Childhood Obesity Among Hispanic Children

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third, 34.9% (78.6 million) of adults in the United States are obese (Adult Obesity Facts). In 2008, the annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion dollars, and the people who were obese had medical costs that were $1,429 higher than those at normal weight. The National Census Bureau of the United States reveals that the overall percentage of all ages with a body mass index of over 30 (obese) has increased from 20% of the population in 1998 to 33% in 2008. The amount of adults who are physically inactive has increased in that same time period from 28.9% to 36.2% of the population. Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity of 47.8%, followed by Hispanics at 42.5%, non-Hispanic whites at 32.6%, and non-Hispanic Asians at 10.8%. The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States in 2011-2012 was approximately 17% or 12.7 million of children aged 2-19 years old.12 There are significant racial disparities in children as well. Obesity prevalence was higher among Hispanics at 22.4% and non-Hispanic black youth at 20.2% than non-Hispanic white youth at 14.1%. The lowest prevalence of obesity was non-Hispanic Asian youth at

The Hispanic cultures view on obesity or having a fuller and heavier child differs from an American’s perspective. Like many cultures around the world, hefty version of themselves is a sign of wealth and opulence. This belief is passed down to their children. Hispanic and Latino mothers believe a heavier child is a good idea and it shows healthy development. “Culture can influence the perception of risk associated with obesity. Studies of Latinos have found that many mothers of obese children believe their child to be healthy and are unconcerned about their child's weight, although these same parents are likely to believe that obese children in general should be taken to a nutritionist or physician for help with weight reduction.” (Caprio

In the past several decades and according to the State of Obesity “38.9 % of children ages 2-19 are obese in the Latino culture.” The rates of severe obesity are higher amongst these children compared to the White American children.

South Carolina has one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation and, proportionately, more Latino children aged 2–5 years are obese compared to black and white children in the state (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). In fact, the proportion of obesity among South Carolina Latino children between the ages of 2 and 5 years in 2009 was 37.3% compared to 27.3% and 26.4% for black and white children, respectively (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). Moreover, in 2011, about half of all middle-school children were not active, and approximately 30% of high school students were considered overweight or obese (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). These high numbers of overweight and obese children are startling because overweight

Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% .

Children and adolescents, their health is of the most upmost importance. The child is impacting through everything they do in their lives and everything that they come face to. One of these factors that come into play into a child’s life is Obesity. Most importantly the racial and ethnic disparities that involve Obesity. Unless this issue of this inclining obesity is addressed, there will be assumptions that the amount of years a person will live will surely decline (Johnson, 2012). Obesity is a killer as it is the secondary killer and could well be our first if the people don’t take action (Johnson, 2012). Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as asthma and diabetes (Johnson, 2012). Seventeen percent of young adults in the USA today are obese (Rossen, 2014). The commonness of obesity has escalated throughout the years in Children and Young adults that were being seen in Adults (Caprio et al., 2008). There are many disparities in which affect children in every way but the one that affects the obesity in childhood is racial and ethnic disparities. The amount of obesity in childhood is increasing in all ethnic and racial groups but it is found that nonwhite population have the most amount of Obesity (Caprio et al., 2008). The Mexican- American and non-Hispanic black children have a heavier load to carry as of racial and ethnic subgroups (Rossen, 2014). As children are expose to different physical and social environments, they are wide-open to different

According to Adelle Davis “statistics of illness in the United States are too depressing to examine”. Illnesses that were never even heard of a century ago are striking out population harder than ever. What is worse is these diseases and illnesses have no limits; they strike infants, children and teenagers just as harshly as they do adults and the elderly. The most common disease is obesity and the alarming part is that children are now prone to obesity starting at just three years of age. Based on research done in 2002, obesity rates are rising amongst children younger than ten years old in the United States of America due to low income rates and ethnicity. According to this research, poor income leads to poor meal and entertainment decisions, these two decisions are highly balanced by the culture individuals that then carry on to their children. Our community is largely populated by Hispanics, and Nichman found that “The prevalence of obesity among Hispanic American populations is generally greater than among white populations in the United States”. Not only is our El Paso population highly vulnerable to these diseases because of the culture we carry, but we also house areas of high poverty. Our children are at high risk of this deadly disease, through seemingly harmless characteristics such as culture and economic status.

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the last three decades, and conditions in many communities continue to act as barriers to healthy eating and adequate physical activity. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that has adverse and potentially long-lasting consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Perhaps most shocking, life expectancy for today’s children may be shortened in the United States because of the impact of childhood obesity (Olshansky and Ludwig, 2005).

