Obesity prevalence in younger children today

Obesity in Children

Obesity is one of the major health concerns among children in the United States and around the world. Stedman's Medical Dictionary (1995) defines obesity as, "an abnormal increase in fat in the subcutaneous connective tissues." This is a growing concern since obesity is on the rise in the U.S. where 16% of children between the ages of 6 to 19 and 10% of children between the ages of 2 to 15 are facing obesity. (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). It is the increase in heavy junk food which lacks nutritional value but is valuable at lower costs and in huge sizes which is responsible for the growth of obesity and for this very reason, low income families are hit the hardest. Since junk food like soda, fries and McDonalds is considered responsible for rise in obesity, the trend became noticeable in 1980s and 1990s while from 1960 to 1980; there had been no significant rise in obesity. (Crawford, 2005)

Obesity in children is now an epidemic with 16% of children facing this problem with 25% of blacks and Hispanics children being obese. The child is considered obese when his body mass index reaches above the 95th percentile. The reason we should be considered about rising rate of obesity is because children with obesity have a fairly high rate of becoming overweight or obese adults. Teens who are overweight have a 70% chance of carrying this weight into adulthood and the risk goes up to 80% for children with one obese parent.

Some of the common psychological, social and emotional problems along with medical conditions that obese children can encounter include diabetes, high blood pressure, poor self-image, low self-esteem, early puberty, bone conditions and depression. The causes of obesity are many and lack of proper nutritional food is considered one major cause (Crawford, 2005). Ethnicity and race may also affect weight as blacks and Hispanic children are more likely to face obesity than Asian children. (Hedley et al. 2004)

Apart from race and income, poor physical activity is also a major contributor. It was found that children who watch excessive television or play video games for long stretches are more at risk of obesity. According to one study, children do not engage in physical activity on daily basis and many children, close to30%, will miss gym classes and this leads to problem of obesity.

Interestingly the child who is obese may not be consuming more calories than his thin friends, but is expending less energy. Children who engage in regular vigorous physical activity gain burn more calories while obese children turn those calories into fat resulting in serious health problem. Obese children usually exhibit gradual weight gain over a period of several years due to consistent consumption of non-nutritional but high calorie food and lower use of energy. In few cases, obesity may be genetic or medical in nature.

Another major reason for increased obesity is lack of availability of home cooked meals. With more women working, children are more likely to eat at least one meal at a fast food chain or restaurant, which leads to cases of obesity. This is evident from the research finding that Americans are now spending more than 40% of their food budget on meals outside the home, which is very high compared to 16% that was being spent in 1977.

Television viewing needs to be controlled because this is a major source of weight gain. With children engaging in less physical activity and merely dumping themselves in front of the TV in their spare time, obesity is bound to rise. Major studies have found a correlation and now lesser TV time is considered one of the biggest weight management tools. In 1985, Dietz and Gortmaker first discovered a link between television viewing and obesity. This led to many studies and NHES also found it to be a major contributor. Authors Dietz and Gortmaker concluded that, "only prior obesity had a larger independent effect than television on the prevalence of obesity."[Dietz: 810] and then in 1993, they reiterated the claim saying that, "29% of the cases of obesity cold be prevented by reducing television viewing to 0 to 1 hours per week." [Dietz, 1993: 499-500]