Childhood Obesity Many health issues that children have been faced with in the United States have decreased in intensity and prevalence over the past few decades, but they have been replaced by new problems that could cause even more serious long-term effects. One such, childhood obesity, is troublesome because it is can be the root cause of many more serious problems. Childhood obesity leads to an increased incidence of heart disease, diabetes and other serious health issues. The primary method for combatting childhood obesity is education of both the children and the parents, and nurses are among the most important means of providing that education. This paper examines the seriousness of childhood obesity and how nurses can be advocates of change.

Nurses are guided by a set of principles much like other professionals in health care and other occupations. For nursing, these guidelines answer the who, what, when, where, and why of decision making and general practice. Childhood obesity is just one area of nursing in which practitioners are guided by the standards and adhere to the scope of their profession. In particular, the scope and standards document gives nurses an outline to follow with regard to how they will react to and teach children, parents and communities with regard to this issue. By understanding research and the realities of the epidemic that is childhood obesity, the individual nurse can better understand how to assist patients in their fight against it.

Research has shown that during the last three decades children obesity rates have either doubled or tripled depending on the age range examined. This can result in serious...

Childhood psychosocial development can be damaged due to peer reaction to obesity. Children, especially in their teen years, are very influenced by peer pressure and can be psychologically scarred by abuse received due to being overweight. Also, obese children have an increased chance of becoming obese adults and this has a significant effect on healthcare costs. According to a National Academy of Science report (2005), "The national health care expenditures related to obesity and overweight in adults alone have been estimated to range from approximately $98 billion to $123 billion…" These costs have been rising quickly over the past decade and will continue to go up unless significant changes are made in the levels of obesity in children.
These costs, both financial and physical, can be directly related to lifestyle changes that have occurred in the past three decades. Whereas children used to spend significant amounts of leisure time out of doors, electronic entertainment has decreased the likelihood that children will play outside. This means that they are much more sedentary and the chances of gaining weight are increased. The relevance of an education program can be traced to research that has been conducted on the best practices that can be used to encourage parents and children to change their habits.

The report from the National Academy of Sciences (2005) states that nutrition balance is the most important method of decreasing the incidence of obesity. This balance, the difference between the energy…