Childhood Obesity in Australia for Healthy Weight -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theChildhood Obesity in Australia for Healthy Weight. Answer: Introduction. Obesity is described as irregular or extreme build up of fat in humans which could affect their health. Childhood obesity is a medical illness which impacts adolescents and children. A healthy weight curve is when as a child grows, their height and weight change proportionally.When kids do not follow the healthy weight curve, it means that their weight change is not proportional to their change in height. Thus it means when they gain body fat, children can get their health adversely affected and they will not develop healthily (13). When a child stores a lot of body fat they will be referred to as obese. An indication of childhood obesity is when a child weighs way more than expected for their height and age. When these children weight are left unmonitored, they will most likely grow up and become obese adults.they will also suffer chronic illnesses like heart diseases. Thus, because of all of this their money will be used up o take care of themselves personally and also for their he alth cost (4). This essay will focus on childhood obesity in Australia, its prevalence, and incidences across the country. It will also look at what impacts childhood obesity has and what part of the Australian population is most affected by it and how they are affected. Then it will study the determinants that relate to this health issue and if they can be used to come up with interventions for childhood obesity. It will then look at all the data collected and look at its strengths, limits, and gaps in it. Finally, it will conclude by giving reasons why childhood obesity in Australia needs to be addressed. Incidences and prevalences of chidhood obesity. In Australia, approximately 25% of the children aged between two and seventeen years of age are classified as overweight or obese. These statistics translate to 1 in every four children being obese in the whole population. Children who are obese are more likely to be obese into their adulthood thus it will increase the risk that they will develop chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. The rate of obesity in Australian children aged between 5 to 17 has increased from 5.2% in 1995 to 7.5% now (7). It is a worrying trend which means more and more children are obese in the country. With this trend, it has been predicted that by 2020, 65% of young Australians will be obese. This increase in childhood obesity percentage is similar across the board for both female and male children. There has been increasing in prevalence in Australia because of recent changes in the social and physical environment in the country. With the changes, it easier for people especially ch ildren to gain access to cheap, affordable and unhealthy food options and reduced the need to be physically active. Thus by eating this food and being inactive, it increases the possibility of the child being obese (11). Impacts of childhood obesity. Some of the impacts of childhood obesity include; first is that the children who are overweight will most likely face social isolation, bullying, discrimination and teasing from their fellow children who are average weighted. It will lead to these children being depressed, and they will suffer from body image issues well into their adulthood. Another impact is that when they are isolated, they lose the ability to form relationships and friendships with their peers and also as they go into adolescence because of body image issues they may resort to being anorexic or bulimic so that they can achieve the perfect body (8). Another effect is that because of being overweight these children are at more risk of getting chronic diseases. Next impact is that parents with obese children will spend a lot of money treating these chronic diseases that they develop because most of them are illnesses that will affect them for life. Hence they require cash so that they can be managed (9). Does childhood obesity affect a particular population group more than others? If so, how? The occurrence of childhood obesity is unevenly distributed across the Australian society, with children from low socioeconomic backgrounds at most significant risk. It can have an extreme and longlasting effect on the quality of these children's lives. Children who are overweight are usually socially isolated and have more chance of developing chronic diseases. These children from low-income households are more likely to be obese because of various reasons (13). Some of these reasons include; one they have little opportunity to exercise as the neighborhoods they live in have no access to parks and recreational activities. Also because these children come from low-income households, they may not be able to eat healthy foods as they cannot afford it and also the only food they can access is the unhealthy options. Finally, their parents might not know how to deal and remedy obesity in their children (1). Childhood obesity affects these children from low-income households in various ways; one is that because of developing chronic illness such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the parents end up spending a lot of the money they could have used for the family to treat these diseases in their children. Also, they may lack the funds to treat the child as they have low or no income to use (9). Another impact is that the children will be socially isolated by their friends who are not obese and thus it will lead them to be depressed, and therefore they will perform poorly in school and prefer to keep to themselves. They also are