Childhood Obesity and Its Impact on Health in Canada\'s Aboriginal Population

¶ … obesity is a growing problem that negatively strikes the health of many children in Canada. From a statistical analysis of childhood obesity in Canada in 1996, reports show that 23% to 36% of Canadian children with age ranging from 7 to 13 are considered overweight and obese (Willms, 2004). This rate of obesity continuously increases every year, thus, resulting to the widespread concern of Canada's national healthcare system to solve the problem of obesity.

This study finds the prevalence of obesity, particularly in the childhood years of Canada's children, a major health dilemma. Obesity is a major disease because it is not only a problem of being unhealthfully overweight, but also a health crisis that leads to other serious health ailments such as heart disease and diabetes. With the alarming increase in rate of obese Canadians, this study finds it important to provide the public with sufficient information about obesity. The impact of the growing obesity in Canada's health is too broad than just the physical problem of being overweight. Hence, through further research, this study aims to provide essential information that can help in reducing the growing rate of childhood obesity in Canada.

Relation of this study in Nursing

Nursing is among the healthcare professions that provide service to obesity patients. With the information that this study will gather, it is this study's objective to include information about caring for obesity patients that can be essential and applicable to the nursing practice.

The practice of nursing must require the need for a thorough knowledge and information on obesity. It is in fact not only the medical doctors' responsibility to have an extensive knowledge on the problem of obesity. This rule similarly goes for other health diseases. Because the practice of nursing is a supplement in the healthcare service that doctors provide to obesity patients, the nurses' application of further knowledge on obesity is found by this study to be essential.

Purpose and Objectives of the Study

This study's main objective is to gather information on the impact of childhood obesity upon the health of Canada's aboriginal population. Along with this are the following objectives that this study aims to achieve.

To determine the prevalence and the increasing rate of childhood obesity in Canada in the past few years.

To determine the causes of childhood obesity among Canadian children.

To determine the consequences of obesity to those who acquired the overweight problem during childhood.

To determine the overall consequences of childhood obesity upon Canada's health.

To find possible nursing practices that can be applied to lessen the impact of childhood obesity

Regarding the purpose of this study, the researcher hopes to provide the Canadian public with more information about obesity. With the help of this, including information on the impact of childhood obesity to Canada's health, it is hoped that the increasing rate of childhood obesity in Canada will be reduced.

In relevance to nursing practices, this study also aims to find for effective ways that can be applied to obesity patients.

Methodology

Planning the procedures and methods that will be followed in this research is a very important process because it is in this component where the success of the study in meeting the outcome can be determined. There are several kinds of research methodologies that can be considered as useful methods in this study's implementation.

To provide a limit on where this research and study will focus, the researcher will use the qualitative method of data gathering. Since there are quite a number of studies that focus on the subject of obesity, the researcher finds that it is helpful if information from available literatures will be collected and analyzed to further determine the reliability of results. As part of the qualitative research methodology, the researcher will use as much as possible recent researches and studies as references. Available literatures from medical journals and magazines will also be utilized. Moreover, articles from the Internet will serve as further references in this research and study.

Another method that will be used in this study is the application of hypothesized findings related to nursing practices that can reduce the impact of childhood obesity. To determine the results of the effectiveness of the nursing practices applied, the researcher will use analytical tables and charts.