OBESITY  IN  CHILDHOOD      

Arantxa  Domínguez  Acevedo    

Assignment  1    

CHLD  2  Child  Development  &  Growth:  Prenatal  to  Early  Childhood  

   

Professor:  Bharti  Dave            Date:    04/30/2016  

   

1. Introduction.

Authorities and researchers have talked of the Obesity in children as an

epidemic. A paper from 2007 assured that “by 2010 it is expected that the number of

overweight children will increase significantly worldwide, with almost 50% of children in

North America and 38% of children in the European Union becoming overweight” [9].

That is a big number, and the most dangerous consequences are the medical and

psychological issues associated with obesity. I will talk about consequences further in

the article.

The Obesity “is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to

the extent that it may have a negative effect on health. People are generally considered

obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a

person's weight by the square of the person's height, is over 30 kg/m2, with the

range 25–30 kg/m2 defined as overweight” [a]. As we can see in the following picture

the obesity is a worldwide concern because of its increasing rates.

Figure 1: Obesity rates increasing worldwide. Source [4].

Childhood is a target time in the development of children for the instauration of

healthy values, nutrition knowledge and activity and sports routines. Having a son

makes me realized how important is nutrition and physical activity in the development of

my baby, so I am very interested on doing well and provide my son opportunities to

healthy develop and learn how to do good and healthy meal choices.

2. Research

Obesity is a multifactorial problem that involves several agents that are in touch

with the children’s life. Some of these agents can indeed be responsible of the increase

of the obesity rates on children. We can approach to the problem from the parents,

school, peers and media point of view.

2.1 Family approach.

From the Parents point of view, there are several socio-demographic factors that

can predict the chance of obesity in children. Poverty and obesity go by hand. Fresh

food is pricey and sometimes, not easily available in the neighbor grocery store. Low-

income homes correlate with insufficiency healthy choices. Sometimes not choosing

healthy choices is a matter of money but sometimes there is a lack of knowledge on

how to eat healthy.

Another factor why parents buy fast food is because they don’t have time to go

grocery. It is easier to go to a fast food restaurant chain with a drive trough and get

some dollar menu for dinner [v1]. Furthermore, processed food is cheaper than natural

and fresh food. Processed food is also ready to eat so parents do not need to spend

time cooking or thinking what to eat.

2.2. School approach.

They are offering healthy choices at school cafeteria but they are still offering

high carbohydrates offers as well. Furthermore, the salads and fresh choices are less

appealing’s and appetizing than other choices (pizza, sandwiches, potatoes) [v2].

Researchers call the food provided aside the meal, competitive foods [11]. These foods

are the snacks and sodas that are sold outside the meal school program and those are

high in low-nutrition levels and energy dense. The competitive foods have a deep

impact in the nutrition of the children. When some schools have applied restricted

policies for competitive foods, they have found that children choose schools meals 30%

more [11].

It is also a matter of money, because there are no law restrictions for this food,

and some schools are afraid to loose revenue if they do not sell competitive foods.

2.3. Peer approach.

Childhood is a special time in life where relationship with peers is a crucial

process. When children are between 5-11 years old, they experience their first

friendships and significant relationships with peers [10]. Peers are an influence source

of beliefs, habits and knowledge and can transfer certain obesity tendencies

2.4. Media and food industry approach.

Doctor Mark Hyman has reveled a “secret” meeting among several CEO’s of

important companies in the food industry. In that meeting Doctors and the CEO’s tried

to reach consensus in cutting sugar, fat and salt in their products. The meeting was a

failure and the companies argued that they had already “healthy choices” in the market.

Dr. Hyman assures the problem is not having healthy choices, the problem is the

amount of sugar, salt and fat in their products, are that high dose are driving people

addicted and overweight. As we can see in the picture below, since 20 years ago, the

size of serving in restaurants, ready meals and even at home, have experienced an

increase. Nowadays, restaurant meals are likely to feed 2-3 people.

Figure 2. Portion distortion – Source: http://strongweightloss.net/education/portion-distortion/

Some studies have shown that the time children spend watching TV and with

other devices is linked with their body weight. It is also linked with time of exercise: at

much time watching TV, less time practicing exercise [v2]. The Academy of Pediatrics

also have warned that today’s children watch too much TV, practice too less exercise,

watch too many junk food advertisements and don’t get enough sleep.

3. Impact

Obesity is a multifactorial disease that can lead to devastating consequences

both for children and adults. The consequences do not only affect the health of the

children but also their psychological health and social relationships. The following figure

shows the medical consequences of being obese. One that surprised me is the

incidence of Type 2 Diabetes, some studies have shown that more and more cases are

found in childhood and adolescence [4].

