A Paper on Reducing Proportion of obese children

Introduction

The area chosen for study is children’s health care. Particular emphasis shall be given to the issue of obesity amongst them. The particular Healthy 2010 objective chosen from analysis will be to ‘Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents who are obese’; no. 9-13.

The particular community chosen for study will be Sharon Town Massachusetts. This community was chose because it epitomizes the problem that other towns in Massachusetts and in the rest of the country represent. This community will also provide a chance for analyzing community intervention programs with regard to their effectiveness since there are a number of community agencies that have targeted childhood obesity as an area of analysis.

Local and national statistics alike depict just how serious the problem of childhood obesity is. Consequently, there is a need to look into strategies for minimizing its prevalence in society. Whitlock et al (2005) assert that there are close to fifteen percent of children and adolescents who fall within this category of obesity. These are usually children between the ages of six to nineteen. Additionally, the latter authors claim that these children may develop serious diseases such as high blood pressure, femoral epiphysis, sleep apnea and staetohepatiis. Not only do these children stand to suffer physiological problems, but they also have to deal with certain forms of emotional and social hindrances that come with the issue. Additionally, a series of studies have indicated that obese children are likely to carry on obesity into adulthood and thus heighten the chances of experiencing those weight related health conditions.

Over the past for decades, the number of obese children in the United States has grown by a whooping ten percent. This means that the country’s overall health has declined due to this issue. Also, childhood obesity is costing the country financially because it has been shown that about ninety billion dollars are spent annually because of obesity related complications. Also, when children grow to become obese adults, their contribution to the overall economy of the country is reduced by 277, 000 dollars. This amount is the money lost as a result of employee absenteeism or expenditure paid by employers as result of obese related complications. Consequently, there is a need to look into intervention strategies for tackling this issue.

Topic Development

Childhood obesity has two major causes. The first is living an inactive lifestyle and the second is adopting poor eating habits. Other issues such genetics may propagate the likelihood of its occurrence. Most leisure activities within the United States can be categorized as passive. For instance, over forty percent of teenagers spend a sixth of their waking time watching television. Others devote substantial amounts of their time playing computer games or surfing the internet. These were leisure activities that were not prevalent some thirty years ago. Consequently, this could explain why childhood obesity has increased at alarming rates between then and now. As it can be seen above, the major causes of obesity are all preventable; this means that if positive steps are taken towards the problem, then the issue can be resolved fully. (Wal et al, 2005)

Childhood and adolescent obesity is a major problem in the country because of some disturbing observations. First of all, when children are overweight, they tend to be discriminated upon. Most of them develop low self image. Considerable evidence points to the linkage between esteem issues and depression. Consequently, this is a danger that may befall an adolescent or a child at any given moment as it is an instant problem.

Additionally, obesity increases the chances of some adult related diseases. In the past, it was assumed that children are immune from getting diabetes 2. However, a substantial number of obese children are suffering from this condition today and if nothing is done, and then the problem may continue in the future. Also, statistics show that when children continue with their trend into adulthood, then they are likely to develop certain health related conditions. Many scientists assert that four out of every five children who are obese can stay that way even in adulthood. This means that these children are likely to suffer from heart related complications such as stroke or heart attack. Additionally, there is considerable evidence to denote that obesity puts individuals at a high chance of developing fatal illnesses; one such example is cancer. Obesity also puts one at a high risk of developing high blood pressure which can eventually lead to heart complications.

The reason behind thee heath complications is that obesity heightens the amount of cholesterol present in one’s body. This means that the efficient functioning of body organs and tissues are hindered hence putting children at a risk of developing numerous complications. Obesity is therefore a risk factor in the field of nursing. (Wal et al, 2005)

A number of groups have discussed how obesity can be addressed in society today. Additionally, they have looked into issues surrounding its detection and prevalence. For instance, literature suggests that obesity can be determined by assessing the nature of an individual’s Body mass index. Usually, a child’s weight and height are assessed so as to ascertain that they fit into their respective growth chart. This may be done by looking at the underlying growth trends to determine whether a child actually falls within their required age group. Also, medical practitioners have the ability to link a child’s developmental patterns with the overall performance of the child. Gender and age have a large role to play in determining whether a respective child has the right body mass index. The latter quantity is usually expressed as a percentile and may empower medical practitioners to predict whether a child is at risk of becoming overweight. However, this method of detection may also have its own drawbacks. For instance, one may have difficulty trying to determine what fat mass and non fat mass is in growing children. Many researchers have suggested that instead of the latter measurement, it is better to rely on waist hip circumference, skin fold thickness and bio-electrical analysis. All the latter suggestions are yet to be incorporated into clinical practice.

