Childhood Obesity and Diabetes Association Between Childhood Obesity and Diabetes in Urban Neighborhood in Massachusetts

Topic Selection

Problem Description

Demographics

Sampling Technique and Data Collection Procedure

Ethics in Research

Obesity

Obesity and Diabetes

The obesity among the African-American children has been increased to an excessive level and it has become the general cause for the occurrence of chronic diseases in the adolescence of children. The current study is aimed to find the association between the obesity in childhood with the occurrence of type 1 diabetes mellitus in the children. The study has targeted the urban community of African-Americans from the Massachusetts. The cross sectional results of the study have provided evidence that the obese children possess the risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus during the lifecycle from the infancy to adolescence. The preventive measure and recommendations with respect to the reduction of childhood obesity are discussed in order to eradicate the risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus from the children.

American, Childhood obesity, Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

Introduction

The over-consumption of food causes the body fat to reach at excessive level which imposes adverse effects on health, increases the rate of morbidity and reduces the life cycle and the children who are encountered with the obesity tend to be more inclined towards the risk of chronic diseases (Gittelsohn & Kumar, 2007). However, the over-intake of food worsens the health condition for those individuals who refrain from engaging in physical activities in order to consume the extra energy that they intake and it is inferred by Speiser et al., (2005) that the children who are found obese are considered to be highly adhered towards obesity in their adulthood and the persisting level of obesity can also cause the occurrence of chronic diseases in childhood.

According to Whitaker and Dietz (1998), the obesity in parents can lead towards the increased weight of children at the time of birth and the extent to which the child is overweight at the time of birth results in the obesity throughout the lifecycle of an individual. The Body-Mass-Index of an individual helps in the identification and likelihood of one's being obese and BMI of observed to decrease till the age of 6 years and the children who were born overweighed starts getting obese during their adolescence. The children who are less indulged in the physical activities tend to be obese due to their increased time spent with activities that do not comprise of physical movements however, the intake of improper diet mainly comprising of junk food and imbalanced diet by means of excessive carbohydrates and sugar can also increase the extent of body fat in children and causes obesity which leads towards the risk of diabetes in adulthood. (Ebbeling et al., 2002).

The obesity in childhood has increased in two folds in children and according to the findings of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), more than one third of children are found to be encountered with obesity during the age of 6 to 11 years in United States and the obesity rate among these children is found to be tripled during the last forty years. The study conducted by Hannon et al., (2005) indicates that the children who are obese tend to encounter with diabetes-mellitus in adulthood. Therefore, it has become essential to address the issue of obesity with respect to be the occurrence of diabetes-mellitus in order to take preventive measures and eradicate the health hazards caused by such chronic disease.

Topic Selection

The prevalence of childhood obesity for American children has never been higher and it has been observed with prior studies that one in every seven of these children is meeting the criteria of obesity. The time has come for parents, educational institutions and media to realize the seriousness and hazards of childhood obesity. The study of childhood obesity in the United States is considered to be imperative due to its substantial impact on health in the long-term health impact with respect to the eradication of asthma, diabetes, coronary heart diseases, arteriosclerosis and other chronic diseases. Childhood obesity as becoming an epidemic in the United Stated and remains the top health concern for children in 2014 which rated at 55% across the country. Therefore, the current study aims to address the issue of increasing obesity in childhood and its adverse health effects by means of diabetes-mellitus are observed in the urban neighborhood in Massachusetts.

Background of the Study

The obesity in childhood is found to be a global concern with respect to be health related effects...

29.1 million, is adhered to the diabetes mellitus and prior studies indicate that the children who are obese are found to be encountered with diabetes-mellitus in the late adolescence and adulthood, therefore the risk of chronic diseases in the young generation of the United States has been increased.
The antecedents of obesity in children under the age of 6 to 11 years include the genetic factors in which children possess the homozygous-mutation of gene which is encoded with leptin is found to be the genetically inherited by parents and cause newborns to be overweighed and obese in their adolescence. Moreover, the prenatal women who are found to be obese can also effect the obesity level of their child due to the increased maternal food consumption which results in the increased transfer of nutrients to the placenta and thus the appetite of the child increases (Whitaker & Dietz, 1998). However, the study conducted by Speiser et al., (2005) prevails that the deficiency of endocrine hormones causes the decreased extent of the utilization of calories and this deficiency also effects the physical growth of a child in a negative manner and the consumed food results in the obesity rather than a healthy procedure of metabolism. Moreover, the level of obesity in children is found to be more extreme with respect to the ethnic group of minorities in the United States and the rationale for this notion exists within the likelihood of poverty in these groups which reduces their access to healthy food, healthcare and fitness facilities. The children and adults of families who possess financial stability tend to be concerned about their health and avail the fitness facilities that are available to them.

Ebbeling et al., (2002) infers that the change in the lifestyle of children has also paved way towards the obesity in which children are provided with soft-drinks that contain excessive carbohydrates which increases the provision of calories in the body and the consumption of fast food has caused the intake of more fat, more sugar and less nutrients which has ultimately made their diet inappropriate for healthy life and has caused obesity. Moreover, the outburst of media advertisement towards the attraction and retention of fast food and soft-drinks has increased the consumption of this diet among the children. Moreover, a study conducted by Strauss (2000) indicates that obese children tend to have low self-esteem than the children who are physically fit and in this way, obesity not only effects the health of the children but also adversely effects their social life and shows negative impact on the way in which they interact and interrelate in the society.

The change in the dietary life-style has caused the obesity which increases the health risks with respect to the chronic diseases related coronary heart disease in which the excessive production of lipids and insulin which causes the morbidity among the adults and the occurrence of chronic heart and cardiovascular diseases is found to be prevailed in them. Moreover, the adults who have been obese since their childhood are observed with high blood pressure and are encountered with diabetes-mellitus (Freedman et al., 2001). Moreover, the overweighed children also face breathing problems which further modifies in asthma with the passage of time in the adulthood.

The diagnosis of the obesity takes place throughout the lifecycle of children with respect to the periodic observation of their Body-Mass-Index (BMI) with in accordance with their respective age-bracket and gender. Moreover, the children who seem to be less involved in the physical activities are observed and the early diagnoses with respect to the observed BMI and physical activeness for the occurrence of diabetes-mellitus is conducted in order to find their sensitivity and resistance towards the insulin so that the future prospects for the diabetes-mellitus can be observed. Therefore, the extent of obesity can be used to diagnose and predict the occurrence of diabetes-mellitus and can ensure safeguard against this chronic diseases when then the obesity level is observed periodically (Hannon et al., 2005). Moreover, the obese children are found to be more insulin resistant during their adolescence which increases the occurrence of diabetes-mellitus.

Problem Description

The children who are engaged in physical activities and possess the proper and balance intake of nutrients are found to be physically fit in their childhood which also ensures their likelihood of fitness in adolescence and in adulthood which ultimately ensures their better health conditions and refrains them…