Obesity In Children Nursing Essay

Obesity In Children Essay

Obesity in children is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than thirty. Children obesity is a health problem in the United States and other countries that’s steadily increasing, its one of our greatest health problems. There are about fifteen percent of adolescents and children obese in the United States. The number of obesity children will continue to increase only if parents allow it to but if parents step up and get their children better eating habits then it should decrease. (“Overweight and Obesity”).

Obesity is an epidemic in the United States and in other developed countries. One in five children in America is overweight, nearly one-third of children in America are obese. (Fredericks). The number of obese children is increasing because the abundant amount of food and physical activity being optional among children. One third of American children are obese and this number will increase because we have a plentiful amount of food in the United States. The number of obese children will also increase because parents are not making children get the amount of physical activity they should be getting.

When a child is obese he/she is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height. The prevalence of obesity increases with age among both males and females. Children are considered being obese when their body weight is at least twenty percent higher than a child of that height. (Burress). Boys are considered obese when their body fat is above twenty-five percent and girls are considered obese when their body fat is above thirty-two percent. Child obesity increases with age, boys and girls have different percentage of body fat levels until they are considered obese.

Obesity has so many affects on children and it can mess their lives up dramatically. Obesity can lead to poor self-esteem and depression; obese children are typically picked on during school so they don’t have any friends and they tend to stay to their selves. Some parents tease their child about being obese and that definitely would lower any child’s self-esteem. Parents teasing children about weight problems could make that child feel like they’re not loved or like they’re not good enough to be their child. (Ferry). Obese children don’t think highly of themselves because they think they are not good enough as others, often because of bullying and teasing.

Obesity can affect the health of children by starting a path to health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. A high level of cholesterol is a cause of obesity. Blood pressure rises as body weight increases, as therefore as a child gains weight their blood pressure will increase and that could lead to a stroke. Type II diabetes can be caused from being overweight. (Berkowitz). High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes all are health problems that are cause from being obese. These health problems can have a dramatic affect on children lives, the health conditions associated with being obese as child is not worth it.

There is a great deal of ways to treat obesity in children. If a child is obese express the unconditional love for him or her. Expressing the unconditional love for a child will let the child know they are loved and appreciated no matter what their weight is. When children are obese they know they are overweight because they can look around and notice that their body looks different from some kids. Overweight children need acceptance, support, and encouragement from their parents. Obese children need to be showed they are loved and they have someone they can depend on to be there for them no matter the situation.

An essential way of treating obesity is to be a good role model for children so he or she will know the right things to eat. Parents should put good foods in the kitchen for their children to eat so they are getting the right nutrition. Parents should make sure there is an abundant amount of healthy foods to eat for their child to eat so their child won’t have a chance to eat unhealthy foods. (Akers 8) Children’s access to unhealthy foods should be controlled by parents so that their child won’t be getting more calories than they are going to burn. Parents are the role models for children because children will eat what they see parent eat, show children that the best choice is to eat healthy.

Obesity in children has preventions methods, a vital prevention are interventions. Interventions are a prevention method that will not only give children and parents a better eating habit but it will also show the child how to maintain a good eating habit. Interventions can give children the right time spent exercising if they’re not getting exercise anywhere else. Parents and children who are ready to take on the goal of stopping obesity will fit perfectly in interventions. Interventions are very helpful; interventions will set children and parents on the right road to a healthy lifestyle.

When children are obese parents should try changing the institutional policies. The environment that children live in can lead them into being obese because they may not have the money to buy healthy foods or even the physical activity they need. The knowledge, skills, and self-efficiency of low-income individuals to adopt healthy nutrition habits should be increased so they will have a better point of view about child obesity. Regulatory actions should be designed to help children and their parents make a better choice about nutrition and physical activity. Institutional policies can be many reasons why children are obese so the more they are changed the more helpful it would be for children living in bad environments.

Children will be more successful at eating healthy and exercising if the entire family adopts healthier eating habits and makes exercise a priority. Parent should buy healthier foods to help the whole family maintain a healthy eating habit. Parents shouldn’t buy so much junk food; try to buy healthy snacks for their children. An important part of this is making exercising apart of the daily plan for the whole family. The whole family must have time to exercise; when the family goes grocery shopping they should buy healthier foods and less junk food. Obesity programs are critical to obese children. (Fowler-Brown and Kahwat)

The number of hours children spend watching TV and playing video games each day are major reasons why progressively children are becoming obese every day. (Leona). Today, children spend on average three hours watching TV and playing video games. Watching TV and playing video games increases snacking because all children want to do is sit around and eat while little things. Also, children’s time spent exercising is decreased because they are spending a large amount of their time pl…………………….

Obesity In Children nursing Essay