Other researchers have been focusing on the repercussion of short term or long term interventions in prevention of obesity. For instance a study conducted in the year 2007 found that when interventions are conducted among adolescents or children, then return on investments are likely to be witnessed in the long run rather than in the short term. It should be noted that returns on investments here refer to the money that will saved from not visiting medical practitioners. Also, this research indicated that health care practitioners and other stakeholders need to focus on long term benefits because health conditions associated with obesity have not yet manifested themselves in young children at that moment. Also, dealing with the youth or children is fundamental in curbing the effect of obesity because things have not yet reached enormous proportions at that time. (Wal et al, 2005)

A number of researches have also been focusing on the prevalence estimates of obesity and overweight in children. Usually, these researches indicate differences between the prevalence rates of respective demographic groups such as race, gender and age. For instance, in the year 2006, it was found that the prevalence rate of childhood overweight has reached a plateau level. This means that the number of children whose body mass index exceeds expected levels has stopped increasing. However, a decreased rate of increase in Body Mass index does not in any way imply that the prevalence of obesity has decreased. These finding only indicates that the rates are the same as they were yesteryear.

A number of books and articles have also looked at methods of intervention in this area. Some of them have looked into family based intervention strategies while others have been focusing on the strategies that medical practitioners can use. The most common mechanism here is the utilization of screening methods for various groups.

Community interventions

In the community under study (Sharon Town), there are three agencies that have played a role towards the achievement of the Healthy People 2010 objective being addressed in this research paper i.e. “reduction of the proportion of obese children and adolescents these agencies include

· Sharon Department of public school

· Sharon department of recreation

· Obesity prevention centre for children and youth Incorporated

The first two agencies are based in Sharon Town. However, the last one is based in Boston Massachusetts but its intervention strategies scan be applied in the community under study. . (Wal et al, 2005)

The Sharon Department of public Health has demonstrated its commitment to reduction of obesity by working with a series of high schools and elementary schools in order curb poor eating habits and unhealthy lifestyles. First of all, the latter agency has looked into the dietary requirements of children and adolescents in Sharon schools. For instance a series of their menus items have specified calorific quantities so as to ensure that children do not take up too many calories. This is usually due to the fact that the federal government has set up certain regulations that ought to be met by any public schools. Some of these regulations revolve around the nutrient requirements and also the amount of fat being consumed by all the children in Sharon Town public schools.

This particular agency has been careful about the kind of variety they offer children on a weekly basis. Additionally, the nature of those nutrients is monitored weekly as stipulated by the federal state. Examples of ways in which this agency has promoted healthy diets is through its menu- the agency has summarized total calories that can be taken in by eating any specific meals and also its micro nutrients. An example of a meal they serve is potato wedges, steak and cheese sub. This meal provides children with 936 calories which is within allowed limits but still sufficient enough to promote growth. The meal has only 2% saturated fat, 32% total fat, 432 mg of Calcium, 6.5 mg of Iron, , 80 mg of cholesterol, 49 mg of vitamin C and 69 mf of vitamin A. Another meal is Green beans, staffed shells with bread stick. The meal has a total of 723 calories, 100mg of cholesterol, 438 mg of calcium and 17.3 mg of Iron. By ensuring that children are provided with essential nutrients at a controlled rate, then this agency has ensured that children’s meals are rich in nutrients, low in cholesterol, low on calories but good enough to promote growth and development. (Sharon Department of Public schools, 2006)

The latter agency has also instituted a public policy in which a number of issues have been addressed. The agency has stipulated that all the meals to be served to children in public schools must meet the actual requirements. This means that food must be low fat. Additionally, they require that milk offered to children should be fat free. Other regulations laid out are with regard to food sharing so as to ascertain that bad eating habits are not transferred from one child to another. The latter agency prohibits children from taking drinks that are high in fructose level, artificial sweeteners, juices with less than half their amount obtained from real fruits juice, caffeinated drinks among others. For food, the latter group requires that no trans fats be included in all public schools under their body. Also, they require that corn syrup be eliminated from foods through prohibiting a number of foods that contain them such as snacks, cookies, candy, yoghurt and many others.

