Childhood Obesity: Prevention is Better Than Cure - Essay Sample

Introduction

Childhood obesity in the United States is a significant issue that is causing significant problems to the health system of the country. There exist various causes that include the consumption of sugary food elements, lack of exercise, and taking high quantities of red meat.

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Childhood Obesity

According to Childhood obesity: prevention is better than cure, the overweight problem is causing significant issues to the health care system in the world. The author states that there is a need to ensure that the right measures are undertaken that will help in protecting children from suffering from obesity. The mechanisms that are involved in managing the weight problems are categorized into environmental, genetic, and developmental factors. The body mass index is the tool that is used to determine whether an individual is overweight, and it relied on their height and weight.

Difficulties

It is crucial to care about the weights of kids, considering that there is a great chance of overweight kids becoming obese in their adulthood. Additionally, it becomes difficult for these adults to lose weight. The bariatric procedures and the latest drugs that are used in managing the weight issues are expensive (Pandita et al., 2016). Therefore, rather than incur high costs to manage the obesity problems in adulthood, it is better to control its incidences amongst children to even help in alleviating pressure on the health care system.

The latest procedures have their complications, which may place the life of an individual in danger. Therefore, it is essential to rely on the natural means of managing weight issues. The author states that lifestyle modifications and behavioral changes are some of the critical procedures that everyone is supposed to observe in their daily life processes.

Schalkwijk et al. (2015) state that managing the obesity problem calls for different parties to play their role in sensitizing the public on the right measures to follow. Family lifestyle intervention measures are essential, and it is important to understand the expectations that obese children and their parents have regarding the managing of overweight problems. Making lifestyle changes is not easier for there exist barriers that parents and children must be willing to handle for them to realize the desired outcome. It is expected that the persons that have joined a lifestyle management program will follow the lifestyle guidelines offered to them.

A significant number of them expect to exercise and receive the right consultation from the persons that are offering dietician guidelines. Additionally, the children hope that bullying that results from excess weight would stop. The weight management programs are essential, but a good number of the participants drop out of the activity. When introducing the rules that would facilitate the management of the weight problem, various barriers are likely to arise that include the inability of the parents to implement the rules that will help in realizing the desired outcome. There is a likelihood of the inability to be consistent and any possible conflict that is likely to arise when handling the children.

There is a possibility that the young ones may not understand why they are being denied a chance to enjoy sugary things and their favorite meals. The organizations that sell junk foods have attractive advertisements on television and other media platforms. It is challenging dealing with the media, and this means that guardians will have to find a better way of managing the information that the children are receiving. However, despite all these difficulties in implementing the right measures, it is crucial to ensure that obesity is controlled, and all the parties are working towards realizing the desired outcome, which is to raise a society that is free of ailments resulting from excess body weight.

The United States is a country that is significantly affected by the overweight problems among the children, and other nations like Nepal are encountering similar predicaments that are difficult to manage. According to Prevalence and associated factors of childhood overweight/obesity among primary school children in urban Nepal, the main issues that are leading to the overweight problem among children is the consumption of junk food.

Some of the measures adopted by various institutions in this region include school health policies and initiation of awareness programs that are geared towards discouraging the consumption of energy-dense foods. The learning institutions are recommending an increase in the physical activities among the children in the country and the reduction in the amount of food intake (Karki, Shrestha, & Subedi, 2019). The obesity problem experienced among the children in the United States is an issue that other regions are encountering.

Conclusion

The review of these articles shows that the different authors are tackling the same problems, and they have realized that the causes of obesity among children in the United States are common. The writers have also noted that their effects and the measures that can be taken to manage the problem. Therefore, it is critical for the relevant bodies to observe the right measures that will help in making sure that the predicament is managed in the right way, and the future of these children is safe. The burden on the health care system will be eased, and the United States will manage to focus the few available resources towards the development of another sector.

References

Karki, A., Shrestha, A., & Subedi, N. (2019). Prevalence and Associated Factors of Childhood Overweight/Obesity among Primary School Children in Urban Nepal. BMC Public Health, 19:1055. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7406-9

Pandita, A., Sharma, D., Pandita, D., Pawar, S., Tariq, M., & Kaul, A. (2016). Childhood Obesity: Prevention is Better than Cure. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 9: 83-89. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S90783

Schalkwijk, AAH., Bot, SDM., De Vries, L., Westerman, MJ., Nijpels, G., & Elders, PJM. (2015). Perspectives of Obese Children and their Parents on Lifestyle Behavior Change: A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12: 102. https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-015-0263-8