Population Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States in the past three decades. In 2012, roughly 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese” (“Childhood Obesity Facts,” 2014). According to the Centers of Disease Control and

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% .

Health issues like obesity are rampant due to low levels of nutrition in food served in public schools. Childhood obesity is a serious disaster in today's world as it is on the reverse spectrum of as eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa, but still carries with it serious health implications that can affect an individual throughout their lifetime. One specific factor playing a role in childhood obesity is the fact that the food eaten by children is not nutritious.

Obesity in both adult and children is a major public health crisis. Childhood related obesity is an increasing concern with respect to the health and wellbeing of a child.

Childhood obesity has been a constant debate topic in the United States for several decades. Obesity is defined as a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent it may have an adverse effect on health and reduce life expectancy (WHO, 2011). About 1 in every 6 American children is considered overweight or obese. Under current obesity guidelines by using the body mass index measurement (BMI) for age percentile, a BMI of below 18.5 is considered underweight, normal weight (BMI of 18.5 to 24.9), overweight (BMI of 25.0 to 29.9) and obese is a BMI that is higher than 30 for children of the same age and sex. Some experts believe that parents should be held liable and prosecuted if their children become morbidly obese. Others argue that this is not the best action to take against parents because other factors affect childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity is a source of great debate in the United States. Many studies have shown the problem has become epidemic. Adults in the United States are increasing in weight and so are children and teenagers. Many factors are contributing to this growing problem. The influence parents have on their children can affect them negatively. Children of overweight parents are more likely to be overweight themselves. Another issue adding to the childhood obesity problem is the fact that children and teens have more options when it comes to food choices. School lunches, vending machines, and cheap calorie-packed snacks all contribute to this issue. Healthy foods are also more expensive and not as readily available as

Families across the nation are affected by this issue. Many parents have a lack of knowledge in regards to nutrition and activity, in hindsight the food industry impact families. The article The Childhood Obesity Epidemic discuss despite the government pushing for healthy food choice initiates, have to continue to maximize selling of their products that include junk food, therefore blame shifting towards the food industry (McHugh, 2016, p. 95).

In the United States, Healthy People 2020 tracks children aged 2 to 19 that carry a BMI greater than 95% per the Centers for Disease (CDC) pediatric growth chart. The goal is a target rate of 14.5%, with a current improvement of 10% over the baseline. There are disparities related to gender, ethnicity and race, therefore this is very important public health problem and for the future of our country and health care of our citizens. Obesity is of epidemic proportions so there was a plethora of information found at South University’s library site of which will be reviewed in this paper.

The key words used for this search were children, primary care, BMI screening, and obesity interventions. These key words were selected based on their relevance to the research question. BMI, or body mass index, is a tool that assists providers in identifying overweight and obese children (Kwapiszewski & Wallace, 2011). BMI for children and teens is computed by calculating their weight in kilograms divided by their square height in meters, taking their age and sex into consideration (CDC, 2015). A BMI at or above the 85th percentile is considered overweight and a BMI greater than or equal to the 95th percentile is considered obese (CDC, 2015). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017), a healthy lifestyle is defined by a nutritious diet, participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and the maintenance of a normal body weight with a BMI between

The prevalence of obesity in childhood is a big concern because of its adverse consequences in the short and long term. According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2010), the rise in childhood obesity for the past ten years has been very alarming. It was noted that obesity now rank as the 5th leading risk factor for death (Larsen, 2015). It is also estimated that obesity is attributed to 44% in diabetes development, 23% in ischemic heart disease and 7 to 41 % of some certain cancers (Larsen, 2015). Childhood obesity is defined as a body mass index equivalent or greater than the 95th percentile of a child's body weight or body mass index more than 30 kg/ms (WHO, 2010). Obesity identifies biologically those children who will later in life

Childhood obesity is an escalating issue in all over the world and particularly in the United States' children and adults. This issue has received more attention in last thirty years as the number of flabby and obese children and adults has increased to double in the entire world. According to a report of Centers of Disease Control (2001), the number of obese children and adults has increased to triple with a 14% increase.

Childhood obesity is defined as having a age and sex specific Body Mass Index (BMI) at or above 95th percentile. The prevalence of childhood obesity has risen dramatically with the increase more than triple since the 1970 in the United States. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in five children from age six to nineteen are in obese. The consequences of childhood obesity include high blood pressure and high cholesterol, these are the risk factors for cardiovascular disease; type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, gallstone, and breathing problems such as asthma and obstructive sleep apnea. If children are obese will more likely to become adults with obesity, and their obesity and risk factors

Obesity is considered one of the major healthcare challenges in the 21st century. It has become a growing epidemic among men and women, especially children (Penney,2014). With the expanding population, there seem to be an increase in the number of children who are considered to be obese. There have been countless and numerous cases related to childhood obesity in healthcare in the recent years (Maggio, 2014). According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. In 2012, more than one third of children were overweight or obese.

Obesity has been a major health issue in the community for the past three decades, and has recently become a spreading concern for children (Black & Hager, 2013). Childhood obesity leads to many health and financial burdens in the future, and has become a public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016), childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Black and Hager (2013) state that pediatric obesity is a major public health problem that effects a child’s mental and physical health. Having childhood obesity also increases the risk of developing adult obesity and many other chronic illnesses. Childhood obesity will be further explored in the following sections and will include: background, current surveillance methods, epidemiology analysis, screening and diagnosis, and the plan of action.

Child obesity is a serious public health issue in the United States and its increase has reached epidemic level. The prevalence of obesity among children has dramatically increased from 1970 to 2010 (Saydah, Bullard, Cheng, Ali, Gregg, Geiss, & Impertore, 2014). This issue should no longer be ignored because its consequences can affect all of us in different ways. Usually, when we see an obese child, we only think about his/her body appearance and we ignored all the health issues that can cause. Child obesity is a preventable disease that can lead many health complications if it is not treated.