey to schools in all

Childhood and adolescent obesity is a growing epidemic within the United States, creating significant short and long-term impacts on individual health and placing increased economic burdens on the health care system.1 Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled and adolescent obesity has quadrupled, with more than one third of children being overweight or obese in 2012.2 The negative health impacts of childhood obesity include increased risk factors for cardiovascular disease, pre-diabetes, bone and joint pain, sleep disorders including sleep apnea, hypertension, and social/psychological issues.2,3 Furthermore, studies have shown that childhood BMI levels and triceps skinfold thickness (SF) are associated with adult BMI and adiposity, indicating that addressing childhood obesity is critical to reducing obesity and chronic illness in adults.4,5

Numerous epidemiological studies infer that cardiovascular complications have a directly proportional relationship with obesity in children. The study I chose however, has gone deeper by observing arterial changes as well as its relationship to cardiovascular risk in children who are obese. One of the reasons this study design was chosen by the author comes from a 55-year cohort study which evaluated the morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases in adults who were overweight in their adolescent years. The study showed that of the adults evaluated, the adults with obesity in their adolescent years had an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from cardio vascular disease, regardless of their weight classification as an adult. What these studies did not observe however, were the pathological changes that take place in the cardiovascular system, and even more specifically how obesity-associated artherogenesis develops during the adolescent years. Fortunately, with the development of new technology, different echo tracking procedures could be used to observe the pathological function of the carotid and brachial arteries and children. These new echo tracking techniques are noninvasive and can be used to determine if overweight children show early pathological

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.

Childhood obesity is also an excellent predictor of adult health and is related to adult levels of blood pressure, insulin levels, and morbidity from coronary heart disease. Children who are overweight early in life also tend to become more obese as adults when compared to people who became obese after childhood (Freedman, 2001).

The reason I chose this topic is because I know it’s hard to change the unhealthy behavior, but I’ll explain briefly the reasons why we should keep trying. Cardiovascular disease is one of the main leading cause of death in the UK. Reading those words makes me think that these young kids don’t have control in their body. Whether you have control or not many things can affect the development of a heart disease. As life expectancies continue to climb and access to care improves, addressing chronic conditions, such as obesity and diabetes in children’s. This is becoming a growing priority of the health care field. That’s why it’s important for me as I’m going into the nursing field to understand the personal risk factors a person can go through.

The increasing prevalence and severity of obesity in adolescents have resulted in a higher prevalence of comorbid conditions, including high blood pressure, early development of atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes , non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, polycystic, and disordered breathing during sleep (Daniels, 2006).

The definition of pediatric obesity is not usually easy. Because directly measuring body fat is difficult and time consuming, the measurement of BMI is most commonly used. However, BMI does not always accurately reflect body composition. For example, athletes with high muscle mass and an extremely low body fat may have obese BMIs. The use of BMI as a predictor of body fat mass in pediatrics has been found to be variably accurate, with correlation ranging between 0.5 and 0.94, depending on sex and age. Despite these limitations, BMI has been shown to be predictive of the presence of cardiovascular risk factors in pediatric patients and is considered the most relevant clinical parameter of childhood obesity (Hsia et al., 2012).

When speaking of her 8-year old daughter's obesity, a prideful mother replies "Oh it's no big deal, she just still has her baby fat." Unfortunately, chances are that the daughter's obesity is not caused by her baby fat, but can be contributed to a combination of diet, genetics, and a sedentary lifestyle. Studies show that obesity among children 6-17 years of age, has increased by 50% in the last 20 years, with the most dramatic increase seen in children ages 6-11 (Axmaker, 1). This obvious epidemic has raised great concern in the medical community because widespread childhood obesity has increased the prevalence of the once rare juvenile diabetes and pediatric hypertension (Bastin, 45). This concern has prompted intense investigation