Child Obesity

Obesity in America’s Youth

Obesity in America’s Youth Obesity is defined as having excess body fat and is often a result of a high caloric imbalance. Over the past three decades childhood obesity has tripled in the United States, becoming an epidemic of vast proportions. In recent years, Pediatricians are routinely treating atherosclerosis and even type II diabetes, something usually only seen in the older generation. Today, children are beginning to feel the effects of low self-esteem, which can be directly linked to problems with self-image, specifically being overweight or obese. Many have concluded that with all of the new technology that we have in society, children are no longer playing outside like they used to. Now, a large percentage of children sit inside and watch hours of television, play video games, or play on the computer, contributing to child obesity and ultimately their self-esteem. Obesity is preventable, but families and communities must unite before this outbreak grows and permanently affects our nations children, the leaders of tomorrow. The following articles examine childhood obesity through three different, yet somewhat similar lenses: the use of a mind, exercise, nutrition, and diet program (MEND) (Sacher, Chadwick, Wells, Williams, Cole, & Lawson, 2005), using qualitative evaluations of parental perspectives on treatment (Stweart, Chappele, Hughes, Poustie, & Reilly, 2008), and simply the exclusive treatment of parents alone (Jansen, Jansen, & Mulkens, 2011). The first article by Sacher, Chadwick, Wells, Williams, Cole, and Lawson (2005) uses a system called MEND, and initially measures a child’s circumference, body mass index (BMI), cardiovascular fitness (heart rate, blood pressure and number of steps in 2 minutes), self-esteem and body composition, along with the parents BMI. The purpose of the experiment was to investigate the effects of exercise and other physical activities among the participants involved (Sacher, Chadwick, Wells, Williams, Cole, & Lawson, 2008). The dependant variable was the amount of activity each child was able to do, as each child was expected to complete the same activity. The independent variables were the levels of activities, assigned to each participant completed during the twice-weekly course, over a 3-month period. These levels included sit-ups, pushups, along with other stepping and running exercises each participant was asked to perform in a 60 second period. The study used eleven obese children ages 7 to 11, along with their families, but had no control group. The hypothesis by the researcher was: the more activities, both physical and mental each participant partakes in, the healthier the primary and secondary outcomes, relating to both physical and mental health will be (Sacher, Chadwick, Wells, Williams, Cole, & Lawson, 2008). The conclusions demonstrated a very high rate of improvement in all of the participants and all of the results turned out positive. Low self-esteem, higher BMI, and a wide range of risk factors, which were associated with obesity, were greatly improved over the 3-month experiment. The test conducted was very well written and also very thorough because it included the weight, height, sex, and certain measurements of the child, and their parents. The inclusion of the parental measurements allowed the test to research the genetic aspects of obesity. The main idea I took away from the experiment was one that was already floating around in my mind, the thought that exercise, both mental and physical coupled with education of how to eat and exercise the right way, truly does help with weight loss, which in turn leads to a healthier life and higher self-esteem. The experiment should become more widespread and branch out to people of all ages, not only to people who struggle solely with their weight, but also those who suffer from low self-esteem problems. In my opinion, the experiment should include another aspect to improve results and diversity the study. An active workshop should be added to the program in order to show children and their parents that exercise could potentially lower the number of overweight children in a country infamous for its obesity. In relation to the first article, the second article by Stweart, Chappele, Hughes, Poustie, and Reilly (2008) focuses on the use of behavioral change and explores the thoughts and feelings of parents whose children had undertaken dietetic consultations with no formal training in these techniques (Stweart, Chappele, Hughes, Poustie, & Reilly, 2008). The independent variables were the set professional pieces of advice given to every participant involved. The advice included a series of motivational speeches and interviews, along with diet counseling for everyone involved. The speeches consisted of an interactive portion where each participant was asked to set their own set of realistic goals for the future. The dependant variable was the amount of weight each child was able to lose. The hypothesis was to test whether or not qualitative methods may improve understanding of patient perceptions, by engaging families of obese children and hopefully lowering their BMI and other risk factors (Stweart, Chappele, Hughes, Poustie, & Reilly, 2008). The participants chosen to take part in the experiment were of the parents of 17 children who were considered obese and whose body mass index (BMI) landed them in 98th percentile. The trial ran over a 6- month period in the form of a patient treatment outreach program, where the parents “applauded the treatment” deeming it as a success with a high recommendation rating (Stweart, Chappele, Hughes, Poustie, & Reilly, 2008). In my opinion although this trial experiment was done well and yielded a high success rate, it is still hard to believe that using qualitative evaluations for an educational purpose alone will lower the obesity rate among those who participated in the study. I believe proper dietary guidelines and exercise are a big part of the step towards a healthier future for America’s children who are considered overweight or obese. For future experiments it would be helpful to add in a few physical activities in order to show that people need to maintain a functioning lifestyle in order to burn excess and unwanted fat, all while lowering other associated risk factors. The third and final article by Jansen, Jansen, and Mulkens (2011) focuses once again on the importance of parental involvement and how their education will lead to a rapid decrease in child obesity. The experiment conducted involved the parents of 98 overweight or obese children whose ages ranging from 7-13, assigning them randomly to two groups: a behavioral group treatment or a waiting list controlled group (Jansen& Jansen & Mulkens, 2011). The study looked for improvements in areas including BMI, self-esteem, and other areas linked to negative thoughts in children. The independent variables were the different levels of educational therapy each participant went through consisting of three different educational run classes, each with a different scenario lasting for a total of two hours in total. Each person was also assigned to a group: the waiting list controlled group or the cognitive-behavioral group, which consisted of eight sessions. The dependant variables were the amount of weight each person lost, along with the BMI decrease in each participant. The hypothesis from the study suggested that with education aimed solely at obese children’s parents, the result would have positive effects on the children’s weight status (Jansen, Jansen, & Mulkens, 2011). The results showed that BMI was significantly decreased along with a major rise in self-esteem and decrease in negative thoughts (Jansen, Jansen, & Mulkens, 2011). This experiment was largely successful because no participant knew what group they were going in to. As a result, the absence of bias played a key role in gaining the most accurate data. The experiment was extremely interesting and by far my favorite because this study showed that parents of obese and overweight children truly can make a difference with the right education and therapy. From a personal perspective however, I would suggest that after the study was conducted and the results were displayed, the waiting list group should have received the same treatment as the cognitive behavioral group so they too may look forward to a healthier lifestyle in the future.

