The Causes And Effects Of Childhood Obesity Assignment Sample

Introduction of Discussion About The Causes And Effects Of Childhood Obesity

Explanation of topic importance

Childhood obesity is a chronic problem, which could lead to the development of situations where problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, and other lifestyle-associated diseases. It could also lead to situations of depression, self-esteem and others. Thus, it is important to understand the reasons behind the rising of such phenomena, so that early steps could be taken for the prevention of such problems in the future.

Definition

If the definition of childhood obesity is concerned, it could be said that, a serious medical condition, is when the BMI index of the human body gets distorted and the child gets much fat and faces difficult challenges in life. The best way to deal with the situation is to try to reduce childhood obesity by improving the habits of eating and exercising (Sanyaolu, et al., 2019). The symptoms of childhood obesity could be abnormal BMI index, overweight body and others.

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Thesis statement

The report explores the causes and effects of childhood obesity and its overall effect on the child. The physical, and psychological effects will be discussed. Also, various other diseases related to obesity among the child will be discussed. The prevention and mitigation strategies for childhood obesity are also discussed.

Discussion

Cause 1: Consumption of unhygienic foods

Nowadays childhood obesity is recognised as a severe health problem. This affects all ages both boys and girls. This health problem raises the possibility of high blood pressure, diabetes, certain malignancies and other chronic types of illness. The prevalence of this health problem is generally noticed in the countries of Europe (Nicodemo, et al., 2021). There are so many reasons that persist behind childhood obesity, poor nutrition is the preliminary cause of this health problem. It has been noticed that children who eat poorly and those who do not access nutrient-rich food may become overweight. Children are more likely to become overweight when they are exposed to unhealthy food such as high calories, sugar, and fat. Candy, fast food and sweet items, and calorie-dense beverages with added sugar like energy drinks, and soda are responsible for gaining too much weight (Chaabane, et al., 2021). It has been noticed from the different research, that the majority of parents are ignorant about their child's nutritional content of food lack of knowledge about balanced diet and nutrition may result in childhood obesity. Child access to unhealthy food on a regular basis results in an increase in total intake of unhealthy food and weight gain. The lack of physical activity among children is another cause of childhood obesity. Nowadays due to advanced technology, it has been noticed most kids spend more time with technical gadgets like mobile phones, laptops and computers. So the lack of exercise can result in a decline in physical fitness, and an increase in body fat also.

Cause 2: Genetic defect

Another reason for the cause of obesity in children is genetics. The genes carry hereditary characteristics which alter the levels of the hormones of the body. This gives rise to a number of complications. The case of genetic predisposition evaluates the conditions when the particular traits of the genes are being transferred in the form of genes. This causes the children to be prone to weight gain and storage of body fat more in comparison to children of his/her age (Hossain, et al., 2019). The level of the rates of metabolism and the appetite and storage of bodily fats and other processes of the body are affected by the influence of genetics. The history of the family brings such influence in the genetic factors which are being carried forward. The children of families with histories of obesity are more prone to store more body fat and be more obese compared to the children of healthy families. The factors of the genes interact with the environment and this causes many influences on the weight of the bodies of the children at a very early age (Powell, 2019). There can be a number of influences such as the urge to intake more food, bad habits of eating and wrong choices of food and these affect the weight of the children. Children with a high proportion of the genetic factors of obesity are more prone to obesity than children belonging to healthy families. Because of genetics, there can be rare disorders of genes of the children which again imposes many effects on the habits of the children such as the eating habits and metabolism of the children which causes a rise in weights of the children, which in turn gives rise to obesity of the children (Morales Camacho, et al., 2019). There can be impacts from the epigenetic factors of the children, which influence the expression of the genes of the children without bringing any changes to the sequence of the DNA of the children. The factors of mental nutrition while the child is in the womb of the mother can bring a modification of the epigenetic factors of the children which influences the risk of developing obesity for the children. The number o children affected by this is shown in the graph below.

Effect 1: Psychological impact

The effect of childhood obesity could be severe among children, both physically and psychologically. The first cause that has been discussed in the report, was lifestyle-related issues. The main issue that was discussed as the cause of obesity was the eating of junk foods with high calories and very less nutritional value. This in combination with the performing of little exercises by the child could lead to the development of an obese situation. Another important factor related to childhood obesity was the socio-economic condition and related issues of ethnic divides. It was found that the major effects of childhood obesity related to lifestyle and eating habits could lead to mood swings, depression, and aggressive behaviour among others (Hoffman, et al., 2021). This could also lead to a situation where the affected child could lose interest in eating in one table with the rest of the family members, or parents. Also, they could lose interest in outdoor activities, which further complicates the situation. Several studies have shown that an increase in obesity could lead to a 44% increase in the difficult behaviour of the child towards their parents and associated friends among others.

