Childhood Obesity in the US: Factors and Challenges

Prewriting

What is your narrowed topic? Be detailed in your answer. You can use any of the versions you’ve developed for prior assignments.

The narrowed topic is the incidence of childhood obesity in the United States: factors determining it and measures for overcoming this challenge.

Who is your primary audience or reader? Why? Be detailed in your answer about your audience.

Healthcare specialists, nurses, teachers, and administrators are the targeted readers. The motivation for choosing them as an audience is the belief that they are interested in preventing childhood obesity and promoting child health. My professor and classmates, people with obese children in their families or communicating with such families make up the secondary audience because they can help to overcome the challenge of childhood obesity if provided with relevant knowledge and pointed to the criticality of the problem.

In a sentence or short paragraph, what is your thesis statement, including your angle? Write what will appear in your essay.

While genetic predisposition plays a large role in determining whether or not a child is going to be affected by obesity during preschool and early school years, it can be overcome with a proper exercising regimen, healthy diet, and timely medical and therapeutic preventive actions. My angle is that understanding critical factors increasing risks of obesity may be helpful for coping with this problem (the so-called environmentalist approach to explaining childhood obesity).

What topic sentences will you use as the foundation of your communication? (If necessary, add more points.)

• The USA is among the most obese countries in the world.
• There are numerous factors increasing the risks of childhood obesity, but genetic predisposition is the most critical one.
• Knowledge about the causes of childhood obesity and ways to prevent it is imperative for promoting child health.
• Taking a more proactive stance is essential for coping with the problem of childhood obesity in the United States.

What method of organization and development will you use to develop your paragraphs?

Introduction:

Childhood obesity is among the major health concerns in the United States – one of the most obese countries in the world.

Body:

• The USA is among the most obese countries in the world, as around 30% of kids are obese or overweight (Kothandan, 2014).
• There are numerous factors increasing the risks of childhood obesity, but genetic predisposition is the most critical one. Based on genetic specificities, children are more predisposed to getting involved in particular physical activities as a way to prevent obesity (Leonska-Duniec, Ahmetov, & Zmijewski, 2016).
• Knowledge about the causes of childhood obesity and ways to prevent it is imperative for promoting child health. It is related to the opportunity to develop efficient preventative measures and implement them properly.
• Taking a more proactive stance is essential for coping with the problem of childhood obesity in the United States. Therefore, the involvement of teachers, parents, and healthcare professional may be helpful for overcoming this challenge.

Conclusion:

Childhood obesity is a critical challenge, but it can be overcome if addressed properly.

Incidence of Childhood Obesity in the United States

In the United States – one of the most obese countries in the world – childhood obesity is a troubling trend, as the rate of obese and overweight children is continuously growing. More than that, childhood obesity rate has been increasing since the beginning of the century, and there are no positive forecasts related to the change of this figure (Karp & Gesell, 2015). Still, it is not the central matter of concern, as these are obesity-related health consequences that are even more critical. From this perspective, the problem is associated with varying physical and mental issues, such as metabolism and cardiovascular disorders, heart diseases, certain types of cancer, depression, and increased risks of morbidity (Halfon, Larson, & Slusser, 2013). In this way, childhood obesity is the cause of not only impaired condition of child health (poor health outcomes) but also decreased quality of life commonly connected to self-esteem issues and the perception of one’s self.

Due to the criticality of the problem and the related health outcomes, it is essential to pay special attention to factors that increase risks of childhood obesity and ways to prevent this problem. According to a recent research, childhood obesity can be perceived from the perspective of a child’s environment – actions taken by a child itself and its parents, such as dieting, eating habits, getting involved in physical activities, and proper education on these aspects of upbringing (Nabors, Burbage, Woodson, & Swoboda, 2015). Still, supporters of the so-called environmentalist approach do not recognize the significance of genetic predisposition to obesity. Leonska-Duniec et al. (2016) claim that specific genetic features are one of the most critical factors significantly increasing risks of obesity. Nevertheless, while genetic predisposition plays a large role in determining whether or not a child is going to be affected by obesity during preschool and early school years, it can be overcome with a proper exercising regimen, healthy diet, and timely medical and therapeutic preventive actions.

Fundamental Concerns Related to Childhood Obesity and Its Causes

The United States is among the most obese countries in the world. According to Kothandan (2014), the obesity rate is 30%. That means that around 12 million children are either obese or overweight and suffer from obesity-related health issues. More than that, the number of those exposed to this problem has almost doubled since the beginning of the century, and no positive trends are forecasted (Karp & Gesell, 2015). Due to such a figure, it is evident that the challenge is becoming even more severe, and overcoming it may be more complicated than before (Nabors et al., 2015). However, in order to cope with the problem or, at least, prevent the further growth of the obesity rate, it is essential to be aware of the causes of obesity.

