Worldwide, childhood obesity has more than tripled since 1975, reaching epidemic levels and affecting about 155 million school-aged children in the United States alone (Centers for Disease and Control Prevention [CDC], 2018). In 2016, the CDC reported that 1 in 5 children have a problem with obesity (CDC, 2018). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines overweight and obesity as the condition of having an abnormal or excessive amount of fat in adipose tissue, which is generally determined by calculating a person’s body mass index (WHO, 2018).
Childhood obesity is a serious pediatric health concern, which is linked to a plethora of issues extending into adulthood (CDC, 2018). Children who are overweight and obese are likely to be obese as adults (WHO, 2018). Childhood obesity is related to psychological and social problems, such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and poor quality of life, and those struggling with it often are targets of bullying, bias, and stigma (CDC, 2018). Childhood obesity is also associated with co-morbidities, such as asthma, sleep apnea, liver disease, bone, joint, and muscle discomfort, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, as well as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CDC, 2018).
Childhood obesity is a preventable problem that has become an epidemic in American society and is greatly influenced by environmental circumstances, behavioral factors, and parenting issues. It is my opinion that the largest impact on reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity is with a collaborative approach between home and primary care settings. “Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis” is a peer-reviewed article written by authors Sameera Karnik and Amar Kanekar. In this article, Karnik and Kanekar explore various lifestyle, behavioral, and environmental factors that lead to children becoming obese as well as effective interventions that can put an end to this rising epidemic.
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Many studies showed the main cause of childhood obesity is when children have a greater energy intake from foods and beverages than their bodies use for healthy functioning, development, and physical activity; this results in extra weight gain over time (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012). Karnik and Kanekar state, “Childhood obesity can be tackled at the population level by education, prevention, and sustainable interventions related to healthy nutrition practices and physical activity promotion” (p. 1). Research shows parents and teachers have a crucial impact on children achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and can influence a child’s behavior and lifestyle.
I agree with Karnik and Kanekar, simple suggestions, such as encouraging children to drink water, offering healthy options for snacks, and partaking in physical activities, such as walking or enrolling in after school activities, such as sports can have a huge impact and lead to achieving a healthy weight over time (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012). Children spend the majority of their day at school so it is very important that schools provide nutritional food options and encourage active participation in physical activities; which will help decrease and prevent weight issues in children.
When parents, educators, and the community work together to make changes in the environments where young children spend the majority of their time it is easier for them to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The CDC states, since children spend the majority of their day at school, the education system has the unique opportunity to help children attain this national recommendation (CDC, 2018). The CDC recommends that teachers include physical activities in their curriculum, such as taking a 5-15 minute break once a day to stretch, jump, dance, or go for a walk. Not only does this increase a child’s overall physical activity, but also research shows it improves a child’s attention span, enhances their social skills, encourages better classroom behavior, improves grades and test scores, and overall well-being (CDC, 2018).
Family engagement is needed for children to keep up a healthy lifestyle. Research shows children are more willing to take part in after school activities, such as sports and are more successful when family engagement is involved (CDC, 2018). In addition to what the CDC recommends, I believe it would be beneficial for schools to offer a monthly parents’ night. Parent’s night is a great way for teachers and parents to work together. This gives parents an opportunity to learn about the schools healthy eating and wellness initiatives. There could also be a healthy family potluck where community families with school age children meet up; they try different healthy foods, share recipes, and offer advice and support to each other.
They could do game nights and bring healthy snacks; this is a great way to get parental involvement and for the children to get exercise in a fun way. The most important aspects in combatting the growing prevalence of childhood obesity are the promotion of healthy diets and regular physical exercise. The WHO states, “Simultaneously parents are advised to live and promote a healthy lifestyle because children’s behavior is often shaped by observation and adaptation” (WHO, 2018). The WHO offers the following effective suggestions: offer a healthy breakfast each day before school, pack healthy school lunches and snacks consisting of whole-grain, vegetables and fruits, and limit sugary, packaged, and processed foods (WHO, 2018).
In addition to giving children access to healthy foods, parents should limit television and electronic devices and restrict usage during meal times, eat meals as a family and encourage children to participate, such as setting the table; parents should also model healthy eating behavior by consuming the same meals as the children (WHO, 2018). Restricting the use of electronic devices, having children involved in meal preparation and eating together as families are all great ways to establish healthy mealtime habits, which in turn promotes overall health and wellness.
