Childhood Obesity (Research Paper Sample)

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Childhood Obesity
Abstract
Obesity is a medical condition affecting both children and adults. A point to note is when a child has accumulated excessive fats coupled with a high body mass index, then it is a clear sign that he/she is a victim. Children with this ailment usually experience metabolic syndrome making them vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases. Also, the research shows that children with obesity register poor academic results; this is because the disease interferes with the functioning of the brain. Similarly, it has been proved that infants with high birth weight are prone to getting obese as they approach adolescence and adulthood. The major factors causing this disease include genetic factors, socioeconomic factors, lack of physical exercise, and poor nutrition. Notably, the ways of preventing rampant cases of obesity in children include regular physical exercise, a balanced diet, proper breastfeeding, and use of medical drugs. This paper also discusses how nature and nurture cause obesity. Nature relates to gene mutation which is inherited from parents by their children while nurture relates to external influences and environmental changes that causes obesity. The paper concludes by providing advice on how obesity can be prevented in children.
Introduction
Obesity is a medical condition whereby the fat accumulation in the human body is excess, leading to a negative heath condition. For instance, individuals who are obese may experience constant health problems which ultimately increase the mortality rate. Notably, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines the mentioned disease as a possession of the body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more in adults, but in children, BMI equal to or more than 91 percentile is an indication of obesity. Notably, consumption of energy-dense food, lack of physical exercise leads to this disease. It important to note the children with excess weight might also suffer from cardiovascular disease (Poirier, 2007). It is also important to note that there is relationship between obesity and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a major risk factor which might make an individual with obesity suffer from cardiovascular disease which is characterized by elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, and elevated triglyceride.
It is important to note that children with obesity often register poor academic results since the disease interferes with child’s cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and learning disability, thereby affecting thinking capabilities. To be specific, the disease affects the functioning of the child’s brain leading to neurologic impairment and even mental retardation (Rolland-Cachera et al. 2006). Consequently, those with obesity, might have a low thinking ability leading to poor results in class.
Similarly, research has shown there is a clear correlation between high birth weight and obesity. Evidently, majority of the infants with high birth weight are likely to suffer from obesity. Other findings reveal that children born with normal weight rarely suffer from obesity, which means there is a relationship between the birth weight and adult obesity. Therefore, high birth weight is an indication that the child may become overweight as he/she approaches adolescence or adulthood (Kim et al. 2007). The researchers have also established the correlation between BMI and child’s cognitive ability. Their findings showed that children with a high body mass index have a decline in cognitive ability. On the other hand, research indicates that individuals with a low BMI have high cognitive ability (Finkelstein et al. 2012).
Prevalently, those who have obesity are at risk of suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, gout, cataracts stroke, gall bladder, and atherosclerosis. The mentioned diseases are linked to nurture, which means they have been caused by lack of physical exercise, intake of energy-dense food, and poor nutrition. In regard to the outlined points, the paper will discuss how both nature and nurture affect obesity.
Factors that Cause Obesity
Prevalently, obesity in children can be caused by several factors which include genetic factors, socioeconomic factors, lack of physical exercise, and poor nutrition.
Genetic Factors. Genetics is one of the main causes of the obesity problem. Researchers have argued that there is a high probability of a family with both parents suffering from obesity to give birth to children who suffer from the same disease (Walley et al. 2006). Evidently, the estimate of heritability of obesity ranges from 30 to 70%, which means the probability of a child inheriting the mentioned ailment from parents is significant (Walley et al. 2006). When the child inherits the phenotype gene responsible for obesity from the parent, then the gene undergoes mutation leading to obesity. It is important to note that a child can have a balance diet, engage in physical activity, and avoid eating energy-dense food, but he/she may still be at a risk of becoming obese if the inherited gene is dormant.
Lack of Physical Exercise. Physical activity is body movement that burns excessive calories. Consequently, if they are not burned, then the individual might suffer from obesity. The research shows that when an individual usually takes energy-dense food containing fats and sugar and does not engage in exercise or rigorous activities, then there are high chances of becoming obese (Gillman and Ludwig, 2013). The reason for this is that a large amount of these foods will be converted to glucose, and excessive glucose may lead to diabetes. Those who lead a sedentary lifestyle are also likely to contract this disease because the nature of such a lifestyle does not allow an individual to engage in rigorous activities, whereby in most cases he/she sits, accumulating more fats in the body (Wright and Aronne, 2012).
Socio-economic Factors. It is important to note that obesity can also be caused by different socio-economic factors. Notably, parents with a low income are not in a position to afford healthy food. In most cases, they buy inexpensive products which contain sugar, carbohydrate, and fats. Notably, when their children regularly consume these meals, then this will lead to obesity. On the other hand, parents who have a stable income, the rich in particular, are in a position to afford quality foods to their children, for instance, those containing proteins and having a lower concentration of fat (Ley et al. 2006). However, a good percentage of children from rich families also have the ailment. The reason for this is that in most cases they sit, watch TV, and do not engage in rigorous activities (Rosin, 2008). Additionally, low education level can make parents ignorant of the importance of a balanced diet to their children. This means such parents provide poor nutrition to their kids, which might ultimately lead to obesity.
Poor Nutrition. Poor nutrition is a major cause of childhood obesity; therefore, it is important for parents to be keen on their food choice. A point to note is that food such as sausages and chips that are cooked both at homes and in restaurants have high concentration of fats which might lead to overweight (Wang et al. 2008). Similarly, the research has shown that French chips contain a high level of fats, and if taken in large quantity, they might lead to obesity. Most important is that food that has excessive fats does not only lead to obesity but may also cause diabetes because once the food is broken down, it increases the content of glucose in the body, which is a major risk factor for diabetes (Hossain et al. 2007). Thus, parents should be educated on proper nutrition so that they can offer quality meals to their children.
Prevention of Obesity
Prevalently, obesity is one of the diseases which can be easily prevented. Its prevention measures include a balanced diet, regular physical exercise, and avoidance of inexpensive food containing fats and sugar. Also, medical treatment which involves the use of drugs to burn the excess fats in the body can be used to prevent the disease. To start with, a healthy eating plan can prevent a child from becoming obese. It involves proper selection of foods, for example, avoidance of meals with high content of fats. Therefore, parents should be aware of the kind of meals that should be given to kids. In this regard, children should have a balanced diet; this will prevent the regular intake of energy-dense foods (Dehghan et al. 2005). Also, this will ensure only small portion of food is broken down to glucose, thereby limiting chances of contracting diabetes. Additionally, it is advisable for children to have plenty of vegetables and fruits in their diet to compensate for the insignificant amount of fats.
Another way of preventing the disease is through engaging in regular physical exercise. This will help in burning of excess fats, therefore, reducing chances of becoming overweight. Activities that involve physical strain like jogging, bicycle riding, and long walks are encouraged because they play a crucial role in lowering the amount of fat in the human body (Lawlor and Chaturvedi, 2006). Similarly, a sedentary lifestyle where a child sits and remains inactive most of the time should be avoided. This implies that children should reduce the time they allocate for TV watching because such a habit promotes a sedentary lifestyle that presupposes little energy use (Chen and Wang, 2015). The use of computers for playing games among other equipment that promotes sitting down for a long time without having physical activities should also be minimized.
Interestingly, infant babies can be prevented from gaining excessive weight through proper breastfeeding. Notably, the more a baby is breastfed, the lesser chances of contracting obesity. It is imperative to note that this practice re...