Obesity in Children
Obesity in children has reached worrying trends, with the changing habits and lifestyle children have become victims of obesity a condition that was once previously reserved for the elderly in the society. Children grow up at different rates and it is not easy to note when a child ceases to be overweight, which means a child is weighing too much, and when a child is obese. In children it is not clear how to calculate the weight of a child to determine if he/she is obese but medics have proposed that the body mass index of the child can be a determinant of a child’s obesity or overweight nature. Obesity has become a widespread problem especially in Middle school. This paper seeks to analyze the causes and effects of obesity on middles school children and probable solutions.
Discussion
The occurrence of obesity in children has been associated with increased calorie intake. Children are consuming unhealthy foods and junks such as chocolates and fries which lead to increased calories in the body. This compounded by reduced physical activity results to increased fats in the body which eventually leads to obesity. Some children are prone to obesity due to genetic factors. This means that obesity runs in the family of the child. In such a situation where the parents and siblings are obese, the child is also likely to be obese as well (Paxon, 2006).
Dietary habits have also been blamed for the increased occurrences of obesity. In today’s world the feeding habits have significantly diminished in comparison to the past. For instance the consumption of healthy foods such as fruits, and vegetables have reduced and have been replaced by the consumption of fast foods as well as sugary foods that significantly contribute to calorie pile up in the body which subsequently leads to obesity (Hills, & King, 2007).
Physical inactivity has also been blamed for the increased cases for obesity in children. The children of today hardly engage in physical activities they instead spend their pass time watching television and playing video games. This inactive life has led to these children becoming obese as they do not have time to exercise and burn the extra calories in the body that will result to obese situations.
The increased popularity of television shows and programs, video and computers games have made the Middle school children to have more sedentary lifestyle. A relative factor that causes the collection of calories in the body is the tendency to snack as one is watching the programs or playing the computer games. Physical exercises as part of the school curriculum have also declined as the studies have indicated that only one third of the schools offer physical education to their students.
This statistics mean that the child is not involved in any form of exercise whether at school or at home meaning that the calories consumed are not burned thereby increasing the chances of the child becoming obese. Parents are also swamped with lots of daily activities such that they hardly have time to engage their children in after school sports activities (Paxon, 2006).
Children who are obese have a high chance of remaining obese to their adulthood and as a result they are prone to developing complications as a result of their obese conditions. This conditions develops later to become serious health conditions when the child is grown up. Health conditions associated with diabetes include high blood pressure, type II diabetes, having high cholesterol levels that pose a serious health risk to the heart, and liver disease. These health complications may not be evident when the child is growing up but when he/she becomes an adult they become evident and life threatening (Hills, & King, 2007).
Obesity can also have a psychosocial effect on the child. For instance if a child is conscious that he/she is obese, he/she can become severely psychologically affected such that he/she will have a low self esteem of him/herself. Such a child may tend to be shy and withdrawn from the rest of the children. His/her confidence may also be significantly low and as a result will not be involved in physical activities such as sports and other school activities that the rest of the children will engage in thereby aggravating his obese condition.
Children that are obese can also result to having eating disorders such as bulimia. Other psycho social effects include poor peer relationships where the child does not feel like he/she belongs and therefore tends to keep to himself. The child may also suffer from anxiety disorders where he/she will always be in constant fear and worry of what others around him/her will say of his weight. Depression is another psychosocial effect in which the child will constantly be in low mood that consequently will affect his behavior and relation to his peers (Kiess, & Wabitsch, 2004).
Obesity also has been known to have an effect on the cognitive development of children. It has been noted that the learning ability in children is severely affected in children. It has been noted that obesity delays the timeline of the natural development of the cognitive ability of children. The development of the cognitive ability of the child takes place over a specific timeline. Obesity delays the natural cognitive development of children as a result the child does not make any significant cognitive development in terms of acquisition of language. A child from a tender age gradually develops language and if for one reason or another language development is hampered as a result of e.g. obesity, the child’s’ language development will be altered (Paxon, 2006).
To counter the problem of obesity in Middle school children, the first step begins with the parents. Parents should be role models by teaching and emphasizing to the children the importance of healthy feeding. The parents should as much as possible ensure that their children feed on a balanced diet. A healthy diet will include feeding on starchy foods that is reach in whole grains, consumption of high fiber foods such as grains, fruits and vegetables and minimizing the intake of snacks in their diet.
Children should also be made to engage in other enjoyable activities that will minimize their sedentary lives. Activities such as swimming, jogging and cycling are not only fun but also ensure that excess calories are burned. Physical exercises can also involve engaging in play and dances in school as well as after school (Kiess, & Wabitsch, 2004).
The schools should also lay more emphasis on physical exercise as an important subject in the school curriculum. The parents may not be available to engage their children physical exercises and the only physical activity that the children may encounter in day is during physical education in school. The schools should also minimize the sale of junk foods in the school vicinity as it encourages the students to buy and eat the junk during their free time.
The community as well as the school should engage in a sensitization exercise where the children as well as the parents will be informed on the importance of exercises and how to keep obesity at bay. If the children become informed on how one acquires obesity and how one can avoid it, they will be more conscious of the food and dietary intake that they are consuming (Hills, & King, 2007).
Conclusion
The increasing number of obese children in Middle school should be a cause for worry to the community and the society as a whole. It is an indicator of the changed lifestyle of the society with regards to physical activity as well as dietary consumption. Parents, the education system, and the community should come together and find workable ways to tackle and reduce the occurrence of obesity in children.
Medical conditions that were associated with the old in the society have suddenly become a common occurrence among Middle school children, for instance diseases such as high blood pressure were not associated with children but with the increasing number of obese cases in Middle school children in the society, reports of children with such conditions have become predominant. Drastic and applicable measures have to be taken with reference to the condition so as to curb the menace that is slowly destroying the lives of the young Middle school children.
Reference
Kiess, W. & Wabitsch, M. (2004). Obesity in childhood and adolescence. Karger Publishers
Paxon, C. (2006). Childhood Obesity: The Future of Children. Brookings Institution Press
Hills, A. & King, N. (2007). Children, obesity and exercise: prevention, treatment and management of childhood and adolescent obesity. Taylor & Francis
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