Summarizing Practice Issue
The number of obese and overweight children is constantly increasing (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). However, the primary challenge is the scope of obesity-related health concerns, varying from metabolism issues to certain types of cancer and even death (“Childhood obesity prevention programs,” 2013). As for now, there are two types of interventions used for combating the challenge – family- and school-based. Although they proved to be effective, there are still some risks connected to the lack of knowledge in dieting. For instance, even though parents may control food intake to prevent obesity (family-based intervention), kids should be taught to choose healthy food and have access to healthy products out of home as well (school-based intervention) (Kothandan, 2014).
Specific Aims of the Project
Therefore, the objective of the paper is to implement the after-school obesity prevention program. There are two types of expected outcomes. In the short run, the intervention aims at decreasing the risks of obesity among children. In the long run, the improvement of quality of life due to developing healthy eating and physical exercising habits is expected (Nabors, Burbage, Woodson, & Swoboda, 2015).
PICOT Question
In this way, the central research question is as follows:
For childhood obesity (P), does the implementation of after-school obesity prevention programs (I) compared to currently deployed educational practices (C) reduce the risks of obesity and related health concerns (O) in the long run (T)?
Significance of the Issue
The rationale for selecting the prevention of childhood obesity as the research area is the fact that the number of obese and overweight children is constantly increasing with more than 30% of kids affected, and the problem of obesity-related health concerns is becoming more critical (Kothandan, 2014; Nabors et al., 2015). Because no positive trends have been witnessed since the beginning of the century, it is evident that currently deployed educational practices are poorly developed and do not minimize the existing health risks (Karp & Gesell, 2015).
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Childhood obesity facts. Web.
Childhood obesity intervention programs: Comparative effectiveness review and meta-analysis. (2013). Comparative Effectiveness Review, 115(1), 1-18.
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.
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.
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.