The Main Causes of Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a situation characterized by presence of excess fat in the physique of a youngster aged above two years (Birch, et al, 2011). There is no definite and direct way of figuring out if one particular has excess fat in their physique, conversely, the Body Mass Index (BMI), is utilized to decide regardless of whether 1 is obese or not. BMI is primarily based on the notion that a healthy body must have a particular ratio of weight to height, a greater ratio would indicate a greater quantity of physique fat and weight loss undertakings are highly encouraged (Dawes, 2014). Due to boost in the price of childhood obesity, it has grow to be a matter of public health and there is a greater need to have to sensitize parents on the precautionary steps to be taken.

This paper will focus on the major motives for childhood obesity. It will analyze the methods taken to mitigate childhood obesity and the challenges encountered by the society and the obese young children. The options to these challenges will be tabled and suggestions created on the same.
Concern/Dilemma Statement
Childhood obesity was not a matter of public wellness some twenty years ago, even so, due to enhance in obesogenic environment it has become a national childhood disaster (Dawes, 2014). This atmosphere is characterized by poor consuming habits and much less physical activities basically these are factors that can be controlled as soon as realized. Alterations in lifestyle has led to change in consuming habits for each parents and children according to the Center of Illness Control and Prevention, the probabilities of childhood obesity increases if each parents are obese (Birch, et al, 2011).

Childhood obesity types a vicious cycle of an unhealthy future population, which can easily hinder development. This is mostly due to the fact childhood obesity will lead to adulthood obesity and its connected ailments like respiratory problems, high blood stress and cardiac illnesses and diabetes. The government will focus and invest far more on curing the ailing population than on creating curriculums and infrastructure. The population will also not be able to execute sufficient as all interest will be focused on the ailments, invention, innovation and investment will be hindered. There is a higher chance cost for obtaining obese youngsters as the future than not obtaining them.

The major reason for obesity specially in young children is the food that is consumed. Let’s closely examine the current consumption of meals the population feeds on far more industrial meat than before. In 2011, United States alone slaughtered 110.9million hogs, 34.1million cattle, 853000 calves and 2.2million sheep for consumption (Lymbery & Oakshott, 2015). Consumption of the goods from factory farming is dangerous to human overall health. Due to the boost use of antibiotics and growth hormones throughout incubation and rearing of the animals, the goods include the residues (Casuto, 2007). The effects are consequently passed on to human beings, explaining the exceedingly high price at which teenagers are maturing and improved in obesity. Consumption of the products also leads to drug resistance in each the animals and human beings, consequently escalating the population ailing from life style ailments.

There is also overconsumption of junk and canned food that have processed fat and other preservative that are simply absorbed into the body and rapidly form fat to be stored by the physique (Dawes, 2014). Excess body fat makes it hard for the young children to be engaged in physical activities as they get tired easily, obese young children in this case, do not get to enjoy the perks that come with being a child.

Thesis Childhood obesity can be prevented by consuming a balanced diet and practicing a healthier lifestyle.
Audience analysis
The most crucial target audience for the message in this paper is the parents and guardians. The parents do not have a vast information on suitable nutrition but they have channels by means of which, they can be in a position to discover and comprehend the notion. According to Casuto, 2007, 65% of obese children are from either single parents house, African American residences or Latin American homes. This is especially so due to the fact the parents in the aforementioned bracket live in poor neighborhoods, are consistently away operating and can not supply at instances the essential nutrition for the kids. Most of the parents are of the concept of lowering childhood obesity, conversely with the boost in crime rates, they really feel safety comes 1st. They have the belief that as soon as young children are left to run around outside, they will locate themselves caught up in gang shootings. The parent’s attitude is optimistic but their actions are counterproductive to the result in, needless to say, they are nevertheless hunting out for their kids.

Parents are open to the idea of rising the playtime for children under the condition that security is beefed up (Koplan et al 2005). In this case, they will not really feel the need to have to be concerned about their young children whilst they are at function. Most of the parents are normally at house for the duration of the evening and late night tv advertisements would be the ideal way to reach them. Alternatively, pamphlets sent by means of mail can be employed to make them conscious of the measures that they can be in a position to take in order to make certain that their young children do not grow to be obese.

The secondary target audience is the kids they need to be taught the importance of a appropriate nutrition is far greater than the immediate gratification they get from consumption of junk and processed foods (Koplan et al 2005). The number of obese kids has more than doubled in the last 30 years, in 1979 only 7% of the children have been obese in 2011, the number had risen to 18%. At present one particular in each and every three young children is obese. This is a third of the complete child population in America aged amongst 6-11 years (Koplan et al 2005).