at more risk of being bullied and teased by their normal-weighted peers which will lead them to have low self-esteem and body image issues (8). What determinants relate to childhood obesity? Which are amenable to intervention? A combination of different determinants can lead to childhood obesity. Some of these determinants include; first is the socioeconomic status. Children from both high income and low-income households are at risk of developing obesity even though it is more common in the ones from the low-income homes. Some of the reasons this happens is that they lack the funds to provide healthy options for them and what they afford is often unhealthy. Also, these children lack places where they can go to play and be active thus they cannot reduce the risk of developing obesity. On the other side, children from high-income homes will develop obesity due to factors such as being given too much pocket money thus they can buy unhealthy junk foods. They also have househelps in their homes. Therefore, they are not as active as they could be as everything is being done for them (12). Another determinant is physical activities. The current trend in children has shifted play from outside to the indoors. Children nowadays do not go to the outdoors to play and explore as it was in the past, they now prefer to engage in indoor entertainment such as video games, watching televisions and online gaming. Thus, these children are inactive because all they do is sit down and get entertained. Also, many neighborhoods lack amenities such as parks where children can go and play thus the only option is to stay indoors. These neighborhoods also have become unsafe to walk around as they could be abducted hence parents resort to keeping the children indoors so that they can be safe. Therefore, because of the inactivity, these children are at risk of being obese (5). The final determinant is diet; a child food plays a huge role in determining whether they will be healthy or not. Their diet from a young age is influenced entirely by their parents, and if they do not receive healthy options, they are at risk of being overweight from when they are toddlers. When their parents are obese, the children will most likely be obese also as they are fed unhealthy food. Also as they grow up and watch the television, they will be exposed to the aggressive advertisement of unhealthy, cheap and energy high foods, and thus they are tempted to consume these foods and when they do they increase the risk of them being obese. When the children go to school, they can easily access these unhealthy foods from the school cafeteria or restaurants near the school. Also, school children tend to have little to no knowledge of the risks associated with unhealthy nutrition (3). Some interventions against childhood obesity include; first children in school need to be educated on the dangers of unhealthy nutrition. Once they know about it, it will be easier for them to decide to consume healthy foods.Also, schools should be made to provide healthy foods in the cafeteria which will make the children consume these foods while in schools (2). Another intervention is that the government should build more social amenities like parks and gyms for the different communities that do not have access to it and also ensure that security is improved. It will ensure that children have a safe place where they can go and play and stay safe hence reducing the risk of obesity (5). The next intervention is that the government should collaborate with stakeholders who provide these healthy foods to enable them to subsidize the cost of the healthy foods. By doing this, even families with low income can easily access healthy food options. This will go a long way to reduce the preva lence of childhood obesity in children (6). What are the strengths, limitations and gaps in the information you have collectedabout childhood obesity? From the information I have gathered, it is clear to see that a lot of research has been put into giving the public information about the risks associated with childhood obesity (14). Hence, so much information is out there for people to access and they can know what happens when children get overweight. However, there are limits in that there is no clear way to determine if a child is overweight or obese. There needs to be a standardized method to determine if a child is obese so that parents will be able to know when their child is obese. A gap in the information is that there exists little information on whether interventions that are being made about childhood obesity is making a dent or if it is not making a difference at all (10). Conclusion In conclusion, childhood obesity in Australia is a serious matter that needs to be addressed immediately. The trend in the country shows that rates of obesity in children keep on increasing and this equates to more and more adults being obese. It also means a majority of the Australian population shortly will have some chronic illness such as type 2 diabetes. Hence, as a country, more needs to be put in research about childhood obesity and then with the findings, they can come up with appropriate interventions for this issue. Also, when these suggested interventions are put into action, it should be followed up after a while. It ensures that other people can see the difference the response is making. References Appelhans BM, Fitzpatrick SL, Li H, Cail V, Waring ME, Schneider KL, Whited MC, Busch AM, Pagoto SL. The home environment and childhood obesity in low-income households: indirect effects via sleep duration and screen time. BMC public health. 2014 Dec;14(1):1160. 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