The Sharon department of recreation has also demonstrated their commitment towards minimizing obesity by tackling the issue of inactive lifestyles. This recreation team’s aim is to encourage active living among children. This is achieved by promoting a series of sports and sporting activities such as

· Beach activities

· Promoting arts and crafts

· Workshops

· Religious activities

· Etc

The latter centre also encourages children to take part in these recreational activities so as to promote healthy living. The recreational centre is governed by the need to incorporate certain kinds of preferences when dealing with particular groups. For instance, it is culturally sensitive and therefore promotes recreational activities that would fit in with Sharon town’s culture. Additionally, the latter group also ensures that children can enjoy themselves while performing these physical activities so as to encourage them to come back to the program. Besides these, the latter agency has promoted further participation by including outdoor activities such as promotions, contests and other interesting activities.

The Sharon Town recreational centre has also been careful about the provision of developmentally appropriate choices. Because children’s abilities change with time, the recreational centre has been careful to meet the specific needs of those children. Also, it has ensured that most of the people in charge of these activities are well trained and can take care of the responsibilities assigned to them. The purpose of the centre is to ensure that students spend less time watching television and the like and dedicate a substantial portion of their leisure time engaging in physical activities. (Sharon Department of recreation, 2008)

The obesity prevention centre for children and youth has its mandate in Boston. The program specifically is for children who either fall in the overweight category or obese category. Some of the activities that they encourage their students to participate in include:

· Basketball

· Netball

· Soccer

· Etc

The latter agency has targeted the group under study directly by involving them in a series of activities. This agency normally offers a summer program in which it teaches children about the benefits of participating in physical activities. It also makes sure that children are taught about eating healthy foods and the benefits that can emanate for such an arrangement. Most of the issues being laid out with respect to the obese category are addressed by this group directly. The summer youth programme is just for one of its many programs. The agency usually examines the seasons under consideration and then works with obese children to make their lifestyles improve. It should be noted that they do not just focus on exercise but they deal with one’s full lifestyle. (OPCCY, 2008)

Nursing interventions

From the findings in the topic development and community interventions, it is possible to encourage children to adopt healthy lifestyles by applying an advocacy role. Nurses can take up the role of community workers by informing parents about the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle. They can also teach them about the food pyramid in order to enlighten them about healthy choices. It should be noted that parents should not be the only target group. Children and adolescents need to be spoken to directly so as to incorporate this culture in their lifestyles.

Most parents leave food choices to their children yet they can ease this transition by eliminating unhealthy foods in the household especially in kitchen. Also, nurses need to inform parents about the need to guide the activities of their child such that the right balance between activities within the home and outdoor activities is met.

Since body mass index measures are crucial in ascertaining a child’s overweight levels, and then it would be advisable to adopt a method in which children’s indices are measured at the beginning and at the end of their academic years. This will go a long way in encouraging parents, school nurses and children to adopt a healthier lifestyle. (Wal et al, 2005)

For those children who have been found to be overweight, then there is a need to provide them with alternative means of dealing with this issue. In other words, they need to give parents support by counseling them. They also need to inform them about the positive step that they can take to improve their children’s health. This is be an active lifestyle and dietary restrictions.

Nurses should also inform parent’s bout the need to reduce sedentary activities such as television watching and computer games and adopt a series of physical activities. Also, nurses should stress the importance of balancing academics with interest in outdoor activities.

Conclusion

The major objective of the paper is to reduce the portion of children or adolescents who are obese. This problem has largely been caused by a sedentary lifestyle and also by adoption of poor eating habits. Some of the community initiatives involving a series of agencies have tackled this issue through the use of food policies, promotion of physical activities and increasing awareness on healthy lifestyles. A number of nursing interventions that can be conducted including measurement of BMI at the onset and end of study programs, advocating for positive lifestyles and provision of counseling to parents with obese children.