Physical Activity and Childhood Obesity, Essay Example

Childhood obesity continues to grow at a phenomenal rate in the United States, and impact of behaviors causing obesity among children lead to advanced medical deficiencies later in life.  Today, childhood obesity “affects about 10 million children each year and has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. About 5 percent to 25 percent of children and teens are obese, and the average is increasing” (Berry 30).  This is a startling statistic given the fact that less than ten years ago the obesity level was never as high as it is today.  Children have a number of factors that cause them to become obese during the various stages of human development, which include unhealthy eating behavior, reduced physical activity, and prevalent obesity within the home, most notably from one or both of the child’s parents.

It is clear that there is a direct relationship between low physical activity and the occurrence of childhood obesity.  Scientists have defined physical activity to imply that it is any activity that involves any planned or spontaneous bodily movement while using larger muscle groups, or multiple groups of minor muscles during the activity (Procter 324).  The Department of Health and Ageing in Australia published a list of public health recommendations that specified the suggested amount of physical activity for adolescents should be “at least 60 minutes (and up to several hours) of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day” (par. 1).  Physical activity is extremely important to ensure the body remains in a healthy state and can function correctly.  However, results from a separate study show that most children are actually performing around 25% below the amount that a child should be undertaking within this age group (Saris 110).  This causes very serious social concern for the impact of low physical activity on childhood obesity.  The chemical benefits of physical activity allow all people to burn calories and protein for energy, which in turn, helps keep the body weight under control.  Without the proper amount of recommended physical activity, the body does not use as much protein to function, thus causing the protein to build up as excess fat inside the body.  Too much fat causes obesity, reduces the pathways of the arteries and can cause serious long-term health problems.

As previously stated, children have a number of causes for becoming obese, which also includes unhealthy eating behavior.  “A child’s diet can influence their risk of being overweight and eventually becoming obese.  High calorie foods such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks contribute to an increase in one’s weight. Soft drinks, candy and desserts also promote a weight increase” (Berry 36).  A well-balanced diet is very beneficial to giving the body the nutrients it needs in order to function correctly and burn the appropriate levels of protein and sugars that fuel the body.  Religious beliefs and chemical imbalances within children can cause them to not be able to eat certain types of foods that are available for lunch in school, resulting to them choosing alternative unhealthy foods to satisfy their hunger.  Several more of these natural or cultural causes can impact the balanced diet of the child.  In addition, a child may simply not like a food and refuses to eat it, therefore taking away from the child’s amount of a particular food group and reducing a healthy diet.

A third contributing factor that can lead to childhood obesity is the overall living environment of the child’s household.  The environment with which the child is allowed to grow is a strong cause for physical fitness or obesity.  More often than not, children whose parents are obese are typically going to follow in a similar poor lifestyle or eating behaviors as one or both of the unhealthy parents (Saris 102).  Children eat what their parents eat, perform the same down-time behaviors as the parents perform, and overall maintain a similar lifestyle as the parents or guardians that they look up to.  Children must have a greater amount of physical activity than adults in order to reduce or prevent obesity.  If a child engages in the same behaviors or lifestyle choices as those of his or her parents, it is arguably true that the child will likely become as obese, if not much more so, as the parents.  Therefore, the responsibility of substantial lifestyle changes lands greatly upon the parents and pediatricians to help reduce or prevent obesity within children.

The pediatric impact that this issue raises causes many discrepancies among medical professionals.  First of all, there is an international discrepancy among professionals as to the exact definition of an obese child.  Many professionals use the Body Mass Index to conduct such definitions.  “In the United States, the 85th and 95th centiles of body mass index for age and sex based on nationally representative survey data have been recommended as cut off points to identify overweight and obesity” (Cole 1).  Besides the international definition of childhood obesity, the use of medication on children to help control the problems has also become a point of discrepancy in the medical field.  According to additional research, “the risks of taking the medications that help weight loss are still unknown, and their effects on adolescents are still questioned. They also should not be used as a replacement to eat healthier or stay active” (Berry 36).  Yet, pediatricians still prescribe some medications to help alleviate the effects of childhood obesity, without actually helping solve the problems.  The debate in the medical community to provide proper treatment continues and must be resolved to improve the health of our youth.

Today, there is a large problem of childhood obesity in the United States, as well as the world, like never before.  Children would much rather stay sedentary and view television or play video games instead of engaging in tough, physically demanding and competitive activity.  The lifestyles of obese parents are also typically repeated by the lifestyle choices of their children, which can cause children to become as obese or even surpassing the specific levels of their parents.  Also, a number of factors are attributed to the poor diet of children that can cause high cholesterol through consuming fatty foods and sugars that are unhealthy for the body at such high levels.  Overall, roughly 25% of children are obese in the United States, and there is no substantial evidence to suggest that this figure will reduce in the near future.  The dangers of childhood obesity can cause extreme health risks.  Furthermore, pediatricians must work together to educate parents and children on appropriate diets, levels of physical activity and also work to diagnose cases of childhood obesity much earlier to avoid potential long-term health defects.

References

Berry, Janelle. “Childhood obesity on the rise.” New York Amsterdam News 100.30 (2009): 30-36. Academic Search Alumni Edition. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.

Cole, TJ, et al. “Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey.” BMJ: British Medical Journal 320.7244 (2000): 1240-1243. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.

Procter, K. L., et al. “Micro-level analysis of childhood obesity, diet, physical activity, residential socioeconomic and social capital variables: where are the obesogenic environments in Leeds?.” Area 40.3 (2008): 323-340. Academic Search Alumni Edition. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.

Saris, W. H. M., et al. “How much physical activity is enough to prevent unhealthy weight gain? Outcome of the IASO 1st Stock Conference and consensus statement.” Obesity Reviews 4.2 (2003): 101-114. Academic Search Alumni Edition. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.