There are numerous factors increasing the risks of childhood obesity, but genetic predisposition is the most critical one. The specificities of genetic features are in a direct correspondence with the risks of obesity. It can be explained by either metabolic peculiarities or physical development of a child (Leonska-Duniec et al., 2016). From this perspective, these are genetic specificities that determine an individual’s appetite. It means that this aspect varies across different children so that the risks of obesity caused by abnormal appetite or increased intake of food.

What is more essential, genetic variants are associated with metabolic patterns. In some cases, metabolism is fast – more calories are burnt to perform common activities. However, in other cases, it is slow that means that organism burns fewer calories to cope with the same activities or support its operation. These differences in metabolism are associated with the predisposition to obesity under otherwise equal conditions (Leonska-Duniec et al., 2016). In addition, genetic specificities determine the level of physical development, especially the growth of muscles and physical strength. These peculiarities have a significant impact on the ability to get involved in physical activities – one of the primary ways to prevent obesity (Leonska-Duniec et al., 2016; Kiess, Wabitsch, Maffeis, & Sharma, 2015). Here, it is imperative to note that it stands for the ability to perform common exercises frequently and regularly, not becoming a professional sportsman.

Still, regardless of its crucial role, genetic predisposition to obesity is not the only factor predetermining it, as there are other major concerns. This approach to explaining the roots of childhood obesity is referred to as the environmentalist approach due to the connections its supporters draw between obesity and a child’s environment. In this way, obesity is a consequence of dieting, eating habits, and physical exercises (Nabors et al., 2015). Differences in these aspects are commonly associated with one’s socioeconomic background that can be viewed from two perspectives – educational and purely economic. In the first case, a focus is made on understanding the principles of healthy lifestyle and avoiding junk food or semi-processed products. At the same time, increased risks of obesity are related to ignoring the criticality of physical exercises due to the lack of relevant knowledge. On the other hand, there is a purely economic perspective for explaining the causes of obesity. It is connected to the access to healthy food. Here, it is paramount to note that the obesity rate among wealthier children is significantly lower compared to poorer families. It can be explained by the adequate access to quality food products and decreased intake of semi-processed food that is preferred by low-income families due to being cheaper (Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan, 2014).

Solution

The major controversy concerning treatment strategies of childhood obesity is whether the condition is predetermined by genetics, individual behavior, or the social or physical environment in which children are raised. Some of the most commonly identified risk factors include sex, race, economic status, and birth weight (Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan, 2014). It is crucial to detect those risk factors and select the suitable treatment approaches. However, there is still no agreement on how the problem should be managed so that all these aspects are taken into account.

Despite an unquestionable role of genetic predisposition in determining whether or not a child is going to be affected by obesity, the importance of individual behavior should not be underestimated. Obviously, the behavioral impact on childhood obesity is substantial. It may include lack of physical activity, regular overeating, and some environmental mechanisms that influence health. The factors mentioned above are partly responsible for gaining weight. There are some particular food behaviors that may lead to obesity. They include constant consumption of fast food, frequent eating away, big portions, drinking many sugary beverages, and excluding breakfast which is an important meal of the day. What is more, the energy spending and food consumption are affected by multi-structural variables. They comprise the physical surroundings and socioeconomic status. The impact of the surroundings includes the closeness of shopping facilities such as supermarkets, the presence of fast food restaurants or other locations, and the access to areas for physical activity. After all, socioeconomic status also has positive or negative impact on activity and food behavior. For example, the availability of healthy and not expensive foods provided, as a rule, by larger supermarkets, contributes to improving of food habits. Finally, the significant role of school should not be left aside. Since children spend a greater part of their day at school, it should be a place with healthy eating environment. The problem can be overcome with a proper exercising regimen, healthy diet, and timely medical and therapeutic preventive actions. Thus, my solution is a comprehensive one: I propose to deal with the condition taking into consideration the fact that obesity is simultaneously influenced by genetic, behavioral, social, psychological, metabolic, and other factors, the combination of which is unique for each individual child.

Most of the strategies currently applied to address the problem are ineffective (Perez-Morales, Barcadi-Gascon, & Jimenez-Cruz, 2012). This happens mostly because representatives of different approaches cannot reach a compromise. Those researches who believe that this disease can be classified as environmental (since modern children are raised in conditions that are drastically different from those of the previous generations) make an emphasis on dietary and lifestyle interventions, whereas those who claim the essential role of genetics, argue that, owing to inborn predisposition to obesity, even significant lifestyle changes have a minimal impact on body mass. As a result, the first group ignores genetic factors imposing the same solutions in each case, while the second does not attach significance to most of existing interventions. Children have to suffer from the lack of a comprehensive change delivery.

The solution I propose can be called “multi-agency coordination – target obesity from all perspectives”. It will include not only genetic and environmental but also psychological and social aspects. The latter should be applied to both children and parents since 95 percent of them “inappropriately perceived their children to have the right weights” (Duncan, Hansen, Wang, Yan, & Zhang, 2015). The following steps should be taken:

1. Research (in charge: hospital research teams; timeline: 1 month):

   1. clarifying definitions;
   2. elaborating a framework to process data;
   3. formulating key goals of prevention and intervention;
   4. identifying the major criteria that have to be assessed in each case;
   5. transferring theoretical data into particular recommendations.
2. Medical intervention (in charge: dieticians, physicians, nurses; timeline: from 3 months):

   1. developing and implementing a plan of balanced calorie intake and expenditure in each individual case;
   2. deciding on the amount and type of physical activities;
   3. tracking the condition of the patient in reaction to changes.
3. Psychological intervention (in charge: psychologists; timeline: 2-3 months):

   1. providing support to victims of bullying;
   2. dealing with negative perception of body image and lack of self-confidence;
   3. educating parents to accept the problem and deal with it.
4. Social intervention (in charge: social workers, nurse administrators; timeline: from 6 months):

   1. performing general health screening of kindergarten and school children;
   2. addressing mass media to launch public service advertising;
   3. contacting policy making bodies to introduce legislation regulating the negative impact of fast food industry;
   4. disseminating information in schools to promote healthy habits.

The plan is going to be successful for the following reasons. First of all, it is based on the existing reliable data which contain the statistics on childhood obesity in the United States (Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan, 2014). It will allow further comparison of data after the plan implementation to assess its effectiveness. Secondly, it addresses the problem from all perspectives and takes an individual approach. A comprehensive procedure is crucial for the plan since the scholars are not unanimous about the primary factors that condition childhood obesity. Thus, a complex problem can be solved with the use of the complex approach. Besides, the plan attracts policy makers thereby raising the importance of the issue. It will also increase the awareness of the problem in the society which is a step toward its solution. Finally, it does not require much funding. As a result of plan application, some deliverables will be obtained. They will include a comprehensive database on the topic, guidelines for developing an individual intervention plan, developed psychological intervention strategies, and increase of social awareness.

Benefits

It is crucial for any program to assess cost effectiveness of the solutions proposed, which means that expenses should be balanced against benefits and the latter must outnumber the former, which is not often the case (Gortmaker et al., 2015). Based on the approach that has been chosen and the evidence analyzed previously, it can be concluded that the intervention is cost-effective. The following table sums up the key resources needed and the benefits obtained:

Table 1. Cost-Benefit Analysis

Conclusion

Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing problems affecting a large number of representatives of the XL generation. Despite the fact that the number of overweight or obese children is still slightly lower than that of adults, analysts have indicated that the problem might get out of hand in the future (Tzou & Chu, 2012). This means that children suffering from it call for our effective intervention right now. The society where the problem of obesity is a burden is in danger. The overweight children will grow up to become obese adults. With all the accompanying health problems like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, this generation cannot produce a healthy succession. Thus, the solution of obesity problem is a key to break this circle.

Although it is possible to develop policies that promote healthy eating behavior, physical activity, and other positive habits, all aspects must still be addressed simultaneously to eliminate the root cause of the problem and safeguard future generations. To get detailed information on the program and apply for participation, please contact me via email: [email protected].

References

Cunningham, S. A., Kramer, M. R., & Narayan, K. V. (2014). Incidence of childhood obesity in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(5), 403-411. Web.

Halfon, N., Larson, K., & Slusser, W. (2013). Associations between obesity and comorbid mental health, developmental, and physical health conditions in a nationally representative sample of US children aged 10 to 17. Academic pediatrics, 13(1), 6-13.

Karp, S. M., & Gesell, S. B. (2015). Obesity prevention and treatment in school-aged children, adolescents, and young adults. Primary Prevention Insights, 5(1), 1-4. Web.

Kiess, W., Wabitsch, M., Maffeis, C., & Sharma, A.M. (2015). Metabolic syndrome and obesity in childhood and adolescence. Basel, Switzerland: Karger AG.

Kothandan, S. K. (2014). School-based interventions versus family-based interventions in the treatment of childhood obesity – a systematic review. Archives of Public Health, 72(1), 3-19. Web.

Leonska-Duniec, A., Ahmetov, I.I., & Zmijewski, P. (2016). Genetic variants influencing effectiveness of exercise training programmes. Biology of Sport, 33(3), 207-214. Web.

Nabors, L., Burbage, M., Woodson, K. D., & Swoboda, C. (2015). Implementation of an after-school obesity prevention program: Helping young children toward improved health. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 38(1), 22-38. Web.