Negative Effects of Childhood Obesity - Essay Example

Topic: Childhood Obesity Introduction In today’s world, childhood obesity is a negative phenomenon, which affects the health and well being of child population. Childhood obesity can be considered as a medical condition wherein the body weight of a child exceeds more in proportion to their height and age. Childhood obesity is a serious health condition because it damages the health of a child. Children with excessive fat content in their body experience trouble in making bodily movements and can become physically less active. This terrific health condition can pave way to the onset of diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure in children. According to (Rabbitt & Coyne 731-35) “In 1995, there were 18 million children worldwide under the age of 5 classified as overweight, compared with 2010, when the figure was nearly 43 million”. Obesity is a health condition which can last for a prolonged period and can eat into the health and wellbeing of a child. Obesity generally can cause serious side effect s to psychological and physiological well being of a child. It is not only the developed world is suffering from childhood obesity syndrome; it is also largely affecting the developing countries too. Here, the habit of consumption of fast food among children is the main culprit for the origination of childhood obesity. The high calorie food along with sedentary lifestyle makes a child obese in a gradual span of time. The negative effect of childhood obesity Childhood obesity is a health condition found among children which strongly hampers their physical and psychological development. The rising level of fat in the body leads to many illness in children .Obesity is an epidemic which not only damages the health of a child but also leaves an impact on their quality of life. Some of the negative consequences of childhood obesity can be categorized as follows; a) Diabetes 2: In earlier times, Type 2 diabetes was found among adult people, but recently due to increased prevalence of obesity among children has led to onset of diabetes 2 among them. b) Heart problems: The children who are victims of obesity have the tendency to fall prey to serious cardiac problems as they grow old. This mainly occurs due to the high cholesterol level and lessened physical activity. These children also can be victims of heart failure as larger body makes the heart work harder. c) Chronic medical condition: Children who are overweight are always exposed to many chronic illnesses. This medical condition can be high blood pressure, fatty liver, swelling in the body and so on. As per (Caprio 209-220)“Given the magnitude of the childhood obesity problem, however, pediatricians and other health care providers are going to have to step up and take a major role in the care and health of the obese child”. a) Digestive problems: Due to high fatty food consumption and continuous eating habit, the digestive working pattern of obese children can be weak. This will lead to indigestion, heart burn and malfunctioning in digestive organ. The Role of parents in combating childhood obesity The epidemic of childhood obesity not only negatively affects children but also have an impact on their parents. The parents of the obese children will be consistently thinking about the health of their children and can face great mental exhaustion and dilemma. According to (Waters 5)“Besides being a risk factor for adult obesity and chronic diseases, excess adiposity in childhood raises the risk of number of adverse physical and psychosocial health outcomes in childhood itself”. Thus, due to the severe negative effects of childhood obesity, the parents are advised to take credible action for providing right guidance to their children. Moreover, it is highly important for the parents to avail their children with nutritious food and physical activity regime. Nowadays, both the parents of children are often professionally engaged and they find less time to cater to the needs of their children. This attitude of parents should change and they should provide their children with homely cooked food which are nutritious and fresh. The parent of a child must build up a meal plan which consist more of fresh fruits and vegetables. The child must be also educated by parents in the early years about the goodness of consuming natural foods. Apart from this, the child should be continuously motivated for engaging in physical activities to make their life more fruitful and healthy. The parents should also discourage their children from watching television for a prolonged time. It is mostly the television, internet and video games that lessen the physical activity of a child. The prevention of childhood obesity Since childhood obesity is a serious health problem, preventive measures to combat this issue must be taken by the government, and school authorities of a country. An obese child is a disadvantage to the society and can be less productive as a social member. The main concern is that childhood obesity can give rise to many immediate and long term health problems in a child. It is a known fact that, the only way to fight obesity is to eat healthy natural food and engage daily in some physical activity. Moreover, as a legal authority, the government has a strong role to play in eradicating this health disorder. The government should plan and implement strategies and health reform which can guide the parents and children in fighting obesity. Government need t motivate the public in consuming more vegetarian food than concentrating on meat based food. They have to promote the agriculture of healthy natural food and should create availability of fresh farm foods in the market. Ironically, the government is favoring fast food chains who are the main agents to be blame for obesity in childhood. As per (Pollen 55) “Agriculture’s always going to be organized by the government; the question is, organized for whose benefit”. Apart from this the schools have a credible role to play in fighting childhood obesity as they have direct influence on children and their parents. The school authorities need to install health programs which educate the children and parents about the role of natural food and physical activity in building their health and well being. Conclusion Nowadays, most of the people young or adult know about obesity and its adverse effect on the health and wellbeing of a person. But it is the habitual bad eating pattern that pushes them into a vicious cycle of unhealthy life style. Interestingly, there had been many moves from the American government and school authorities to change the unhealthy living pattern of children and their family. But the popular culture of fast food and watching television has taken over the life of youngsters. Obesity and overweight is a health condition which can be prevented if right actions are taken by the family members, government and educational sector. For the fighting of this epidemic, a balance should be brought about in the life of children with regard to food consumption and physical activity. Now, the fast food industry has culminated to a point where they dominate over the eating habits of a society and only a tab on them can create a positive effect on the health of the children of developed nations. Consuming densely rich food and leading a sedentary life style with aid of television and video games, the young population of developed countries has become less productive. Childhood obesity is not only connected to health but also relates to the personality and social behavior of a person in a selected social environment. If one is obese, we can observe that the person had low self esteem, self confidence, determination and will power. So considering all these facts, it would be ideal if the parents, government and school authorities to fight this social evil called “childhood obesity”. References Caprio, Sonia . "Treating Child Obesity and Associated Medical Conditions." .Future of children 16.1 (2006): 209-20. Print. Pollen, Michael. The Omnivores Dilemma: The Search for a Perfect Meal in a Fast-Food. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006. 55. Print Rabbitt, Aifric , and Coyne,Imelda ."Childhood obesity: nurses’ role in addressing the epidemic." British Journal of Nursing 21.12 (2012) : 731-735. Print. Waters, Elizabeth. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Evidence Policy and Practice . Chichester: Blackwell Publishing Limited, 2010.5.Print Read More