Ultimately the unintended target audience is the schools. At present there are 98,817 public schools in America, youngsters spend eight or more hours a day in school and here is exactly where significantly of understanding on private, academic and social life takes spot. The schools have a vast understanding on correct youngster nutrition and can make use of in guaranteeing that there is a day-to-day balance diet plan for all students.
Strategies for Persuasive Campaigns I. Theories of Persuasion Attribution Theory: Conditional Attribution
Conditioning plays a important part in persuading a crowd particularly when it is a matter of changing the kind of life style. It requires a mentorship function followed by voluntary actions by the mentee. Conditioning is much more a mental and emotional game for instance generating an impression about a item and convincing folks about its positive aspects. In this case, kids can be mentored by individuals they adore for instance their favored celebrity, parents or even sport player. They can be urged to practice a wholesome way of life and conditioned to it. Pavlov’s conclusions on conditioning will be applicable as soon after a even though even with out parental guidance and supervision the youngsters will have adopted to the new way of life and it will turn into their everyday routine.

Conditioning at the very same time has to be carried out severally to make sure that it is not forgotten. This means that it is a conditioning will be a continuous procedure that will be associated with much better well being and what will be termed as beauty at the moment of conditioning.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Cognitive dissonance is based on the premise that as human beings, we strive to have consistency. What is termed as wrong by the thoughts, one’s actions and body need to restrain from it, consequently forming a brain-physique harmony. The children can be taught that consumption of fatty and processed food is perilous to their body, they ought to be taught the value of the physical exercise. After they have been taught that, the actions will stick to suit as their minds will seek to harmonize thoughts and actions.

Attaining harmony of thoughts and action is the challenging part, once established it is followed by need to have for consistency in life. The parents and schools must strive to make certain that they offer you a consistent atmosphere that does not seek to have the youngsters routine changed haphazardly. Cognitive dissonance also fosters competition to outdo every other and be far better. This is a spirit that comes in handy in sporting activities and can improve the level of talent to be found in the young children and consequently get them out of their housed to participate in outdoor activities.
II. Psychosocial Perspective Socio Financial Status
Research has located out that decrease level of education of the parents leads to a reduced earnings. The parents can not afford correct nutrition for the kids in addition the parents are often functioning and spending far more time away from the homes. The kids are left to figure out what they ought to eat and they constantly turn to junk food and processed meat. According to the Planet Overall health Organization, (2013) most of the circumstances of obese kids are identified in families that are believed to be in transition. Transitions are modifications in the life-style that are largely as a item of lack of a stable revenue by the parents. This is specially the case in single parent properties that have been on the rise due to the falling role of marriage as a social institution (Parizkova & Hills, 2005).
Adverse life events
Obesity may possibly be a coping mechanism for the children who might be undergoing adverse life events. These events contain but are not restricted to death of a family member or friend, domestic violence, sexual abuse, lack of a social network and parental psychopathology (Koplan et al 2005). All these can be dealt with by undergoing proper counseling more than a period of time and have steady social help program, nevertheless due to lack of time and resources the child is left to his own demise.
Exposure to Media and Meals advertisements
At the moment in America, on average a youngster watches television for a lot more than 3 hours a day, which much more than the recommended 2 hours a day (Parizkova & Hills, 2005). Watching tv has taken up time that was previously utilised in physical activities by the children. Also, even though watching tv one consumes far more food that they are aware of and energy is stored up as no activity is engaged. Ads on media on consumption of unhealthy foods have increased and this makes teenagers and youngsters to seek to have these foods.
III. Strategic Application
Childhood obesity is a public overall health problem but it is not becoming taken with the level of seriousness and soberness it deserves. This is due to the fact it is viewed as a life-style disease that is acquired by selection and can effortlessly be avoided (Parizkova & Hills, 2005). Truth of the matter is that it is a life-style illness that calls for serious measure to be taken by all parties involved in the lives of the kids such as the media. Youngsters are the subsequent generation and call for to be nurtured, lack of correct nutrition will not finish with them, but will serve as a starting to unending wellness related problems.
Persuasion Material
The ideal persuasion material to be utilised is an advertisement with images to emphasize of the visual effects. There will be a photo of an obese child and a single that is not obese followed by what to be eaten by young children in order to stay away from getting obese. The visual impact will make sure that the youngsters get to understand the kind of meals to avoid and the ones to indulge in.
Challenges in Dealing with Childhood Obesity
The most vital challenge to dealing with childhood obesity is that the needed actions to be taken are beyond the capabilities of the youngsters themselves. Merely educating the child on the importance of healthful nutrition will not suffice if the parents are not capable to afford or do not want to be involved in the method. The young children for that reason are left at the mercy of the options made by their guardians and the prevailing financial situation that they can not influence.

