Childhood Obesity in the United States

 Abstract
The study gives an overview of the modern childhood obesity situation in the United States. This paper discusses the major causes of childhood obesity. According to the author, modern social trends, such as changes in lifestyle are some of the factors leading to obesity among the young generation in the United States. The study cites studies
that reveal the dangers associated with childhood obesity and provide possible solutions. Available literature indicates that the modern lifestyle has a significant bearing on the obesity and lifestyle issue. The paper discusses possible approaches that could counter the increase in obesity and possibly reverse its effects. Media, society and self-initiatives within the society are some of the major initiatives that could significantly counter the obesity challenge. The paper shows that the modern process has a role to play in proper child upbringing within the modern society. Critical insights are given to the reader on childhood obesity, as an international pandemic, which needs to be eradicated using the available resources.


 Introduction
It is no longer debatable whether Americans are over burdened by the high financial and social cost associated with childhood obesity. There is a broad consensus that steps must be taken to promote healthy living and avoid preventable diseases. However, there is no consensus over the optimum course that will help society address this challenge. This is in part because researchers are still assessing available interventions to determine the most effective and ones that are workable on a mass scale. Although researchers are yet to translate research findings into workable solutions, the biggest challenge so far is government policy. Americans are also weary of government that tells them what to eat and drink, nanny government. The American people must move beyond the blame game and focus on interventions that will remedy the situation before it gets out of hand. There is consensus that effective interventions must start early. The interventions must also target the environment that children spend time. Tough public health interventions are appropriate and essential. Some of the interventions that can help counter the obesity pandemic in the country include education on proper nutrition and healthy eating habits, parental guidance and reinforcement, school programs and lunches, and the incorporation of physical activity.
Literature Review
The health of both children and adults has improved dramatically during the 20th century. However, it currently faces a dangerous setback because of the obesity pandemic. According to Koplan et al. (2005), the nation must act with agency otherwise, children will grow into adults with too high levels of weight related diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. There are more than nine million children in the United States below the age of six that are considered obese. The children face immediate and increasing health risks as they grow up. They also face social stigmatization, which could affect academic performance and social functioning (Koplan et al., 2005). Birch and Ventura (2009) appreciate the obesity problem that is facing the society today and propose pre-school interventions as the most effective approach because more than 25% of pre-school children are overweight. Experimental research points to early interventions involving parenting techniques and the feeding environment. Other findings point to even earlier interventions including pregnancy weight and breastfeeding. According to the Center for Diseases Control (CDC) (2011), breastfeeding from birth reduces the risk of a child developing obesity. Every month a mother breast-feed her child, she reduces the risk of a child developing obesity (CDC, 2011).
Isganaitis and Levitsky (2008) describe childhood obesity as a major epidemic that is reversing the many gains made during the 20th century. The vice is likely to result in a reduction of 2-5 years in life expectancy in the 21st century if tough measures are not instituted now. This will be the first reduction in life expectancy since 1900. Isganaitis and Levitsky (2008) concur with Koplan et al. (2005) that the most effective interventions are those that focus on parenting behavior, primary care, and the school or community environment where children spend most of the time. Some of the factors that pre-dispose a child to obesity occur before birth. Some maternal factors associated with obesity include smoking and maternal obesity during pregnancy (Isganaitis and Levitsky, 2008; CDC, 2011). Birch and Ventura (2009) identify an ecological model for the etiology of childhood obesity. From the ecological model, the factors with the most profound effects on a childs weight are eating habits and physical activity, which are determined by parenting characteristics. Current interventions focus on school going children, which is a bit too late for 25% of the children because they are already obese (Birch and Ventura, 2009). According to CDC (2011), hospitals have a vital role to play in reducing childhood obesity. Most of the hospital lack policies that encourage breast-feeding and offer no follow-up service for the 500 babies born in the country every hour (CDC, 2011).