Obesity is a chronic disease that eventually threatens the life of a child. It has become common today to observe the alarming exponential growth in childhood obesity in the U.S. As an illustration, in California, obesity has become more noticeable in Latino children than in other cultural groups. (Tung & McDonough, 2014). Although maintaining a healthy weight may seem insignificant for some Latino families, it is in effect essential in terms of today’s concern over the health of Latino children. Unfortunately, child obesity is a combination of different elements: junk-food and high- calorie diets, sedentary lifestyle, “super-size” portions, marketing of junk food, and finally, negligence of families and schools. As a matter of fact, Latinos are the largest ethnic group in California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that in 2014, 38.6% of the total population in California are Latinos, and the largest minority group in the U.S. (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2014). In addition, Statistics reveal that 40% of Latino children in California are overweight (Falbe, Cadiz, Tantoco, Thomson, & Madsen. 2015). The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) results suggest that Hispanic children and youth were the ethnic group at the highest risk of being overweight in California (Weiss, Yepa, Mouttapa, McMahan, & Gedissman, 2015). For that reason, it is vital to address the serious public health

A famous American chef, Tom Colicchio, once said: “This is what people don 't understand: obesity is a symptom of poverty. It 's not a lifestyle choice where people are just eating and not exercising. It 's because kids - and this is the problem with school lunch right now - are getting sugar, fat, empty calories - lots of calories - but no nutrition” . On the other hand, a socioeconomic status, according to the dictionary is “An individual 's or group 's position within a hierarchical social structure. Socioeconomic status depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence” .

Childhood obesity is becoming one of the top public health concerns in the United States. “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S., and today, the country has some of the highest obesity rates in the world: one out of six children is obese, and one out of three children is overweight or obese” (World Health Organization, 2015). With the drastic increase in obese children over the last 30 years and the huge healthcare associated costs many programs and incentives have been implemented to fight this epidemic. Although any child can become obese “racial and ethnic inequities persist among children; 22.5 percent of Latino children and 20.2 percent of Black children are obese, compared to 14.1 percent of

A drive down the road in any given American city and one can observe at least one reason that the United States is struggling with obesity. One would be hard pressed to find a community that is not teeming with fast food restaurants. However, it might surprise some that the obesity epidemic in our country has reached the most vulnerable population of all and they aren’t even capable of driving themselves to these bastions of unhealthy food. The childhood obesity level has reached 34% of children in the United States (SHUMEI, 2016).Obesity is caused by consistently consuming more calories than are needed for the level of physical activity one has on a daily basis. Although there are several indicators of obesity, the CDC and The American Academy of Pediatrics use the body mass index (BMI). Childhood obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex (Perpich, 2011). Childhood obesity has been linked to an increase in Type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma, hypertension, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and even affects children in psychosocial terms with low self-esteem and fewer friends than their non-obese contemporaries (Hispanic Health Care International, 2011). There are a variety of causes that work together for contributing to childhood obesity from the income level of the home to gender to even the location of the child’s home. Although there are many factors that can cause childhood obesity, we

instrument of the advancement of obesity is not fully recognized and it is understood to be a

America is facing a rigorous obesity plague that is endangering the health of millions. Moreover, we are passing our bad practices down to our children. Obesity is a stipulation in which anomalous or excessive fat buildup in adipose tissue that damages health. Obesity is defined in adults as a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 30 (kg/m). Obesity is one of the most discernible, but until recently, most deserted public health problems. The present high pervasiveness of obesity and the brisk increase in pervasiveness in the last twenty years has been referred to as an endemic (Johnson SJ, Birch LL. 1994). Children all through the U.S. are getting fatter and less fit, through potentially treacherous enduring consequences. The figure of

There have been many studies done in trying to find the root cause for childhood obesity and all stem back to bad dietary patterns, physical inactivity, and genetics. Additionally, factors in society that contribute to this detrimental disease is the education and skills that are taught to children at a young age along with food marketing and promotion for unhealthy foods. There isn’t a demographic group in the United States that has been unaffected by the childhood obesity epidemic, but there is evidence that supports that some subgroups of the U.S. population are more prone to the onset of this epidemic and that have been more affected than others. Certain ethnic minority populations, children from low income families, and children from the southern region in the United States display the trend of having a higher percentage of overweight