The other challenge is the present public wellness and public college regime that has not yet grasped the seriousness of the situation. There is need to have to have concrete plans on how to help the young children and to get them involved in the maintenance of their personal wellness (Parizkova & Hills, 2005). This can be incorporated by possessing a nicely-structured counseling platform to deal with psychological issues affecting the youngsters (Birch, et al, 2011). There need to also be sessions exactly where youngsters are taught on the combination of a balanced diet plan and its value. The lunch menu need to constantly incorporate much less fats and far more roughage and meals wealthy in higher fiber.
Solutions to Childhood Obesity
The 1st and most essential resolution is to teach newly parents on how to appropriately feed their kids from the onset. Junk meals should be avoided at all costs, the parents must strive to have a balanced and healthy diet program and the youngsters will adhere to in their footsteps (Voigt, et al 2014). The requirements for the children need to be clearly stated and the consequences of poor consuming habits be clearly stated. Secondly, kids need to be encouraged to get involved in sports from the youngest age so that it can be cultivated as a culture (Dawes, 2014). This recreational activity will allow for the youngsters to redirect damaging power that might make them to be depressed and overindulge in junk food.

Schools must be involved in producing awareness and companion with organizations that strictly deal with childhood obesity. A decent illustration is SPARK an award winning public wellness program that is involved in educating teachers and other educators with proper physical activities to be embarked on by the kids in an work to combat childhood obesity. Teachers get physical activities that are essential and how they can be produced exciting for the young children to capture their consideration.

The state and nearby governments in conjunction with the parents can be in a position to supply well equipped and staffed gymnasiums to the schools to be in a position to completely capture the interests of the young children. In this light, schools can provide different sports varying from ball games, athletics, ballet dancing and gymnastics. Technologies in this case can be utilized to pull the young children from the comfort of their couches to the field (Parizkova & Hills, 2005).

The government ought to limit and handle the quantity of advertisement on unhealthy foods and unhealthy weight loss mechanisms. This will lessen the influence that the two have on kids and lower the number of youngsters that experience obesity due to influence from the media (Parizkova & Hills, 2005).
Measurement and Conclusion
As soon as the above challenges have been mitigated by making use of the aforementioned solutions, there will be a need to have to measure the achievement of the project. Measurement can be carried out in many approaches

– Analyzing the schools and the physical well being programs offered. The achievement of these programs need to be measured by the quantity of students that have signed up and stick to it to the end. The programs ought to have records of the students in terms of their BMI whilst they were joining the program and the progress that has been witnessed. The system should have techniques of dealing with challenges that it may possibly face. The much more the students and the more there is an enhanced trend in the BMI and physical activity the far more the program will be termed as successful. The reverse is also accurate.

• The number of advertisements on unhealthy foods and unhealthy weight loss processes should have reduced specifically in channels meant for youngsters (Voigt, et al 2014). This is a measurement that the government has imposed manage on the level of influence of media on children.
• An boost in the quantity of kids involved in sports in schools will be an indication of elevated need to have to keep healthful. This would be followed by an enhance in the quantity of sports offered for the children to participate in (Voigt, et al 2014). A alter in the menu of meals provided in college cafeteria to much more healthful and nutritious food. This is a clear indication that the options are getting implemented in schools.
• Enhance in parental participation in their children’s food intake, consequently the demand for junk meals should lower. This must also consist of property deliveries for Pizza and other foods. Property ready meals are far more nutritious for youngsters.

In conclusion, youngster obesity was a foreseen event specifically when the way of life and meals intake pattern changed conversely its improved prevalence over the last ten years was not foreseen. At the moment it is one of the principal ailments to be dealt with in young children especially in industrialized nations. Obesity is a consequence of particular actions, which means it can be reversed, conversely the procedure is time consuming and pricey.

It is simply because it needs a adjust from the present way of life to the prior one particular 1 that had much less fatty foods and much more physical activities. The challenge is that occasions have changed and with the enhanced technology it is becoming more and more challenging to take individuals to a earlier life-style. Most pick to take on surgeries that are very risky and high-priced in order to combat the challenges that come with obesity.