It is imperative that the nation design and implement intervention programs based on the best available data. The rate at which the obesity vice is ravaging our children demands immediate response. While implementing scientifically untested intervention may prove unsuccessful, some interventions are likely to work if the policy makers authorize a wide range of interventions. There is no time to wait to design the prefect program (Koplan et al., 2005). Birch and Ventura (2009) propose intervention programs that begin before school entry age are more likely to bear positive results and should be the focus of policy makers. CDC (2011) concur with this finding and points to an environment where the child is trained to eat the food available in the environment. Parents create the innate ability to like or dislike certain types of foods in their children. Parents feeding habits from a very young age may promote or undermine the development of healthy habits as the child grows and becomes more autonomous (Birch and Ventura, 2009). Sufficient information must be availed to the parents about the benefits of exercise and proper nutrition. Government must terminate subsidies for unhealthy food products and subsidize healthy food products. Education and availability of relevant information is not sufficient to stop and reverse the obesity problem. The government must devise policies that limit the availability of certain products and regulate the pricing to discourage consumption of unhealthy foods (Isganaitis and Levitsky, 2008)
Childhood Obesity in the United States
Childhood obesity is a deadly pandemic to the lives of young generations within the United States. Statistics indicate that almost one third of the child population is overweight or obese. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to determine whether a child is overweight or obese. BMI does not measure body fat directly, however, it is reasonable measure of body fat in both adults and children. Unlike in adults where the body weight and height are used to derive BMI, sex and age are used for children because body composition varies with age. A child is described as obese when the BMI is or above 95%, whereas the child is overweight if the BMI is or above 85% but not more than 95%. Obesity is preventable through critical methods and proper interventions. Education on healthy eating habits, proper nutrition, the duty of parents in guidance and reinforcement of their children and integration of physical activities in school programs are some of the ways that could reduce obesity (Dolinsky et al., 2011).
Social factors play a paramount role in the development of a childs obesity. Children learn most of their food habits during infancy. This is determined by the foods the parents feed the child and prefer to eat themselves. Parents act as role models for children and the children identify with the parents food preferences from a very early age. While some of the factors determining food preference may be genetic, the environment plays a critical role in the development of habits that encourage the consumption of unhealthy foods. Finding by paternal specialist suggest that food habits are partly determined during uterine development. The first interaction that a child has with food is during development in the womb when the mothers blood and the childs interact. The mothers food preferences shape the childs preference before birth and continue to shape a childs food habits until the age of two. Parents must consume healthy foods when pregnant and feed children healthy foods from a very early age if the 25% pre-school obesity is to be reversed (Ayadi & Young, 2006).
Paying close attention to the causes of obesity will significantly enable decision makers in the lives of the children to make healthier choices for them. The cause of obesity in both children and adults is the consumption of more calories than the body can burn. This is combined with a sedentary life, increasing popular, in urban areas. The imbalance resulting from the consumption of more calories than the body can burn causes adverse effects to the bodys biochemistry. The problem at its root is the consumption of more calories than the body can burn and the minimal utilization of the calories available to the body because of lack of physical activities (Robinson & Sirard, 2004). Effective remedies that will help address the problem include limiting the amount of calories consumed by the children and increasing physical activities to ensure the children burn all the calories they consume. Approaches for reducing calories intake are numerous. First, policy makers must limit the availability of foods high in saturated fatty acids in schools and limit the advertising of the same. Advertising is especially a challenge because it targets children when their cognitive abilities are limited.
