Is Child Obesity Hereditary or Parental Negligence?
Introduction
Child obesity is not merely an issue in the world but it has been seen as an epidemic. The number of overweight and obese children has increased at an alarming rate over the past years, and there is no chance of it slowly down without action being taken. Children suffering from obesity face an increased risk of compromised physical and mental well-being. Obesity in children is a significant public health concern. In addition, there is evidence that the incidence of children who are overweight is increasing despite efforts to the contrary. The consequences of child obesity are far reaching, implicating not only children on a physical scale but also socially and mentally. However,
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A study conducted by the University College London in the United Kingdom proposed that body weight is strongly influenced by genes. In the study, researchers used a new method called Genome Wide Complex Trait Analysis, to investigate the molecular genetic heritability of body weight in children (Llewelyn, 2013). The data collected was from a population of 2,269 children aged between 8 and 11 years old. They were looking to discover whether children who happen to be more genetically similar might also be more similar in body weight. Using the GCTA method, the researchers found that additive effects of multiple genes across the whole genome accounted for 30% of individual difference in childhood body weight (Llewelyn, 2013). Ultimately, these findings suggest there are hundreds of other genetic variants influencing body weight that are yet to be discovered. In all things considered one might find these findings important because they confirm that genes play a very important role in determining body weight. As of today, only a few genetic variants have been discovered and these explain a very small amount of individual differences in body weight. These findings suggest there are hundreds of other genetic variants influencing body weight that are yet to be discovered (Llewelyn, 2013). Therefore, the genetic history of a family can be the result of the child obesity but it all varies, as it is a topic that continues to be further
In the intriguing article, “The ‘Childhood Obesity Epidemic’” , Tina Moffat presented the health issue of childhood obesity. In recent years, obesity has become an important issue on the public agenda. Ever since I was young, the word obesity began to pervade and increased its popularity throughout high school and college, as people become more self-conscious about their body sizes and more influenced by the mainstream view on overweight or obese people.
Lazarou & Kouta (2010) define obesity as “a chronic metabolic disease, considered to be one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease”, and state that hypertension, atherosclerosis and type two diabetes have also been shown to be more likely in people with obesity (p. 641). These adult health problems have now become commonplace amongst children and youth today (Tuckwood, 2012). With obesity being diagnosed at earlier ages, prevention becomes increasingly difficult; personal habits are harder to break, health risks are more serious, and the likelihood of living with obesity in adulthood is significantly higher. Fifty percent of children who are obese will become obese adults (Lazarou & Kouta, 2010).
Childhood obesity was defined as one of the epidemics of our modern society and it has changed to pandemic (WHO, 2000) due to increased number of cases around the world. The latest report from the World Health Organization confirmed 42 million infants and young children were overweight and obese (WHO, 2013). Australia experienced a high rate of obesity in the adult population and a fast growing increase in childhood obesity, counting 1 in 4 children becoming obese. This situation makes a big burden to the Public health system due to the expenditure of health promotions and interventions to increase healthy eating and physical activity in order to decrease levels of obesity (Australia Government, 2009). Development countries have been experiencing
Today about one in three children in the United States are obese, and is the number one cause of death in America. Childhood obesity is now more concerning to people than drug abuse and smoking. Obesity not only has disgusting physical effects, it also will have negative changes to a person’s personality. Even though many people are aware of the problems obesity brings, there still has been at least a 50% increase in obese people since 1980. Obesity will cause extreme health problems and possibly death if people don’t change their diets, activity levels, or emotional needs towards food.
The high demand for medical care also increases the financial burden on the families and therefore the community as well. As one can see the community health is greatly effected by the high rates of obesity among its individuals. Children in particular have a massive effect because not only are they the future of that community, but they also influence the schools in that region. Healthy People 2020 regard obesity in America as a very serious problem especially among children. It is such a major issue because childhood obesity easily leads to obesity in adulthood that increases the risks for heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer (Nutrition).
In today’s society “one out of three children is considered overweight or obese” (Little 2011). Childhood obesity is linked to several severe health problems. Children who are overweight or obese are at risk of having cardiovascular disease and problems relating to that such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type-two diabetes during childhood. Physical problems aren’t the only problem relating to obesity; “Research confirms obese children are at a higher risk for social and psychological problems” because overweight kids tend to get bullied due to their weight (Little 2011). Children who have weight issues early on are also more likely to have weight issues as adults.
“Obese children tend to be less physically active, which affects peer interaction and their ability to play with other children – in effect negatively impacting social bonding. This social issue often causes fewer healthy interactions.” Children who are overweight will lack social skills and activities which can lead to depression as a young child and bad mental health. Mental health is essential to keep healthy and in good shape. Children should not have to suffer through this at a young age, the government should help as much as possible to prevent any other child from going through
More than 2 percent of young children were severely obese, 5 percent of 6-to-11-year-olds were severely obese and 6.5 percent of 12- to
Retrieved September 6, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Overweight and obesity: Data and statistics. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999-2010. Journal of the American Medical Association, 307, 483–490.
Causal analysis When I was younger, I was chubby. I was around 200lb at 13. At the time, I didn’t really recognize how obese I was because I could still play any sport. I even made the football and basketball team in middle school.
Obesity: There is a direct link between young children’s eating habits and them becoming overweight and obese later on. Children in families with insufficient access to nutritious foods are in fact significantly more likely to be obese in early childhood than other children. This is the result of excessive calorie intake and an emphasis on foods that have high levels of fat, sugar and sodium.
1. Introduction The rate of childhood obesity has increased over few years. There are 41 million children in the world are overweight or at risk of obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem.
The causes of obesity can be genetic or just a lifestyle an individual may choose. Genetics is known to play roles in obesity although, genes can directly cause obesity in disorders. Genes will not always predict one's future; however, genes and behavior both need to be present for an individual to be overweight. Obesity is also considered as a lifestyle choice; due to the fact of individuals lacking their options. An individual can choose how he or she wants to exercise, eat, or react in a certain situation.
Obesity continues to become a problem around the world, and it is an issue that must be addressed as a society as a whole. There is no single cause of all overweight and obesity. There is no single approach that can help prevent or treat overweight and obesity. However, over the years, people have gathered more information about this disease and come up with multiple reason why people are obese. Emotional disorders, genetics, and the lack of physical activities are the three main reasons why obesity is caused.