Free Essay Example: Obesity Among the Children

Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among children both in the United States of America and across the world. Close to Twenty-three percent of American children are overweight (Federal Data, 2019). Childhood obesity is characterized by unhealthy eating or presence of junk foods in different food stores. Additionally, seventeen prevent of the children are obese (Federal Data, 2019). The prevalence of obesity is common among given race or ethnic groups. Childhood obesity is attributed to insulin resistance as well as type 2 diabetes and hypertension (Federal Data, 2019). Different health promotions have been adopted to enhance the reduction of instances of obesity among children.

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Data Search Directions Summary of the Findings

The topic of interest is obesity; while the population of interest is children. The population under study is defined by age. In this case, the age group under the study consists of children below the age of 18 years.

From the search, World Health Organization database and DATA.GOV proves to be a reliable source of information as far as childhood obesity is concerned. From the findings, the following statistics are true:

In the year 2016, over 41 million children below the age of 5 were obese or overweight globally (World Health Organization, 2019).

In the year 2016, over 340 million adolescents and children aged between 5 and 19 were obese or overweight (World Health Organization, 2019).

The research findings also reveal the processes of determining obesity or the condition of overweight among children. In this case, children were categorized or grouped in different ages.

For the children below the age of 5 years, overweight refers to the weight-for-height greater than the two standard deviations beyond WHO children growth standard median (World Health Organization, 2019). On the other hand, obesity refers to weight-for-height greater than the three standard deviations beyond the WHO children growth standards median (World Health Organization, 2019).

For children between the age of 5 and 18, overweight refers to the BMI for the age bigger than one standard deviation beyond the WHO growth reference median (World Health Organization, 2019).

Obesity, on the other hand, is the BMI for the age greater than the two standard deviations beyond the WHO growth reference median.

Mainly, a child is not deemed obese until his or her weight is at least 10% higher than what is recommended for their height and body type (World Health Organization, 2019).

In the UK, the prevalence of obesity in children and adults has doubled, and the number of overweight children has exhibited an increase of up to 50% (World Health Organization, 2019).

In England, 22.5% of children aged 4-5 years and 33.5% of those aged 10-11 years are obese. The prevalence of obesity in preschool has increased since the 2015/16, from 9.3% to 9.6% (World Health Organization, 2019).

The research process involved looking for the statistics on childhood obesity as well as the trends in the recent past. Also, the research involved different research findings within the World Health Organization, the statistical analysis, as well as the future projections in childhood obesity.

The sources of data that were searched include quantitative studies on childhood obesity.

The World Health Organization proved to be a useful organization for the acquisition of data. World Health Organization consists of relevant statistics involving childhood obesity. Also, they have the same statistics of the adult, a situation that makes comparison much easier.

DATA.GOV is another source of data about childhood obesity.

From the WHO organization website and databases, there are different studies that reveal the trends in childhood obesity. Also, DATA.GOV also consists of databases that shows the proportions as well as other statistics on childhood obesity at different ages.

Although WHO and DATA.GOV provide different data and statistics on childhood obesity, the trends, as well as the reported information and future trends are almost the same. In other words, these sources of statistics show the increase in the cases of obesity among the children.

Health information obtained in the search, including risk factors and epidemiology.

From the search, the health information is that the causes of obesity are intricate and encompass genetic, behavioral, biological, and cultural aspects. It occurs when an individual eats more calories than what the body burns up although various medical illnesses can cause obesity, approximately less than 1% of all obesity results from physical problems (Federal Data, 2019).

The risk factors to obesity can be attributed to poor eating habits, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, and medical illnesses such as endocrine and neurological disorders.

Prevalence among children in preschool living in the most deprived areas was 12.7%, whereas among those living in the least deprived areas was 5.8% (Federal Data, 2019).

Interpretation of findings and evidence of health disparities

From the findings above, it is clear that childhood obesity is on the rise; this is attributed to eating habits and lack of physical exercise. These figures mean that the prevalence of obesity is more than doubled from preschool to Year six (Federal Data, 2019). Also, evidence shows that there is a link between obesity and lower-income groups. For instance, the obesity prevalence among children in preschool living in the most deprived areas was 12.7%, whereas among those living in the least deprived areas was 5.8% (Federal Data, 2019).

From the population examined, there is clear evidence of disparity, children who are obese are prone to illnesses and fatigue. Additionally, they are more susceptible to high blood pressure, heart failure, and coronary disorders compared to those who are not obese.

Some of the interventions for childhood obesity include appropriate dieting, vigorous physical exercise as well as medications.

References

World Health Organization (2019). Childhood Obesity Statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight

Federal Data.Gov. (2019). Obesity Percentages. Retrieved from: https://catalog.data.gov/dataset?tags=obesity