Ethic and moral reasoning is another approach that can help deal with the problem of obesity among children. It is morally wrong to consume more than one need when another person does not have enough to eat. It is ironic that in the same country where people are facing life-threatening conditions because of obesity, which is essentially over consumption, others are facing life-threatening situations because they lack enough to eat. Taking an approach that enough people consume only what they need and avail the rest to the less fortunate in society will help tackle two birds with one stone. Those with more than enough will only consume what they need and those without enough will have it. The urban lifestyle also places many limits to the activities of children. Children living in urban centers are at a higher risk of developing obesity than children living in rural areas because of the amount of activity during the free time. Children in urban centers rarely interact with other children, especially after school. They spend their evening watching television, which is simply sitting down. (Koplan et al., 2005). On average, children and adolescents aged between eight and eighteen years spend at least six hours daily watching television, texting, or playing video games. The only activity they engage in during this time is consumption of junk foods without any significant physical activity. Physical activities such as playing football, volleyball, basketball among others are crucial in strengthening muscles, burning excess calories and increasing their mental activity. The built environment creates a particular challenge because there are no spaces where the children can engage in sports and other physical activities. It is advisable for parents to buy their children balls and for communities reserve recreation spaces, such as football playgrounds and basketball courts. This approach will enable children to interact and play together within the estates. Parents should ensure that their children do not stay in-doors throughout the day just playing video games and watching television.
In the United States, most of the school-going children use school buses for their daily school attendance. The concern is that of insecurity, weather, and distances from home to school. These challenges need prompt address to promote walking to school and thus burn more calories for body fitness. At schools, especially elementary ones, creation of good environments for the children to attend physical education classes is important. There is a common saying, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, which means that a culture of play is critical for body fitness and concentration in class. In most schools, ranging from elementary, middle and high schools this is not the case. A critical approach argues that a school is where the child spends most of the time learning and, therefore, creating an environment for both physical and mental activity. Integrating physical activity in school activities will not only lead to healthier children, but also improve academic performance (Wechsler et al., 2004). Extensive study is important in the planning and implementation of policies that facilitate healthy lifestyle. Community members must engage one another in the development of effective strategies to dealing with local challenges that limit physical activities. Information technology will play a critical role in ensuring the success of these initiatives. For example, communities could improve security within their neighborhoods using street camera technologies to enable children to walk to school. Technology could also aid in accurately determining BMI to ensure problems are detected early and dealt with before they get out of hand.
Some of the interventions that have been implemented in most states to counter childhood obesity are in schools. Many of these interventions have failed because despite the government efforts to avail healthy meals to the students, there are other channels outside the federally regulation that avail unhealthy foods to the children in schools. This includes vending machines, concession stands, and school stores. There are no restrictions for the many foods defined as having minimal to zero nutritional value, such as chewing gums or carbonated beverages. There is also no restriction on foods with high fat content, such as chocolate bars or potato chips. It is impossible for schools to counter the obesity pandemic on their own. However, they are a paramount part of the fight against the pandemic. Despite the changes made to improve intake of healthy foods in schools, there are additional changes that can help improve the effectiveness of schools in fighting this pandemic. These include increasing the availability of healthy foods, setting standards that promotion the supply of healthy foods by contractors, adopting marketing techniques that promote the consumption of healthy foods, and limiting the accessibility of non-meal foods and beverages in schools (Wechsler et al., 2004).
The United States has a relatively high literacy rate owing to the government efforts to increase school enrolment and the development of technologies that avail education at cheaper prices and enable studying from distant locations. Education betters the lives of people because it opens up the mind to challenges and social ills in the society. Childhood obesity is a social challenge that needs input from everyone in the society if success is to be realized. Academic knowledge enables people to take informed decisions. Education has contributed to the realization that childhood obesity poses a threat to the future of a generation. Academic knowledge enables individuals to confront life challenges and appreciate what has been done by past generation to improve their wellbeing. It also facilitates people in their role as active citizens. This ensures that people are involved in fighting social vices, such as obesity. Part of the role of an active citizen is pressuring the government to take a lead role in the fight against obesity. Some of the government interventions that could help limit the prevalence of obesity in the country is legislating laws that limit the percentage of fat content in packaged foods. A legislation that was first enacted in Denmark now enjoying widespread support in the United States is limiting the amount of trans fatty acids in foods to a maximum of 5%. The government could also facilitate the production of healthy foods and drinks and avail them to the population at subsidized prices, especially in low-income neighborhoods where obesity prevalence is higher. This could be achieved using taxes and subsidies (ASTHO & NIHCM, 2007).
