The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has listed cardiovascular disease as the number one cause of death; beating out cancer, Alzheimer’s, accidents, and strokes. Although cardiovascular disease can come from smoking and drinking too much alcohol, having excess weight on your body can significantly increase your chances of getting heart disease. As well as hypertension, cholesterol abnormalities, and type 2 diabetes which also increase the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Obesity rates are getting alarmingly high with many demographics continuing to see a rise. There are astonishing disparities when you add race and ethnicities to these findings.
The United States spends about 190.2 billion dollars each year towards the health care cost of obesity-related diseases. The United Nations has estimated that it would take about 30 billion dollars to end world hunger annually, which could go towards ending world hunger for six years. Obesity and the diseases that come along with it are completely preventable, so how do we combat this deadly disease? Well, there are numerous ways to get started on combating obesity, starting with accessibility to healthier foods. Everyone is not fortunate enough to have a high-quality grocery store down the block, which is why there is such a huge racial disparity with obesity.
Another factor contributing to obesity and a child’s health is knowing a mother that is overweight. Lastly, the government is not putting out policies that are effective in helping American people in tackling obesity. The availability of fast food, lack of exercise and food additives have contributed to why we continue to see an increase in obesity in the United States. So if we begin to be more conscious about how we go about preventing obesity, we could decrease how many people it effects and the amount of money that is being spent to treat the population who are obese.
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Nearly one in five school grade children are obese. Not only is obesity obviously bad for the health of a child it can also have damaging effects on a child’s self-esteem that could affect them on to adulthood. It isn’t broadcasted very much but obesity in a child can start as early as a couple of months before a mother decides to conceive. According to the “ Association of Maternal Obesity and child: Implications for healthcare providers” if the mother’s BMI within one to two months before conception was over a health limit the child is more likely to develop obesity at two or three years of age.
This is not only associated with childhood obesity but also affects early adult life health. There is a Health Belief Model (HBM) which is a theory developed by Hochbaum, Leventhal, and Rosenstock, social psychologist and the belief is if “ An individual will comply with a health-related recommendation if she believes the negative health conditions can be avoided, that her compliance will prevent this condition, and that she is capable of complying with this health-related recommendation.” If a mother believes that actions she makes will prevent childhood obesity she than has the motivation to change her habits. She must believe that her child is susceptible to obesity due to her health issues in order to make a change in her dietary habits.
Another factor is if the mother realizes the long-term effects that this would have on her childlike if she were to put the correlation with childhood obesity to adulthood obesity. “Preventable adverse health effects of childhood obesity should be addresses way more aggressively by healthcare providers, starting with the basic level of education in nursing.” The knowledge that maternal obesity is a risk factor for, childhood obesity and adult obesity, and you are now more open to various disease when you are overweight should be motivation for change in the way we teach our doctors and nurses. With continuing to do studies, research and starting to educate teenagers and young adult woman prior to conception, it could really be a proactive approach to decreasing childhood obesity.
Diet and appetite really tie into psychological factors when people are feeling anxiety, stress or any other emotional disorder they tend to compensate with eating. Eating food can have a calming effect and most of the time those comfort food tend to be unhealthier foods. But when a person with depression eats to feel better and then they begin to gain weight there depression doesn’t get any better but can cause even more emotional distress and unfortunately. Body satisfaction is higher in males than it is in women this reflects the westernized cultural ideas of beauty that thinness is the only ideal body for females and this is why there is a linear relationship between body dissatisfaction and BMI for females.
Although for males it is more of a U shape due to males are encouraged to be lean and muscular. Overweight and obese children are often teased/bullied due to their weight. They also have to deal with many hardships like negative stereotypes, discrimination, and social marginalization. They have often excluded from activities especially competitive activities that require physical activity. It is usually harder for overweight children to participate in physical activities as they tend to be much slower and have shortness of breath. These unfortunate social problems contribute to low self-esteem and low confidence. They then will have a negative body image of themselves which can then affect their academic performance.
The “war” on obesity has been so unsuccessful due to the focus on the individual-based approaches and lack of community programs and initiatives. Also due to moderate intrusions in decreasing obesity and also due to the obsession this society has on weight instead of actual health. Obesity is a complex disease that can have over a hundred different reasons for affecting people whether it is genetics, food formulation or developmental factors and the yet to government’s approaches have yet to address these issues. The global public health response to this disease has been to focus on childhood obesity prevention with changing individuals behaviors and the practices of the communities/institutions.
Some prevention policies that can be introduced are “ 1) improved access to healthy foods, 2) increased taxing of unhealthy foods, 3) targeted healthy food subsidies and reform of food assistance programs, and 4) information-based policies, such as calorie labeling on menus” (Salas VOL. 106, NO. 2) as stated the obesity prevention policy that could be helpful would be high taxation and also if food assistance programs would be more inclined to advertise healthier foods but also supply those foods. The reason higher taxation on junk foods could be an effective route is due to two things really the consumer would then decide on a healthier/cheaper alternative and manufacturers would be forced to reformulate their products to avoid the taxes which would make them healthier.
