Childhood obesity
Introduction
Childhood obesity poses a major public health threat to children in the United States. The rate of childhood obesity in the country has increased significantly in the past few decades. Although at different rates, children across different demographic groups in America struggle with weight issues which poses physical and psychological effects on them (Pulgaron, 2013; Sahoo et al., 2015). Therefore, it is important to develop an intervention to help in the reduction of this public health problem to protect children from its effects. This PICOT statement proposed an evidence-based solution that includes making sure that children have access to better diets. The following is an evaluation of the components of the PICOT statements and how they contribute to solving this issue. Childhood obesity
PICOT Statement
Children with a BMI above 30 who are undergoing nutritional monitoring compared to not being monitored nutritionally can achieve significant weight loss in a period of a year.
P- Children with a BMI above 30
I-Undergoing nutritional monitoring
C- Compared to not being nutritionally monitored
O- Can achieve reduced weight
T- in a period of a year Childhood obesity
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Population
The population of focus for this intervention is the children in the United States with a BMI above 30 (Ogden et al., 2012). A BMI above 30 indicates that the children are suffering from obesity. The focus for the intervention will be children between 6 and 15 years because they are around the age groups with the highest risk of obesity in the country. Additionally, children within this age group tend to have the highest risk of engaging in unhealthy eating habits, especially when not being monitored (Ayer et al., 2013). Children below this age group are mainly under the care of their parents; hence, parents can easily control what they eat. On the other hand, the older children can understand obesity and be educated on ways they can change their eating habits; thus, there is no need to monitor them. Childhood obesity
Intervention
The intervention is monitoring what the children eat. Each of the children in the selected age group needs to have an adult with an understanding of nutrition and its relationship with overweight and obesity issues. The adult with then develop the children’s meal plans, making sure that the foods they take in a day include those that will assist with weight loss but not suppress the required nutrients for a healthy lifestyle. The foods that have been determined to be high contributing factors to obesity include those with higher levels of sugar and excess fat. Many foods that fall into the category of ‘junk foods’ tend to contain these components. Therefore, these are the main foods that will be controlled in this intervention.
Comparison
The comparison to the intervention is failing to monitor the diets of the children. This implies that the children will be allowed to eat whatever they want regardless of the nutrition components of the food. Children tend to like the ‘junk foods’, which is part of the main reasons for the high rates of childhood obesity (Sabin & Kiess, 2015). Not monitoring the children and what they eat will mean that there will be a higher chance of maintaining or worsening their obesity. Childhood obesity
Outcome
The expected outcome of this intervention is a significant reduction in the population’s weight. Two of the controllable contributing factors to childhood obesity are diet and physical activity. This intervention focuses on poor diet, which has been proven to lead to accumulation of excess fat leading to obesity in children (Roberto et al., 2015). Excess sugars and fat are some of the main causes of weight-related issues in children. Therefore, if these foods are controlled, it is expected that the children will experience a significant reduction of fat in their bodies. It is expected that after the intervention, the participating children will have a reduced body weight. Childhood obesity
Time
Weight loss is a gradual process that occurs through consistency in the application of the intervention aiming at causing the weight loss. A period of one year has been assigned to this intervention program to ensure that the children are given enough time for their bodies to adapt to their new diets and for them to experience significant weight loss that can be recorded because of the intervention. The weights of the children will be measured at the beginning of the program and at the end of the intervention program to determine the significant change that has taken place after a year of monitoring the diets of the children and making sure that they only eat the right foods. Childhood obesity
References
Ayer, J., Charakida, M., Deanfield, J. E., & Celermajer, D. S. (2015). Lifetime risk: childhood obesity and cardiovascular risk. European heart journal, 36(22), 1371-1376.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999-2010. Jama, 307(5), 483-490. Childhood obesity
Pulgaron, E. R. (2013). Childhood obesity: a review of increased risk for physical and psychological comorbidities. Clinical Therapeutics, 35(1), A18-A32.
Roberto, C. A., Swinburn, B., Hawkes, C., Huang, T. T., Costa, S. A., Ashe, M., … & Brownell, K. D. (2015). Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched barriers, and new thinking. The Lancet, 385(9985), 2400-2409.
Sabin, M. A., & Kiess, W. (2015). Childhood obesity: current and novel approaches. Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 29(3), 327-338. Childhood obesity
Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A. K., Sofi, N. Y., Kumar, R., & Bhadoria, A. S. (2015). Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 4(2), 187.
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1. Background
The increasing rate of obesity among children and adolescents in the last three decades is posing a major health concern that should be urgently addressed. Despite the latest national reports in the country that suggest a positive decline in the childhood obesity prevalence patterns, the country still grapples with about 12 million children suffering from obesity. Considering the immediate and long-term health impacts of obesity, a lot of resources and efforts have been spent by government agencies and advocacy groups to address this epidemic. However, these efforts have only yielded limited or short-term gains. As a result, the adverse impacts of childhood obesity continue to capture the interests and attention of public, and policy makers. Childhood obesity not only pose serious health problems, but it also increases the economic costs for treating children. Therefore, there is need to develop effective strategies to regulate the worrying increase in the population of overweight and obese children. Childhood obesity
2. Problem Statement
Childhood obesity is a big health problem that needs a lot of attention to be solved. The rate of obesity among children is increasing and is likely to increase further in the future because of the changes in children’s lifestyles. Due to the development of technology, the nature of children’s recreational activities has changed. In the past, most children’s recreational activities were outdoor games. However, technology has caused the development of activities such as video games and films which make children spend most of their time indoors doing minimal physical activities. An increase in the obesity prevalence rate brings about an increase in the numerous health issues related to weight. Therefore, the children may continue to have deteriorated health. Therefore, this problem needs a lot of attention not only by the parents but also the government, healthcare professionals and the communities. Studying this topic is significant because it helps to point out the extent of the problem and determine some steps that can be taken to reduce obesity among children. Childhood obesity
Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity is a relatively common condition among the United States’ population. This condition is characterized by excessive amounts of weight, which affects the health and well-being of children (Kelsey et al., 2014). As methods to determine the exact amount of body fat percentage are limited, there body mass index (BMI) is used as the measure to determine whether children are overweight or obese. The BMI represents the ratio of weight to height. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person is considered to be obese if their BMI is greater than or equal to the 95th percentile (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). While obesity is a problem that affects all population demographics, childhood obesity has some additional effects because of the vulnerability of the affected population. Childhood obesity
Childhood Obesity in America
Obesity is one of the popular health issues that affects children in the U.S. it is estimated that one in every three children in America is above the recommended weight. The prevalence of obesity among children in America has tripled during the last three decades (Cunningham, Kramer & Narayan, 2014). The American Heart Association rates childhood obesity as the number one health concerns that parents should be worried about. This problem is rated worse than smoking and alcohol consumption. Childhood obesity
According to CDC’s obesity statistics results, the rate of obesity among children increases with age. Between 2011 and 2014, the rate of childhood obesity among children between 2 and 5 years old decreased significantly. The prevalence of obesity among this age group is currently 8.9%. Childhood obesity among children from 6 to 11 years old affects 17.5% of children in America. The older children are at the highest risk with a 20.5% prevalence rate among the children between 11 and 19 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
Studies have shown that childhood obesity is more prevalent among the minority communities. For instance, the prevalence of obesity is higher among the Hispanic and African-American communities compared to the Caucasian communities (Van Grouw & Volpe, 2013). The prevalence of childhood obesity is also likely to be higher among the lower socio-economic groups Childhood obesity .
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