Figure 3: Complications of childhood obesity. Source [4]

Psychologically, children are affected. Obese children feel rejected and

sometimes bullied. In the crucial period of the childhood, the negative feelings can lead

children to depression, low self-steem and eating disorders such a bulimia and binge

eating [b].

Furthermore, the relationships with peers are affected and obese children find

more difficult to be connected with other children. Some studies suggest that bias,

negative beliefs and stereotypes have been found in children regarding to other obese

children. Children tend to think obese peers are more likely to be lazy, stupid, ugly,

selfish, getting teased and having few friends [9].

4. Solution

Even if there are lots of things to do; it is also true that there are several public

and private programs that seek the decrease of obesity in children by education and

physical activity. One example of that is the program that the First Lady Michelle Obama

created in 2010, Let’s Move!. The program looks for the healthy growth of future

generations.

From the point of view of parents, we should be healthy models for our children.

Children of parents who eat healthy and exercise are more likely to follow this life style

on the future [v1]. There are also other tools and activities that we can use for healthy

eating and life style.

One of the basic knowledge is the Food Pyramid for healthy eating. The pyramid

represents the healthy intake of food groups.

Figure 4: Pyramid and portion food - Source: https://melaniescorner.wordpress.com/

The concept of portion of food is an easy way to know hoy much food should we

eat. For a balanced diet, the normal amount of food should be the size of our palm. The

portion of a toddler would be smaller than a child because of the difference on their

height and weight [v1]. Another interesting tool to check our intake of food is by creating

a Meal Journal to be aware of what we are eating. Following there is a list of further tips

for the healthy eating and life, from the different agents that are involved in the

children’s life.

Figure 5: Tips for prevention and treatment of obesity in childhood. Source [4].

As we can see in the list, the conclusion is that the agents should provide

opportunities for children to have a healthy food choices and practice sports or other

physical activities.

5. Conclusion

After reviewing the literature and seeing the documentaries, I can conclude the

Obesity in children is an epidemic issue that exists worldwide. The good news are that

parents, schools and all agents involving children’s life, can influence and reverse the

increase of the epidemic. My conclusion is that children need to have opportunities and

choices for being healthy and stay active. Parents should be the models but also Media

and Schools –that influence the most- should be in the same page.

Because childhood is a decisive stage of life, parents and schools should provide

good foundations for building habits and relationships. Children are more likely to

internalize new concepts and routines by playing fun activities so we should go this way,

creating fun learning situations.

6. References.

[1] Alaimo, K., Briefel, R. R., Frongillo Jr, E. A., & Olson, C. M. (1998). Food insufficiency exists in the United States: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). American Journal of Public Health, 88(3), 419-426. [2] Case, A., Fertig, A., & Paxson, C. (2005). The lasting impact of childhood health and circumstance. Journal of health economics, 24(2), 365-389. [3] Collins, W. A., & Russell, G. (1991). Mother-child and father-child relationships in middle childhood and adolescence: A developmental analysis.Developmental Review, 11(2), 99-136. [4] Ebbeling, C. B., Pawlak, D. B., & Ludwig, D. S. (2002). Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure. The lancet, 360(9331), 473-482. [5] Golan, M., & Crow, S. (2004). Parents are key players in the prevention and treatment of weight-related problems. Nutrition reviews, 62(1), 39-50. [6] Koelen, M. A., & Lindström, B. (2005). Making healthy choices easy choices: the role of empowerment. European journal of clinical nutrition, 59, S10-S16. [7] Lytle, L. A., Kubik, M. Y., Perry, C., Story, M., Birnbaum, A. S., & Murray, D. M. (2006). Influencing healthful food choices in school and home environments: results from the TEENS study. Preventive medicine, 43(1), 8-13. [8] Mannino, M. L., Lee, Y., Mitchell, D. C., Smiciklas-Wright, H., & Birch, L. L. (2004). The quality of girls' diets declines and tracks across middle childhood.International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 1(1), 5. [9] Puhl, R. M., & Latner, J. D. (2007). Stigma, obesity, and the health of the nation's children. Psychological bulletin, 133(4), 557. [10] Santrock, John W. Children. 12th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print. [11] Story, M., Nanney, M. S., & Schwartz, M. B. (2009). Schools and obesity prevention: creating school environments and policies to promote healthy eating and physical activity. Milbank Quarterly, 87(1), 71-100. 6.1. Website references: [a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity [b] Eating Disorders Health Center. http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/features/eating-disorders-children-teens 6.2. Video references [v1] Tipping the Scales- A Documentary on Childhood Obesity https://youtu.be/qpNvj5xWr6k [v2] Our Supersized Kids https://youtu.be/ZNySc_BIl5k