Food deserts are urban areas where it is difficult to but affordable or fresh foods liked In West Oakland, California. There is roughly a population of about thirty thousand people with the majority being African American and Latinos and there is only one supermarket but about thirty-six liquor stores and convenience stores. The accessibility of the thirty-six liquor stores and convenience stores is just a quick walk down the street but they charger way more an do not nearly have the same options as the grocery store. It is not down the street it’s not even walking distance, Oakland is not unique in this way, cities across the United States have this same issue but it is mainly affecting people of color more than whites.
“Food oppression undermines both the survival and well-being of low income, urban communities of color. As one scholar notes, “ [H]ealth is fundamental to every aspect of life: without health, a student cannot do well in school; a worker cannot hold a job, much less excel at one; a family member cannot be an effective parent or spouse.” Lack of healthier foods is another form of oppression that is never quite seen that way. For a growing child, one of the most important things is for them to get nutritious foods so they grow and have energy. In some cases when people live in poverty they either eat less or skip meals to stretch their food so when they do have food that tends to overeat which then results in chronic ups and downs in food intake and that can contribute to weight gain due to weird eating patterns your body changes your metabolism and promotes fat storage so this can severely affect how a child grows up which then affects the child into adulthood so then there is this vicious cycle that continues to harm lives.
This is a difficult situation because it has to do with injustice treatment of people of color but some things that can be done is to increase the enrollment of SNAP which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which offers nutritious foods to low-income families and Trying to build and promote the growth of fresh produce in your own community.
Physical activity is a necessity in order to beat obesity it is especially necessary for children. Teaching them how to exercise and eat right should be just as important as teaching them math or reading. They are tools you need to have in order to be a functioning human. “ The energy of preschoolers seems so boundless it may not occur to parents, teachers, or even pediatricians that some children between the ages two and five aren’t getting enough or the right kind of exercise – and that it can lead to a lifelong struggle with obesity.” Requiring preschoolers to learn how to have good health habits may be the only way to keep them from developing poor habits as they grow older.
Regular Physical activity reduces the risk to die from coronary heart disease which is on the top ten list of causes of death being #1, decrease the likelihood of getting colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure but access to athletic facilities whether it is due to environmental factors or just the lack of accessible facilities discourages many. There are many different programs in school that children could be apart of but it is a little bit more difficult when you are an adult and have a full-time job and a family but simple taking 30 minutes to an hour out of your day to workout could make a huge difference in your health.
Genes affect every aspect of human physiology, development, and adoption and obesity is no exception. So maybe obesity isn’t completely preventable. There are several but rare forms of obesity that affect appetite control, food intake, and energy. Genetic changes are highly unlikely to explain this epidemic. From generation to generation genes tend to stay the same it is the environment we now live in the physical, social, political, and economic surroundings that influence our eating habits and how active we are. We live in a society where its so easy to overeat and not get enough exercise so that is why we have such an increase in weight gain all across the globe. Although some could have a gene that makes them more susceptible to being overweight it’s really your food intake and how physically active you are that determines what your weight gain looks like.
The human body is a very delicate and intricate, and it is very easy to misuse the bodies we have due to the society we live in. We must remember we are given one body and we should treat as a temple. Obesity is a devastating disease that can catastrophes into becoming many other different diseases that can cause you to die at a way younger age than you might have anticipated. So it is important to be informed on what you can do to prevent becoming obesity and starts when the thought has started a family begins.
A mother should try her best before she conceives and as she is pregnant to be healthy for not only herself but for the baby or this could lead to an obese childhood. When a child attends a school they should be educated in health and how harmful unhealthy foods are for and how nutritious good foods are for and how they give you the energy you need to tackle a day. They should also learn how exercise is not something to do for fun but necessary in order to be in good shape. Lastly, we should continue to focus on making healthier foods accessible to everyone. Obesity is preventable as long as you are educated and aware.
Works Cited
- Durand, Edith F., et al. “Association of Maternal Obesity and Childhood Obesity: Implications for Healthcare Providers.” Journal of Community Health Nursing, vol. 24, no. 3, 2007, pp. 167–176. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20618250.
- The article is shows how a obesity mother can affect the child she is carrying. In my research I would like to show some causes of obesity that could be stopped if the proper action is taken.
- Freeman, Andrea. “Fast Food: Oppression through Poor Nutrition.” California Law Review, vol. 95, no. 6, 2007, pp. 2221–2259. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20439143.
- Mazzeo, Deborah, et al. “Stopping Childhood Obesity before It Begins.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 93, no. 7, 2012, pp. 10–15. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23209997.
- Molnar, Alex. “School Commercialism Hurts All Children, Ethnic Minority Group Children Most of All.” The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 72, no. 4, 2003, pp. 371–378. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3211189.
- Ximena Ramos Salas. “The Ineffectiveness and Unintended Consequences of the Public Health War on Obesity.” Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue Canadienne De Santé Publique, vol. 106, no. 2, 2015, pp. e79–e81. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/canajpublheal.106.2.0e79.