References
Stewart, L., Chapple, J., Hughes, A., Poustie, V., & Reilly, J. (2008). The use ofbehavioural change techniques in the treatment of paediatric obesity: qualitative evaluation of parental perspectives on treatment. Journal Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 21(5), 464-473.

Sacher, P., Chadwick, P., Wells, J., Williams, J., Cole, T., & Lawson, M. (2005). Assessing the acceptability and feasibility of the MEND Programme in a small group of obese 7-11-year-old children. Journal Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 18(1), 3-5.

Jansen, E. E., Mulkens, S. S., & Jansen, A. A. (2011). Tackling childhood overweight: treating parents exclusively is effective. International Journal Of Obesity, 35(4), 501-509. doi:10.1038/ijo.2011.16

References: Stewart, L., Chapple, J., Hughes, A., Poustie, V., & Reilly, J. (2008). The use ofbehavioural change techniques in the treatment of paediatric obesity: qualitative evaluation of parental perspectives on treatment. Journal Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 21(5), 464-473. Sacher, P., Chadwick, P., Wells, J., Williams, J., Cole, T., & Lawson, M. (2005). Assessing the acceptability and feasibility of the MEND Programme in a small group of obese 7-11-year-old children. Journal Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 18(1), 3-5. Jansen, E. E., Mulkens, S. S., & Jansen, A. A. (2011). Tackling childhood overweight: treating parents exclusively is effective. International Journal Of Obesity, 35(4), 501-509. doi:10.1038/ijo.2011.16