CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Childhood Obesity
Tara Wright
ENG122
Matthew Fox
July 23, 2012

Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity is a serious concern for youth today. Within the past 30 years childhood obesity has more than tripled. Four out of ten children are considered to be obese (Ogden CL 2010). Often when one sees overweight children, one will hear parents making excuses for why their child is overweight. For example one will hear a parent say “she is just big boned, or she will grow out of it, it’s just baby fat” these are nothing but excuses. Parents are in denial when it comes to their child being overweight or even obese. If parents today do not start taking this issue seriously, then that could be taken as a form of child abuse due to the long term health factors that childhood obesity can cause.
A main claim that researches are finding is that parents are a cause of childhood obesity. In an article on ABC News by Alyssa Newcomb 2011 she followed a story about a 200 pound third grade boy that officials took from his mother and placed in foster care. Officials learned of the case after the mother took her son to the hospital for breathing trouble. What parents do not understand is that this condition can lead to serious health factors if not death in an obese child. Authorities are starting to become aware of the families and are charging the parents with abuse.
Parents today have become fearful that their children will be taken from them if they are severely overweight. A three-decade rise in childhood obesity rates has meant that related abuse and neglect cases are more often making their way into the courts. According to a 2008 report by the Child Welfare League of America, "California, Indiana, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas have had to determine whether morbidly obese children whose parents are unable or unwilling to control their children 's weight against medical orders are properly considered abused or neglected." (Amina Kahn 2009).
People have tried to blame obesity on genetics instead of the lack of parental care. This only plays a small role in a child’s weight. “What genetics does is set the weight range for one’s weight, not be the excuse on why the child is overweight” said James O. Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado in Denver. There are treatment centers set up for parents with overweight children to participate in and put the child on a physically active and healthy plan. Treatment studies have demonstrated that intensive involvement of parents in interventions to change obese children’s dietary and physical activity behaviors has contributed to success in weight loss and long-term weight maintenance (Coates et al., 1982; Kirschenbaum et al., 1984; Epstein et al., 1990, 1994; Golan et al., 1998; Golan and Crow, 2004).
Erika Blacksher (2009), a research fellow at the Hastings Center in Garrison NY, stated that some factors are hard for a parent to control. It is unfair to hold parents accountable for living in an unsafe neighborhood or not being wealthy enough to provide their children with healthy foods all the time. These factors are a concern, but not a big enough reason to why a child is overweight. It puts the blame at the door of parents - especially mothers - who are often overweight and fail to promote a healthy lifestyle or recognize their child has a problem. Poor parenting skills, such as letting children watch TV in their bedrooms or eat dinner on the sofa are also said to be responsible. The Growing Up in Scotland report prepared by the Medical Research Council also reveals that one-third of youngsters spend at least three hours in front of a TV or games console every day and that the child of an obese mother is twice as likely to themselves be overweight than those whose mother is of healthy weight (Michael Blackly 2012).
When putting a child on a “diet” plan the whole family needs to come together and participate as a whole and not single out the child that is overweight. The child will become more successful with the right eating habits and physical activity if that child is partnered with a parent or parents in the program. With America’s society today people have become lazy, or a single parent has to work a full time job and is not always home with the child. This is resulting in children doing what they want and eating what they want. Parents need to set the right example for their children with the right eating habits and physical exercise, instead of letting them watch T.V. or play games all day; take them outside to the park, go on a bike ride, etc. Not all parents can afford all healthy food all the time but as an alternative by some healthy foods and calorie count. Amid growing concern about childhood obesity, the United States spends billions of dollars on food assistance: providing meals and subsidizing food purchases (Kimbro, Tolbert, and Rigby 2010). In a research study conducted by Bitler and Colleagues (2003) has shown that people enrolled in the food assistance program and the school lunch program has helped children reduce weight gain. Just because a family is considered low income does not mean the child is doomed to be overweight. The food assistance program has formed to help families afford healthier food for children from the time that they are born. Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert, Rigby, Elizabeth. Health Affairs. (Mar 2010): 411-8.
In a study conducted on the Hadza tribe suggested that westerners are growing obese through over-eating rather than having inactive lifestyles. The more food a human consumes the more weight they will gain. It does not matter how much a person exercises if that person is consuming more food than the body needs then a person will not lose weight. Scientists have said that exercising is to maintain a healthy lifestyle not to keep a person thin. In order to maintain a healthy weight people are urged to calorie count. On average children aged five to ten need 1,500 calories a day. It is still stressed to routinely exercise to maintain a person’s health. (Briggs 2012). Parents have to teach their children how to eat healthy so they are familiar with what is considered good food and bad food. This change in eating habits is not going to come overnight. It will be a long process but in the end everyone will benefit from the change. First things first: parents need to realize that learning healthy eating habits is a process -- sometimes one that can try even the most patient and persistent parent. While kids may turn up their noses at whole grain bread, spinach or a raw tomato, if they are constantly exposed to it then one day they will likely prefer crusty 12-grain bread over white, or they may even toss together a spinach salad topped with sliced tomatoes.