Another major impact could be a phenomenal increase in secondary behaviour, which could include an increase in the timing of watching television, and playing indoor games, and video games among others. This could have an impact on the community of the child as well.

Effect 2: Physical impact on the body

The second cause that is discussed in the report is the genetic issues of a human being that could lead to severe obese conditions. The genetic issues are mostly inert of a humans, and very little could be done to bring about any changes to the situation. The issues related to genetics could also lead to a situation where the siblings of the child could have similar situations.

The second major effect of obesity on a child could be said as the growth of several physical complications. These are mainly lifestyle-related diseases. Those include diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, asthma, high cholesterol, heart issues, fatty liver, kidney failure, defective brain and others (Qiao, et al., 2020). Diabetes is a condition where the blood sugar level has increased to a high or low level from the normal 120/80 mmHg. Similarly, the condition could rise in relation to blood pressure. There is also a high risk of increasing cholesterol levels in the body, and that could have contributed to more obese situations. Childhood osteoarthritis, or the disease of bones could arise as a result of the heavy weight of the body. There is also a risk of getting colon cancer or breast cancer among the affected obese children (Bupa.co.uk, 2019). The main initial diagnosis process that could be deployed to assess the obesity of a child could include the BMI measurement.

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Conclusion

Thesis statement restatement

In conclusion, it can be said that the report successfully explores the causes and effects of childhood obesity and its overall effect on the child. The physical, and psychological effects will be discussed. Also, various other diseases related to obesity among the child will be discussed. The prevention and mitigation strategies for childhood obesity are also discussed.

Cause effect synthesis

In this report, two different causes and effects of childhood obesity were discussed. The first cause of childhood obesity was the poor nutrition, and eating of unhealthy food by the children. Unhealthy foods could include those with high calories, sugar, and fat. Candy, fast food and sweet items, and calorie-dense beverages with added sugar like energy drinks, and soda are responsible for gaining too much weight. It has been noticed from the different research, that the majority of parents are ignorant about their child's nutritional content of food lack of knowledge about balanced diet and nutrition may result in childhood obesity. The second cause that was discussed was mainly genetic issues. The negative consequences were also discussed. It could include, to mood swings, depression, and aggressive behaviour among others. Also, physical difficulties, like diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, asthma, high cholesterol, heart issues, fatty liver and other issues could arise.

Future prediction

In the future, it can be predicted that, with the improvement of medical technologies, an early detection of the obesity phenomenon could help in the reduction of the obese child population.

References

Book

• Powell, D., 2019.Schools, corporations, and the war on childhood obesity: How corporate philanthropy shapes public health and education. Routledge. Available from: https://www.routledge.com/Schools-Corporations-and-the-War-on-Childhood-Obesity-How-Corporate-Philanthropy/Powell/p/book/9780815355120 [Available on 28.05.2023]

Journals

• Chaabane, S., Doraiswamy, S., Chaabna, K., Mamtani, R. and Cheema, S., 2021. The impact of COVID-19 school closure on child and adolescent health: a rapid systematic review.Children,8(5), p.415.
• Hoffman, D.J., Powell, T.L., Barrett, E.S. and Hardy, D.B., 2021. Developmental origins of metabolic diseases.Physiological Reviews,101(3), pp.739-795.
• Hossain, M.S., Siddiqee, M.H., Ferdous, S., Faruki, M., Jahan, R., Shahik, S.M., Raheem, E. and Okely, A.D., 2019. Is childhood overweight/obesity perceived as a health problem by mothers of preschool-aged children in Bangladesh? A community-level cross-sectional study.International Journal of environmental research and public health,16(2), p.202.
• Morales Camacho, W.J., Molina Díaz, J.M., Plata Ortiz, S., Plata Ortiz, J.E., Morales Camacho, M.A. and Calderón, B.P., 2019. Childhood obesity: Aetiology, comorbidities, and treatment.Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews,35(8), p.e3203.
• Nicodemo, M., Spreghini, M.R., Manco, M., Wietrzykowska Sforza, R. and Morino, G., 2021. Childhood obesity and COVID-19 lockdown: Remarks on eating habits of patients enrolled in a food-education program.Nutrients,13(2), p.383.
• Sanyaolu, A., Okorie, C., Qi, X., Locke, J. and Rehman, S., 2019. Childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States: a public health concern.Global pediatric health,6, p.2333794X19891305.

Article

• (Qiao, et al., 2020). A meta-analysis of the association between breastfeeding and early childhood obesity.Journal of Pediatric Nursing,53, pp.57-66. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882596319305500 [Available on 28.05.2023]

Website

• Bupa.co.uk (2019). Overweight in children. Available from: https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/childrens-health/overweight-children#:~:text=Overweight%20and%20obesity%20in%20children,self%2Desteem%20and%20mental%20wellbeing. [Available on 28.05.2023]