Childhood Obesity
Introduction
Obesity is a growing public health concern in the United Kingdom. In 2001, estimates for England suggest that some 8.5 per cent of 6 year olds and 15 per cent of 15 year olds are obese. Childhood obesity is a concern because it is an important risk factor for mortality and a range of chronic diseases in adult life (2003). The prevalence of obesity among children, aged 2 to 10, rose, between 1995 and 2003, from 10% to 14%. The increase in obesity was most marked among older children aged 8-10, rising from 11% in 1995 to 17% in 2003 ( 2005). The increase in childhood obesity has become an increasingly important issue on the public health agenda, with concerns being raised not only about the risks to children’s health but also the current and future drain on the National Health Service (NHS) resources. Obesity is a casual factor in a number of chronic diseases and conditions including hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In 1998, the cost of treating diseases attributable to obesity was £470 million. This sum does not include the impact of being overweight (but nit technically obese), which can also be a significant risk factor for these diseases and conditions. By 2002, this cost was estimated to be approximately £1.075 billion. By 2010, if the current trend continues, the annual cost to the economy has been estimated to be £3.6 billion a year (2006).
Main Body
Obesity is a common condition where weight gain has got to the point that it poses a serious threat to health ( 2003). A person is considered obese if his body weight is more than normal for a particular age, gender, and height. The degree of obesity can be assessed through BMI (Body Mass Index) calculations that are based on a person’s height and weight. A person gains weight when the energy input (food) exceeds output (exercise, activity). Every output comprises the thermal effect of food and activity. Even a small imbalance between energy input and output can lead to significant weight gain over time. Most obese children demonstrate a slow but consistent weight over several years (2003).
There is now abundant evidence that childhood obesity adversely affects health and is not simply a cosmetic issue. One of the most widespread consequence of overweight and obesity in children is psychological ill health. Social and psychological consequences can include stigmatization, discriminations and prejudice. Children are aware of the negative view held by society towards obese people and it this may have adverse impact on their developing sense of self and self esteem. Obesity has in general been linked to low self-image, low self-confidence and even depression in some obese children. The processes that lead to cardiovascular disease in later life are strongly associated with childhood obesity. Cardiovascular risk factors have been identified in obese children. These include the raise in blood lipid and insulin levels, and high blood pressure and abnormalities in the size and function of left ventricular mass. Childhood obesity is also associated with increased risk of asthma, and with exacerbation of existing asthma. There is a marked increase in risk of ill health in adulthood that arises from obesity in childhood, independent of adult weight (2006).
Functionalism
The central idea of ‘function’ relates to activities necessary for the maintenance of the species, society or social group. These functions include such things as reproduction, economic production, education, religion and recreation and much more, all of which have to be undertaken for a society to achieve a stable existence. Functionalism lays down a general systems theory of human society drawing the ideas of biological imperatives such as reproduction and the maternal instinct. Functionalism views society as an organism that strives to resist change and maintain itself in some sort of balance or equilibrium. Stability and order are considered natural and desirable, whereas conflict and disorder are evidence of defiance and dysfunction in the system (1995;1997). In this way, functionalism is a remarkably conservative set of ideas that generates clear rules about what is ‘functional’, and therefore ‘good’ for society, and what is not ‘functional’, and is therefore ‘bad’ for society (1997).
Within the functionalist perspective, roles provide the link between the individual and society in a fairly determinist fashion. As individuals we are linked to the various institutions of society by filling roles. At home, in the institution of kinship, we fill the roles of child or parent. Interaction between individuals is stabilized on the basis of a common value system; we agree on what should happen. Conflict which may occur is to be understood as poor role performance (1999).
Childhood Obesity as a social problem can be considered as a product of poor role performance in the family. Childhood obesity occurs when the parents perform their role inside the family poorly. It is a well-accepted idea that the dietary practices of parents have a profound influence on the eating behavior of their children. As children grow, they learn to prefer some foods to others. This might happen because of the types of food that their parents offer them, which in turn might depend on the parent’s food preferences. In a study conducted by Oliveria et al. (1992), children having one parent who habitually ate foods with high total fat content were likely twice as likely to eat similar foods that were children whose parents had low total fat intakes. But when both parents consumed high fat foods, the probability of their children having high fat intakes was 3 to 6 times greater than in children whose parents had normal intakes (1999). Childhood obesity is caused by developing dysfunctional behaviours from a society that promotes excessive food intake and discourages physical activity (2004).
Children with two obese parents are more than six times as likely to become obese than children with non-obese parents. Children raised in families who do not regularly prepare and eat family meals together are more likely to be overweight. Children whose parents exert an excessive degree of control over what and how much their children eat are more likely to be able to regulate their food in a healthy manner. Children are more likely to be overweight if they lack opportunities to participate in active recreation and sports and/or not encouraged to engage in physical play. Children who spend several hours daily watching television, playing video games, or working on the computer are at a greater risk for weight gain. Poverty and low education are predictors of obesity. The lower the family income, the greater the likelihood of being overweight (2004).
Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism is concerned primarily with meaning as a product of human interactions and how that meaning influences behaviour in social situations. It is assumed that people do not act randomly to objects and situations when they are in interactions with others (1996).
A symbolic interactionist approach emphasizes that human thought is shaped by social interaction, that interaction is made possible by the meanings and symbols that people develop, and that people may change those meanings and symbols. Meanings are critically important to interactionalists. The nature of an object, according to the interactionalist perspective, consists of the meaning that it has for the person for whom it is an object (1999). According to symbolic interactionists, personal experience is derived from ongoing interaction with important social groups. This interaction is mediated through the use of symbols, allowing people to understand, shape, and share their experience, including their actions within the social world (2004).
The meanings created by the children’s interaction with other members of the society, particularly the parents, are critical in their construction of obesity as a problem or not a problem. Parental influence is important during childhood. During this phase, the child develops behaviors from his/her ongoing interaction with his/her parents. If a child interacts in an environment, where the people encourage poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle, then the child will adapt those behaviours. Both the school environment and the family environment are responsible for the rising incidence of childhood obesity. For nine to ten months of the year, children attend school five out of every seven days, for six to eight hours per day. The school cafeteria provides food choices, the physical education program determine the time allocated to physical activity, and the school curriculum controls opportunities to learn about the relationship personal behaviours and health. Away from school, the family environment strongly influences child health. Parents who decide to buy high-calorie foods and/or allow their children to engage in long periods of sedentary activity facilitate the imbalance between energy intake and expenditure that causes children to gain weight. ( 2004).
Family behaviours and interactions contribute greatly to childhood obesity. In attacking disease epidemics, public health workers look for three components: the host, the agent, and the environment. In the childhood obesity epidemic, the home harbors all three – the host is the child, the agent is excess calories from food and drink, and the environment encompasses the behaviour, lifestyle, and surroundings that promote excess eating and sufficient activity. Once babies move from breast milk or formula solids, eating patterns emerge and taste preferences come into play. Most aspects of social development and acculturation of children involve food. The factors that shape children’s eating habits are availability, accessibility and convenience. Influences beyond the home such as advertising, peers, and school lunches – will affect children, but usually not to a significant degree until they reach kindergarten age. For young children, parents are the decision-makers (2004).
By age three, children develop likes and dislikes for certain foods, notably vegetables. Younger children are easier to induce to try novel foods and to change preferences for familiar foods than older children. Children learn food preferences through repeated exposure to new food; a minimum of eight to ten times is required for children to accept and develop a preference for it. Children’s acceptance of foods follows the example of parents and siblings. Social atmosphere influences children’s food habits: a positive meal experience increases preference for a food; a negative meal decreases it ( 2004).
It goes without saying that mealtimes are vital time and place to develop children’s eating behaviours and food preferences. However, mealtimes these days are more like flextime. Families who set a table and gather for a home-cooked dinner are growing increasingly rare. Fewer families regularly eat meals together at home because family members eat throughout the day, and overloaded schedules leave little time for meal preparation (2004).
As children get older and move into adolescence, they may begin turning to food for reasons having more to do with their psychological needs than with their appetite. The parent-child relationship and the home setting may work together to foster an environment that makes eating the best response to emotional distress (2004).
Conclusion
Childhood obesity is one of the major public health issues in the United Kingdom. It is a growing threat to children’s health as well as a current and future drain on the National Health Service (NHS) resources. Obesity is a condition where weight gain reached a point that it poses a serious threat to health. A child is considered obese if his/her body weight is more normal for his/her age, gender and height. Childhood obesity has adverse effects on health. One of these is psychological ill health. Childhood obesity is strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases and increased risk of asthma. Social and psychological consequences can include stigmatization, discriminations and prejudice. Functionalism views society as an organism that strives to resist change and maintain itself in some sort of balance and equilibrium. Within the functionalist perspective, roles provide the link between the individual and society. Obesity, based on the functionalist perspective is caused by the poor role performance in the social unit, the family in particular. Poor parental role can cause childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is caused by developing dysfunctional behaviours from a society that promotes excessive food intake and discourages physical activity. The symbolic intearctionist approach is primarily concerned with meanings as products of human interactions and how that meanings influences behaviour in social situations. A symbolic interactionist approach emphasizes that human thought is shaped by social interaction, that interaction is made possible by the meanings and symbols that people develop, and that people may change those meanings and symbols. A Child’s behaviour toward food is shaped by the meaning he or she attaches to his or her interactions with people in the society. The meanings created by the children’s interaction with other members of the society, particularly the parents, are critical in their construction of behaviour towards obesity. Parental influence plays an important role in the development of a child’s behavior. If the parents encourage poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle, these bahaviours will be adapted by the child.
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