“Supportive environments and communities are fundamental in shaping people’s choices, by making the choice of healthier foods and regular physical activity the easiest choice (the choice that is the most accessible, available and affordable), and therefore preventing overweight and obesity” (WHO, 2018). Parents and educators are in the position to be positive role models for children and can influence them to make healthy lifestyle choices. Parents and teachers should make attempts to live healthy lifestyles as children learn by observing and mimicking the behaviors of those around them.
If parents and teachers eat healthy and get regular physical exercise, they are setting the precedent for children to do the same. In the article, “Childhood Obesity: Nurses’ Role in Addressing the Epidemic” Registered Nurses (RN) Aifric Rabbitt and Imelda Coyne (2012) discuss how primary prevention of obesity prevents secondary health complications that lead into adulthood. Rabbitt and Coyne discuss interventions they found effective during their nursing careers to prevent obesity, such as providing education on nutrition, weight management programs, strategies for decreasing caloric intake and increase physical activity (Rabbitt & Coyne, 2012). Rabbitt and Coyne found that taking the whole-family approach when educating about obesity has been successful.
When the entire family was involved, children were more likely to change their lifestyle and include healthier choices (Rabbitt & Coyne, 2012). When everyone in the family is making healthy lifestyle choices, it is easy to do the same. Learning healthy habits at a young age is important for living a healthy lifestyle. People who learn healthy habits when young are more likely to live a healthy lifestyle in their adult lives and are less likely to be overweight or have associated complications like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension (Rabbitt & Coyne, 2012). Rabbitt and Coyne suggest families should take part in physical exercise together, making this a part of their daily lifestyle, such as riding bikes together or going for walks after dinner (Rabbitt & Coyne, 2012).
In the article “Childhood Obesity, Prevalence and Prevention” authors Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh, and Merchant claim the way to prevent this epidemic is by having the local governments make policy changes, which would increase the amount of space available for children to play, by providing safe places for children to participate in physical activities, such as walking, running, playing at parks, and riding bikes (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh, & Merchant, 2013). Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh, and Merchant also believe the government should apply a small tax on foods considered to be of low nutritional value and enforce manufacturers to label these foods with nutritional signage stating the food item is of low nutritional value (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh, & Merchant, 2013).
In the article, “Communitywide Strategies Key to Preventing Childhood Obesity” authors Crawford et al. discuss how childhood obesity can be prevented with community interventions. Crawford et al. feels restaurants should be forced to change their serving sizes and to increase the number of healthy food choices to meet recommended guidelines, such as MyPlate (Crawford et al., 2013). Crawford et al., also feel that the local government should set up zoning ordinances that control the amount of fast food restaurants and restricting them in neighborhoods and near schools.
Childhood obesity is a complex, multifaceted health problem greatly affected by dietary patterns, lack of physical activity, sedentary lifestyles and the availability of safe community and neighborhood spaces (CDC, 2018). Childhood obesity is a preventable condition that has reached epidemic levels in the United States. As a society, each and every one of us has a duty to help put a stop to this growing trend. We may not realize it, but obesity affects us all in some way. It may not be us directly who suffers from the lasting results of being overweight or obese, but we all have a loved one that has been obese or is now struggling with obesity.
Obesity is a serious health crisis that has many immediate and long-term effects on children, which negatively influence their physical, social, and emotional health. Daily, children are teased, harassed, and even bullied for being overweight and obese (CDC, 2018). Over time, this abuse takes an emotional toll on a child causing them to feel anxious, secluded, unhappy, humiliated, or depressed. In some cases, the distress can cause social isolation and make children fear going to school (CDC, 2018). In the long-term, excessive body fat at a young age is likely to extend into adulthood and is associated with avoidable co-morbidities, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and death (WHO, 2018).
There are various lifestyle, environmental, and behavioral factors that cause children to become overweight and obese, such as learned behaviors, energy imbalance, excessive food intake, sedentary behavior, and economic and socio-cultural stimuli. Some researchers feel it is the responsibility of the educational system to carry out interventions to decrease the growing rate of childhood obesity, where others feel it is the responsibility of the parents to implement home-based interventions. However, by implementing a collaborative approach between school-based and home-based interventions aimed towards increasing physical activity and promoting healthy eating, we can put an end to the growing rate of childhood obesity, improve a child’s life, and avoid long-term health consequences.
Minimal improvement is made if a child eats a healthy diet at school and gets the required amount of physical exercise and then to go home to play video games all evening and only has access to unhealthy processed foods. Nor is great improvement made if a child is provided healthy meals at home, and then goes to school and overeats unhealthy snack options from the vending machines. The most progress can be made when both the schools and home life are focused on working together to make healthy changes; if both school/community-based and home-based health initiatives were implemented child obesity could cease to be an epidemic.