In the British study designed to look at the best way to increase children 's liking for a previously disliked vegetable, parents of two- to six-year-olds were divided into three groups. In one, parents gave their child a taste of the vegetable daily for 14 days. In the second, they were given nutritional advice, and in the third group no intervention was done. At the end of the investigation, the "target" vegetable was put to the test and only the "exposure" group showed an increase in liking by the kids. In other words, if kids try eating fruits and vegetables they are more likely to enjoy fruits and vegetables.

It is not the first study to come up with these results. Now, this does not mean that you have to cook up a batch of zucchini or broccoli every day for weeks on end. Instead, have a variety of veggies on a regular basis, offer it to your kids and ask them to have at least one spoonful each time. This is to ensure that the parent is taking the proper initiative in making sure that the children are eating properly to avoid the child becoming overweight.

Another sure-fire method is to get children to prepare the food. For younger children, even helping to season the dish can give them a sense of ownership of it. For older ones, buy them a cookbook or have them research recipe choices on the internet (Schwartz 2004).
When a person sums it all up it comes down to the parents. Parents need to realize the seriousness of childhood obesity. If parents learn and understand on how to turn around the risk of children becoming overweight by changing eating habits and introducing healthy foods daily then society should be able to reduce childhood obesity amongst the young children. It is not a difficult thing to change it just takes knowledge on the issue. The more knowledge parents receive on ways to change children becoming overweight the less of the risk the children have in becoming overweight, and the less of a risk it will be on parents in being accused of child abuse or neglect. These are very serious charges that no parent will ever want to face, so as long as parents are doing the right thing especially in watching what the children eat and teach the children how to eat healthy, no parent should have to come face to face with these charges in question.

References

Alyssa Newcomb (2011, November 11). Obese Third Grader Taken From Mom, Placed in Foster Care. Retrieved July 23, 2012, from ABC News

(American Psychological Assoc.) Koplan, J., Liverman, C. T., & Kraak, V. I. (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity : Health in the Balance. National Academies Press.

Amina Kahn (2009, December 21). What is to blame for child obesity? Retrieved from Los Angeles Times.

Helen Briggs (2012, July 25). Hunter gatherer clue to obesity. Retrieved from BBC News

Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert; Rigby, Elizabeth. Health Affairs. (Mar 2010): 411-8.

Michael Blackley. (2012, May 11). Bad parenting blamed for child obesity crisis [Scot Region]. Daily Mail,13. Retrieved July 23, 2012, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2657457051).

Schwartz, R. (2004, Jan 25). Good nutrition begins at home last of three parts: The Ottawa Citizen, pp. A.8-A8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/240707615?accountid=32521

References: Alyssa Newcomb (2011, November 11). Obese Third Grader Taken From Mom, Placed in Foster Care. Retrieved July 23, 2012, from ABC News (American Psychological Assoc.) Koplan, J., Liverman, C. T., & Kraak, V. I. (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity : Health in the Balance. National Academies Press. Amina Kahn (2009, December 21). What is to blame for child obesity? Retrieved from Los Angeles Times. Helen Briggs (2012, July 25). Hunter gatherer clue to obesity. Retrieved from BBC News Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert; Rigby, Elizabeth. Health Affairs. (Mar 2010): 411-8. Michael Blackley. (2012, May 11). Bad parenting blamed for child obesity crisis [Scot Region]. Daily Mail,13. Retrieved July 23, 2012, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2657457051). Schwartz, R. (2004, Jan 25). Good nutrition begins at home last of three parts: The Ottawa Citizen, pp. A.8-A8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/240707615?accountid=32521