The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood
All parents want their children to be healthy and happy. Unfortunately due to various reasons there are some serious difficulties with children health, appearing at various ages, one of them is childhood obesity. Scientifically this state is defined as “a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height” (Daniels, Arnett, Eckel, 2005, p. 26). There are various methods, which are applied for determination of body fat and consequent confirmation of obesity diagnosis, most of them are based o BMI. Nowadays childhood obesity is reported to be one of the most serious problems, leading to negative health effects in the future, as well as a number of psychological problems with self-esteem or even depression and thus becoming one of the vitally important public health concerns.The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood
According to statistical data there are more than 42 million of children, suffering from obesity all over the world. This is a huge figure.
This is absolutely natural for children to have various quantity of body fat, depending of the current development stage. This means that it is almost impossible to state for sure whether there is a problem with obesity just by having a look at a child. The final diagnosis should always be provided by a doctor on the basis of all necessary medical tests and charts. Thus in case parents are concerned about the weight of their child, the best thing they could do, is to visit a doctor. Parents should be ready to provide the history of child’s growth and development along with the history of their family, which would be needed for defining of the weight growth of their child and its relation to norms.
Before working out the strategies for solving of the problems of children obesity, it is necessary to consider all the factors, which are potential risks for children. The researchers confirm that usually there are several factors, which are operating in combination. There was a special medical term worked out – “obesogenic environment” – which is used to describe this combination of prerequisites, having their impact upon development of obesity by children. (Gluckman, Hanson, 2006, p. 116). One of the most influential factors is obesity of the child’s parents, which in its turn could be the consequence of genetics or environment, the family is living in. Psychological factors are also luckily to play not the last role. “A 2010 review stated that childhood obesity likely is the result of the interaction of natural selection favoring those with more parsimonious energy metabolism and today’s consumerist society with easy access to energy dense cheap foods and less energy requirements in daily life.”The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood
There are around 200 genes, which are able to influence the weight of an individual, because they are related to food preferences, metabolism, activity abilities and so on. “One study found that 80% of the offspring of two obese parents were obese in contrast to less than 10% of the offspring of two parents who were of normal weight. The percentage of obesity that can be attributed to genetics varies from 6% to 85% depending on the population examined.” (Gluckman, Hanson, 2006, p. 112). Some genetic diseases and hormonal disorders might be also risky for development of obesity.
Family practices are also utterly important for defining of obesity potential for children. There are more and more mothers, who prefer breast-feeding, on the one hand this is good for further children health, on the other hand however, this causes the problem of obesity, when children grow up. Nowadays the development of technologies is rather rapid, the technological innovations are used in all types of human life: for work, for leisure and for children. As soon as a child starts to prefer to stay at home and watch TV and play computer games, there is a high risk of his lowering of his physical activity, correspondingly leading to obesity. Most of modern families have cars and parents prefer to drive their children to school or to a supermarket, which is not that far from their home. If a child had the chance to walk a couple of bus stops – this would do much better for his health, instead of minimizing of his physical activity. General life tempo nowadays often forces parents to buy fast food for their children, which is calorie-packed and easily available. Some of the researches proved that socioeconomic status of the family is important for the possibility of children to have access to healthier food, because children from ethnic minority families are more likely to be overweight. The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood
thus in most countries special practices and policies were adopted in order to contribute to improvement of the situation. The quality of school lunches has been reconsidered, with the aim of making them healthier. At the same time physical activity of school children is supported and developed from various sides. This practice is also related to providing free access to sidewalks, parks, pools for children to have fun there and become more active. In order to keep the balance between healthy and unhealthy food, there is a need of regulation of prices for both types. Separate attention is paid to advertising, as children often watch it and are inclined to believe that food from fast food restaurant is exactly, what they need. Thus one of the governmental policies is either complete prohibition of fast-food restaurants and candies advertising on TV or at least – in children channels.
All parents should be aware of the possible complications, which could be brought by obesity of their children; they are usually generally grouped into social, physical and emotional. Physical complications include development of type 2 diabetes, which is “chronic condition that affects the way your child’s body uses sugar (glucose). Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of type 2 diabetes” (Daniels, Arnett, Eckel, 2005, p. 55).The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood Metabolic syndrome this is not a disease, this is a combination of various factors and symptoms, which cause such diseases as diabetes and heart disease. These conditions most often include high cholesterol and high blood pressure, they might lead to appearing of plaques in arteries, which force them to become thicker and narrower, this is utterly dangerous for children’ state of heart. A lot of children suffering from asthma started from usual overweight. Sleep disorders – for example obstructive sleep apnea are rather serious for children, making the breathing of a child stop from time to time, it could be also a consequence of obesity. Hormones’ poor balance brings a lot of problems to girls, as menstruations start earlier, than it should naturally happen. Social and emotional complications are usually discussed together. Children are sometimes even more cruel and rude than adult people and certainly in case one of them is suffering from obesity, he immediately becomes the victim of bullying, which with time leads to decrease of his self-esteem and even depression. There are various unpleasant names, invented for them, in many cases even if they managed to develop friendly relations with other children, with time they loose their friends, who become more and more distanced. Children with extra weight reveal more anxiety during their studies and communication with their peers, which is often the cause of their poor academic results and problems with socialization. Generally children tend to perceive everything more emotionally, feeling of hopelessness in case they are overweight, could be much stronger and deeper than by adult people. The potential outcomes of this feeling are development of depression, loss of interest towards normal everyday activities, communication with friends, studies.The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood
Emotional eating is one of the most controversial consequences of depression by overweight children, still unfortunately it often takes place. Instead of getting pleasures and fun from communication, sports, trips, such children start to develop their emotional dependence upon eating, finding their comfort only with food.
. Taking into consideration all the above-described factors, this is evident that it is rather a myth, than a reality. Of course some of them are really able to become popular with their peers and never loose their enthusiasm and good mood. Still in most cases, parents should expect profound and serious emotional and psychological problems instead. The main task of parents, teachers, doctors, social workers should be to provide all the necessary support for children to get rid of their psychological problems and gain control over their extra weight. It is absolutely not correct to neglect this topic, it should be openly discussed with children; however, it is important to choose sensitive and friendly approach, never criticizing or accusing them of anything, otherwise the effect might be converse. At the same time, as soon as parents see any efforts, made by their children, they should be praised a lot even for the smallest achievement, still any kind of food rewards should be avoided. If a child is inclined to emotional eating, there is a need to provide some options of other ways to cope with his or her emotions without food. And again sensitive approach and patience are the keys to the success in communication with children, who are obese.The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood
Talking about providing help and support to children, suffering from obesity, it is necessary to mention the preventive steps, which would be actual and important for all parents, irrespective of the fact, if their children are becoming at the moment overweight or not. If parents follow some simple rules, they are most likely to reduce any risk of obesity for their children. They should have constant control over the number of sugar and sweets, consumed by their children, providing instead a lot of fruit and vegetables, which are without any doubts much healthier. Instead of going to a fast-food restaurant they should suggest their children active rest in the park or doing some sports together, this would be a great possibility to spend time, having all members of the family closer and adding active note to their every day lives. Separate attention should be paid to limiting of time of TV watching or playing computer games and Internet surfing.
Overall, the problem of children obesity is rather acute nowadays, having a lot of various sources and reasons for its development; there is a strong need for all parents, as well as state officials, to seize a stricter control over these factors, in order to minimize their negative impact upon the state of children’s health.The Problem Of Overweight In Childhood