The communities could also take up the role of improving their health and engage in the control of production, distributions, and supply of health foods in the locality. This is possible through the setting up of organic gardens that grow fresh fruits and vegetables in the spaces available within the built environment, especially in urban areas. Urban farming is a recent development in agriculture that is changing how urban dwells utilize their space. Organic farms are designed to utilize the small spaces in the urban built environment and on top of a building (Crawford et al., 2013). Urban agriculture technologies make it possible to produce cheap vegetables within the low-income neighborhoods. Organic farms in urban areas are also good for the environment because they lead to the production of less carbon dioxide. Vegetable production is at the target market and chemicals that contribute to global warming are not used. Urban agriculture is also an efficient use of space (Dolinsky et al., 2011).
The government using taxes and subsidies can facilitate the adoption of health lifestyles without necessarily dictating directly to the people what they ought to consume. This is possible by increasing taxes on unhealthy foods and giving subsidies on health foods. Studies in some states where these approaches have been adopted indicate a high rate of adoption of healthy foods. This is especially true in low-income areas where people consume unhealthy foods because they are the only thing they can afford. Other efforts that the government can engage in include limiting the advertisement of unhealthy foods (Harkin, 2007). The advertising of unhealthy foods, such as snacks, is common during prime times when children are watching television. Most of the adverts are also designed to appeal to children. The government could create laws that ban adverts that target children and limit the number and time when advertisements are aired. This has proven to be a cost-effective measure that reduces the rate of obesity in children in other countries, such as Australia.
The government and policy makers could intervene at the community level by creating policies that encourage physical activities, such as the development of community based recreation activities and tournaments that target not only the children, but also the adults. Universities and other institutions of higher learning should be encouraged to train sports education teachers to enable the inclusion of physical activity in lower levels of the education curriculum. Instead of engaging in the promotion of unhealthy habits through advertisements, mass media should aim to encourage the viewers to adopt healthier lifestyles by airing programs that increase awareness on the childhood obesity problem. People should be encouraged through their insurance policies and family doctors to victim the hospital more often and get their MBI measured so that it is kept within normal range (Robinson & Sirard, 2004). An issue that academic research has established with certainty is that obesity during pregnancy increases the likelihood of a child developing obesity. Parents should also be encouraged to maintain normal body weight because they serve as role models for their children. Children whose parents are obese at a higher risk of developing obesity than children whose parent have a normal weight.
The school is the national focal point for obesity interventions in the United States. However, a host of risks that exist in multiple environments where the children spend time drives obesity. These risks increase energy intake and limit energy expenditure. The skyrocketing of obesity in the past 30 years is consistent with the development and proliferation of technologies that facilitate sedentary leisure activities, such as playing video games or watching cable television. Cross-setting interventions that include the many environments that children spend time are necessary for delivering the needed change. Intervention that limit the marketing of unhealthy foods and encourage the marketing of healthy foods will also go a long way in encouraging healthier habits. Childhood obesity is a pandemic that poses a threat to not only the social wellness of the children, but also the economic well-being and national security of the country (Hopkins, 2013).
Conclusion
As childhood obesity continuous to challenge the future of a generation, policymakers, lobbyists, and parents play blame games. It is time for the stakeholders to shift attention and deal with the issue head on. The main contributors to childhood obesity in the country are a sedentary lifestyle and the consumption of more calories than the body can burn per unit time. The trend is worrying because obesity is accompanied by other life threatening conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Some of the interventions that can help counter the obesity pandemic in the country include education on proper nutrition and healthy eating habits, parental guidance and reinforcement, school programs and lunches, and the incorporation of physical activity. It is the role of the government and the community to safeguard the wellbeing of future generations.


 References
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