preventing Childhood Obesity

Preventing Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is on the rise in America and across the world. Obesity presents physical, social, and emotional complications for all sufferers. However, childhood obesity is especially concerning because the chronic conditions associated with obesity such as type II diabetes and heart disease are increasingly difficult to manage over time and today's generation of obese children is more likely to become a generation of overweight adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 17% children and adolescents aged 2 -- 19 are obese ("Childhood obesity facts," 2014). Obesity in children is significantly correlated with poverty and certain specific minority statuses. "In 2011-2012, obesity prevalence was higher among Hispanics (22.4%) and non-Hispanic black youth (20.2%) than non-Hispanic white youth (14.1%). The prevalence of obesity was lower in non-Hispanic Asian youth (8.6%) than in youth who were non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black or Hispanic" obese ("Childhood obesity facts," 2014). Obesity is clearly a poverty problem as a well as an issue of personal will; culture and genetics also likely play a role.

History of the condition

Traditionally, under-nutrition amongst the poor was the primary concern of many food assistance programs, such as the U.S. school lunch program which provides subsidized and free meals to low-income students. However, the need for calorie control, particularly amongst the low-income students most reliant upon school lunches for their nutritional allotment has resulted in new federal regulations for subsided lunches. The recent changes to the school lunches mandated healthier meal options, more fruits and vegetables and lower-fat, lower-sugar options. "In addition, the changes put a cap on the number of calories in school meals: up to 650 for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, 700 for sixth through eighth graders and 850 for high schoolers" ("School lunch calorie maximums," 2014). It is no longer simply enough to provide students with food; food quality is also an issue. More calories are not necessarily better, particularly for low-income children struggling with weight issues.

The increasing prevalence of obesity amongst the poverty-stricken is not endemic only to the developed world, but also the developing world. "Of the world's 43 million overweight and obese preschoolers, 35 million live in developing countries. By 2020, if the current epidemic continues unabated, 9% of all preschoolers will be overweight or obese -- nearly 60 million children" ("Child obesity," 2014). Historically, children were the least, rather than the most affected group by obesity. While today there are technically more adults than children who are obese, "U.S., Brazil, China, and other countries have seen the problem escalate more rapidly in children than in adults" ("Child obesity 2014). Developing world nations are ill-equipped to deal with obesity, given that the focus was upon preventing famine, not dealing with the health consequences of over-nutrition.

Ethics

In terms of creating policy to affect individual behaviors, there is often a tension between choice and freedom. Certain policies designed to limit obesity also limit personal choice, such as restricting the choices of subsidized school lunches or limiting the types of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods that can be bought with EBT. Attempts to limit the size of sugary sodas that could be purchased in New York City also fell flat (Entine 2012). Resistance to government intervention regarding personal choices can result in hesitation to motivate real, effectual changes.

There are also ethical questions about compelling business owners to post calorie counts of menus or taking measures to inhibit sales of higher-calorie foods or banning manufacturers of sugary foods such as sweet cereals from advertising to children. Although these types of prohibitions have been instituted to guard against the spread of cigarette smoking, diet and smoking are not perfect analogies, given that smoking clearly has no nutritional value while arguably all foods due to some extent -- not all persons need to lose weight to the same degree or indeed to lose weight at all. And civil libertarians in general bridle at restrictions upon free speech.

The need to specifically target certain groups is often not addressed by obesity solutions which limit individual freedom, either. "A growing number of European countries, including Denmark, Hungary, Finland and France have imposed taxes on what they consider unhealthy foods, from butter to cupcakes to soda. But not all foods high in fat or carbohydrates are unhealthy, which challenges the inclination to impose blanket taxes" (Entine 2012). This is one reason that sugary drinks have been the target of legislation, since they are 'low hanging fruit' -- i.e., they have no nutritional value. But what about diet drinks which are also associated with obesity although they are technically low calorie? And as significant as soda may be in the case of some people's weight-related issues, sugary sodas are not the primary nutritional culprits for all obese persons.

Politics

Some blame politics for the obesity crisis: namely government policies which make certain kinds of high-calorie, low nutrient foods such as sugar-sweetened beverages and French fries very cheap, while other foods very expensive. "The consumption of HFCS increased > 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. HFCS now represents > 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States" (Bray 2004). There has also been an excessive focus by some accounts upon dietary fat as a culprit in obesity, versus sugar, and both policies subsidizing corn-based product and the focus on low fat dieting also coincided with the recent obesity epidemic. "Sweet corn-based syrups were developed during the past 3 decades and now represent close to one-half of the caloric sweeteners consumed by Americans… HFCS has become a favorite substitute for sucrose in carbonated beverages, baked goods, canned fruits, jams and jellies, and dairy products" (2004). HFCS spikes the blood sugar to a greater degree than 'regular' corn syrup and thus, it is alleged, has much more negative metabolic consequences in terms of difficulty to compensate, regarding satiety.