Essay on Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences

Dietary intake

If this sample essay on"Essay on Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences" doesn’t help,
our writers will!

Trust an expert

Poor nutrition is the primary cause of obesity in children. Most of the obese children eat unbalanced diet and have no access to fruits and vegetables that are vital in the growth of a child (You & Choo, 2016). The majority of the obese children come from poor backgrounds meaning that their parents cannot afford balanced diet to either joblessness or meager earnings (You & Choo, 2016). However, this is not to say that obesity affects only the poor, it also affects the wealthy, but the poor suffer more than the rich.

Children from the well up families also become obese due to taking a lot of junk food that is often advertised on the various media platforms (You & Choo, 2016). Junk food is often rich in carbohydrates and as such the children have an excess intake of carbohydrates. Today, people live in urban centers where they rely heavily on processed and packaged foods. The processed foods that have balanced nutrition are expensive and can only be afforded by the rich people in the society, and the poor are forced to give their children the cheap foods that they can afford. The cheap foods are rich in carbohydrates, and their consumption increases fat in the body and the long run it leads to obesity in the children.

According to Horsch, et. al (2015), stress levels food intake in children. This means that children that are brought up in environments that are not conducive and have stress are likely to become obese. Stress in children leads to stress-induced eating as food is viewed as the sole source of comfort. Lack of physical activity and stress in children leads to unhealthy eating as children prefer to eat only a few meals that give them pleasure. In the long, the children become obese as a result of consuming unbalanced diet. Positive balancing is necessary to eliminate stress in children which in turn affects their stress levels.

Physical activity

Physical activity is also a risk factor for obesity. Lack or limited physical activity increases the propensity of a child becoming obese. The majority of children who are obese today do not engage in physical activities during their leisure time. Lack of physical activities mean that extra calories in the body are not burnt and this result in excess accumulation of fat in the body. Soyang, Kathleen, Elena, Trudy & Steven (2015) conducted a study to assess whether individuals who are active but who decrease physical activity over time have a higher risk of becoming obese in young adulthood. The study found out that participants who were active as children but decreased physical activity with age were more likely to become obese, compared to consistently active participants. Soyang, Kathleen, Elena, Trudy & Steven (2015) concluded that an active lifestyle could prevent the development of obesity in children.

According to a study Elizabeth, Seoung, Emily & Cummings (2015) television viewing does not increase the propensity of being obese. Obese children have fewer friends as compared to healthy children, and this limits their engagement in physical activity. The study concluded that children who have friends engage in physical activities and have a little likelihood of being obese. Television viewing reduces physical activity but cannot cause obesity.

The environment that children are brought up in determines their level of engagement in physical activities. Some conditions hinder physical activities such as riding bicycles, playing football among other physical activities that can help burn calories in the body. In the developed countries, the physical environment encourages inactive lifestyles, and this puts children at risk of becoming obese (James, Myron, Daniel & Brian 2012). According to James, Myron, Daniel & Brian (2012), obesity leads to cardiovascular diseases as a result of the accumulation of cholesterol in the body.

Sedentary behaviors

The modern society has witnessed the advent of modern video games that children are quickly addicted to and love playing most of the time. Sedentary behaviors are a risk factor for obesity because it lowers physical activities (Mitchell et al., 2013). Children who have sedentary behaviors spend most of their time watching TV, playing play stations, sitting idle or sleeping alone and do not have friends with whom they can participate in physical activities. The accumulation of a lot of fat in the body weakens the organs of the body, and this motivates the children to adopt the sedentary behaviors. Mass body weight impairs the body immune of a child, and this increases the chances of an obese child falling ill. An overweight child is often withdrawn and feels weak and lacking the energy to partake in any activities and thus he or she prefers to live a sedentary life (Mitchell et al., 2013).

Girls have a high propensity of having sedentary behaviors than boys because boys love engaging in outdoor activities than males. This shows that girls are at a higher a higher risk of becoming obese than boys. Prevalence of children becoming overweight has increased significantly in recent years due to changes in lifestyles. There is the need for people to put more efforts in promoting the fight against obesity in children because the children are the key to the future generations (Mitchell et al., 2013).

References

Elizabeth A. V., Seoung E. P., Emily T, H., & Cummings H, M. (2015). Time with friends and physical activity as mechanisms linking obesity and television viewing among youth.

Horsch, A., Marion W, Susi K, Simone, M, Sylvie, B, Alexandra, B, Pedro,M, Ayala B, & Jardena J, P, (2015). Impact of physical activity on energy balance, food intake and choice in normal weight and obese children in the setting of acute social stress: a randomized controlled trial

James F. S., Myron F. F., Daniel A. R, & Brian E. S. (2012). Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Disease.

Mitchell, J. A., Mattocks, C., Ness, A. R., Leary S. D., Pate R. R., Dowda, M, Blair, S. N., & Riddoch, C. (2013). Sedentary Behaviour and Obesity in a Large Cohort of Children. Accessed from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746930/Soyang K, Kathleen F. J, Elena M. L, Trudy L. B & Steven M. L (2015). Active lifestyle in childhood and adolescence prevents obesity development in young adulthood: Iowa Bone Development Study.

You, J., & Choo, J. (2016). Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes.