How do we know the normal weight of our child and when it is considered as childhood obesity? Unlike adults, children needs extra supplements like nutrients and calories to support and fuel their growth and development. Throughout the world, the incidence of childhood obesity is rapidly rising. This epidemic is more evident in industrialized nations where many people live in sedentary lives and eat more convenience foods, which typically contains high calories and low in nutritional value thus it is not good for growing children. In this situation, children tend to consume about number of calories than they need gain weight beyond what is needed to support their growing frames thus they need extra daily physical activities for the proportion to their added inches (Ross, J. G., & Pate, R. R., 1987). Thus increasing of added weight also increases the risks to have weight-related health problems or obesity. Having childhood obesity this will lead to adult’s serious diseases like diabetes, high blood pressured, and high cholesterol.
Obesity is simply defined of too much accumulation of body fat. Obesity varies in sex and age. Obesity is present when an individual exceed his weight that it is not suited to his required age. In boys, obesity happens when the total body weight is more than twenty five percent fats while more than thirty two percent fats in girls (Lohman, 1987). Childhood obesity is also determined in weight-for-height where there is an excess of one hundred twenty percent in ideal weight in relation to height. Skin fold is used in measuring and determining the fats because of its accuracy. Skinfold measure is relatively easily obtained in either a school or clinical setting by a trained technician (Dietz, 1983; Lohman, 1987). It is been done through the used of children’s and adolescent’s triceps alone, triceps and subscapular, triceps and calf, and calf alone. By using the triceps and calf, a sum of skin folds of ten to twenty five millimeter is considered optimal for boys; and sixteen to thirty millimeter is optimal for girls (Lohman, 1987).
Causes:
There are factors that causes of childhood obesity, namely; genetic, hormonal, familial, nutritional, psychological and physiological factors. These also cause by kids by taking too much caloric foods with limited exercise where there is unexpected reaction of chemicals in the body resulting to imbalance between energy taking in and energy of taking out. Taking in energy is pertaining to the amount of calories (obtained from foods) being taken into the body while taking out energy is pertaining to basal metabolic rate and physical activity that the calories being expended. In genetic factors, this factors is more reliable source in gaining weight of one individual especially those children have parents both obese than those children having only one parent who is obese in their family. This is where the parents play a significant role in preventing their children from getting abnormal weight or being an obese. Here they must be careful in giving the right foods to their children, foods that are free from high calorie and parents must encourage their children in involving physical activity especially in an environment where high calorie foods is at the reach of the children. On the other hand family factors are somehow related to genetic factors, the only difference here, is that family is considered a modifiable factors thus it has a greater chances of preventing this factor. One example of this factor is the lifestyle of the family, for instance, the parents should put their mind that we can blame our children of being attached and attracted to foods especially foods that are sweet. Most common examples of these sweet foods are candies, cakes, ice cream, cookies, chocolates and marshmallows. Children also loves to taste salty and fatty foods which we that these kinds of foods are less nutritional to the growing children. But these foods are modifiable, modifiable in a sense that it can be controlled by anyone at any place. Anyone is pertaining to the parents, where they should be strict enough in picking and buying foods that contains high caloric value. At home, the parents must see to it that it would be out of reach from the children if there are any foods containing high caloric value. This place is pertaining to some parts of the house where the children has no access to this place like putting it in a high place or putting it in a cabinet that has a lock. Another factor that contributes the obesity of the child is a psychological factor; in this factor it involves the emotions of the child. In preschooler stage, the child is very sensitive and immature enough to cope his stress that he encountered during this time and at this time he is still in a period of adjustment. The environment of the child and the people around him are the factors that can determine if he has stress free environment. This stress and boredom are the emotions that the child is having difficulty in coping and dealing with these problem and depending also how his parent help him to deal with this problem and how he was treated by his parents. Through treating the child properly it can lessen the boredom of the child, but there are some instances that the parents failed to treat their child properly that lead to a child to seek some attention from others or engaged in a certain activities just to cope his emotions and feelings. In this stage, the common coping mechanism of a child to relief his feelings are to become more interested in foods. According to Lohman, the child becomes more attracted to sweet, salty and fatty foods if the child experiencing emotional trouble. This incidence can lead to a child of becoming obese. Physiological factors play also an important contribution of becoming an obese and it is somehow related to hormonal factors. In physiological factors it deals with the normal functions of the body and how it is going to respond normally on the chemical reaction in breaking down of foods. If there is something wrong in physiologic functions it can really affect the normal flow of breaking down of foods as well as in the contribution of nutrients to the body. For instance, if one part of digestive system gets infection and it really affects the entire flow in contributing the desired amount of nutrients to the different parts of the body because their will be less stimulation to the hormones that signals to have proper metabolism in the body. Metabolism it includes the foods that have taken by the individuals, it is in the metabolism that makes the people become fat or thin, depending the what hormones is being affected. In nutritional factors is also somehow connected to physiological factors, in a sense that if one individual is taking too much calorie that the digestive system cannot respond properly to the chemical reaction thus leading it storing of fats to the body and may it lead to obesity and further complications like heart problem due to storing of fats that are not properly converted and dispose to the body. Furthermore, nutritional aspect is the primary reasons of becoming obese. Excessive taking of foods especially foods that contains high caloric value, such as salty, sweet and too much fatty foods. These kinds of foods are the most likable of among children and even worse if these kinds of foods are available always to their place where they can easily access it at any time. Nutritional problem is somehow can control and prevented if it is coupled of having good and constant physical activity. Thus inactivity is also the main reason of getting obese children. At this modern time, lots of activities emerge that caught the attention of the kids because of the reasons that these leisure activities are stressful free and acquired less energy but enjoyable and fun. This kind of activity is likely suited to the preschoolers where they called sedentary kids. Being sedentary kids, they are prone in gaining too much weight in a reason that they do not burn calories because sedentary kids are kids that prefer to play indoor rather than outdoor plays. Indoor activities include playing video games, watching cartoons in the television, playing card games and chess these activities can contribute to the problem. With these activities the body producing less energy causing it not to burn the calories thus it will be going to be stored in the body as fats that cause to become an obese person. Becoming an obese is controllable but there are some instances that it is hard to control thus it can contribute to the child to suffer this problem. Like for example those children who belong to the poor family, where their parents cannot provide the right and nutritional foods because the reasons of having insufficient salary thus making the children more prone of becoming obese. It shows obesity and being poor is somehow inter connected to each other because of the reasonable reasons that the parents have an insufficient time and resources to make their diet becomes healthy for the reasons of not having enough salary. Due to lack of salary, the family members have no time in engaging exercise because their only concern is to find money.
Prevention or Treatment for becoming an Obese Child
Prevention is better than cure, this pertain that an individual is not yet acquiring a certain diseases where an individual is already aware the predisposing factors that does not make an individual of having a greater chances in acquiring of a certain disease. In preventing the child of becoming obese an education with the parents must be conducted regarding the condition of what is all about because it counts most in measuring the knowledge of the parents on how to prevent these conditions. In teaching with the parents, it should be focuses about proper feeding of the child since infancy, because it is where the metabolism starts to function. In order for the metabolisms to function very well it should supplemented with proper nutrients, where breastfeeding is the only thing that contains lots of vitamins that support and makes the metabolism works efficiently. If the metabolism is healthy and working well it makes an individual become healthier for the preparation of taking solid foods. In parent education during infancy the recognition of the taste and delayed providing of solid of foods is also focuses in this case for the reason that during infancy the child has an immature or not yet develop metabolism that causing an irritation of the gastric mucosa that makes the child vomits or there is alteration in distributing the nutrients that cause the child to become obese or thin. In early childhood, proper introducing of nutrients is emphasized, where the child is taught to select foods that are low in fat and it is in calorie free, such as eating of fruits and vegetables. It is in this stage also that parents start to teach their young ones of engaging exercise rather than encouraging them to play indoor activities such as watching of television or playing video games.
In prevention of becoming obese physical activity is important because it burns more calories in our bodies. It is where the parents are advised to engage their children into sports at early age. These sports include tennis, soccer, basketball, swimming and gymnastics. These outdoor games are applicable only for those children who do not have heart problem because it will aggravate the condition. In engaging the child at early stage it makes them healthier and makes them more fitted and active and makes the child to socialize with their friends thus helping him to grow into better one. Competition in this sports is not important what matter most is that the child is enjoying and having fun in learning new ideas of sports and through discovering new things that making him physically fitted and enhancing him in creating new coordination as well as his motor skills. Being involve in physical activity it makes a child to maintain to loss his weight.
Diet modification is one important consideration in preventing the child of becoming obese. Here, the parents should be aware of what their children will be going to take. Diet modification is not merely meant that the child should go fasting and totally banning of foods that contains excessive caloric value. The parents should be careful in modifying the diet of the child because there is a tendency that the required amount of nutrients needed by the child may be not meet or sometimes it is taken for granted. Remember that children below five years of age should meet the required nutrients needed by the body for the reason that the physiologic changes of this stage is very prevalent thus the increasing demand of energy is very high. In order to compensate and to acquire the energy needed by the body, the children should eat adequate amount of foods that contains all nutrients and supplement. As what have mentioned above fasting and totally restriction of taking of foods that have calories is not advisable because our body still needs that kind of foods and for the reasons that it may alter the normal growth of the child as well as the normal eating perception of the child. It is important also to orient the child and be aware the balance diet where there is moderation of taking foods that contains fats. These fatty foods include ice creams, chocolates, cakes, cookies and cupcakes. Taking of foods that high in carbohydrates such as fries, burger, potato and spaghetti must not be restricted for the reason that it is the source of energy and children required to take these foods for there high energy demand, it must be taken in a moderate manner. Diet modification should be paired with proper exercise for the best result.
Behavior management is one strategy to prevent the child of becoming an obese. It deals the pattern of activities of the child in preventing of becoming obese, where the parents must also be supportive and cooperative in order to achieve the goal of this strategy. In behavioral management, it involves self-monitoring but in application to the young ones who are below five years old, they are still needing the guidance from there parents, because if they do it alone it is hard to achieve the objectives of self monitoring. In self-monitoring it should be hand in hand with the parents and the children, where the parents monitor and tally the food intake and the physical activity that they are in to. It is also include the manner of eating of the child where they tally of how the child eats, how many times the child eats in one day including the snacks and where he usually eats his foods and what time he usually eat his foods. Through this behavioral management it helps the parents to identify easily the interventions needed to help their child of becoming obese. In this situation the children must be informed from their parents of how it is going to work so that the children may not find it difficult in adjusting and their normal eating perception may not be altered that causing them to have eating disorder which is more complicated than of becoming obese for the reason that it needs medical attentions.
Problem solving is somehow interrelated to behavioral management in a sense that it involves again the behavior of the child, the only problem with this, is that, it is more complicated than behavioral management because in problem solving it needs strict concentration in solving the problem where the normal activity of the child is being alter in which the child cannot tolerate the activity thus it will defeat the purpose of the activity. There is a greater chance that the purpose of this activity will be defeated for the reason that the child will not cooperate. Cooperation of the child is important and the highlights of this activity, but there is a tendency that the child will not cooperate because of the strict rules and regulations and hard tasks in order to achieve the objectives and success of maintaining the proper weight. Hard tasks and in coordination of strict rules and regulations, it pertains to the scheduling of daily activities of the child, where the child have time and motion that he really needs to follow the tasks and it should be comply with the end of the day. In problem solving also, the child cannot choose or select the foods they want where the child find it too difficult but helpful and accurate in maintaining the proper weight of the child because the parents provide only nutritious foods that are containing less amount of calories whether the child likes the foods or not because the main objective of problem solving is to provide the right one in order to assure a child that he is healthy and avoid eating foods that may contribute of becoming obese. The problem with this activity the normal growth and development of the child may alter that causing the child to have psychological problems because the activity is prohibiting the things that is normally done by preschoolers. Preschoolers are adventurous that they really want to discover something and it is normal that they do what they really want because it is part of growing up and because of this activity their normal development is altered that causing them not to follow and thus there is poor compliance with this activity that there will be less positive effect in terms of relationship between parents and their children.
Conclusion:
I conclude that in preventing the child of becoming obese the parents should cooperate and be supportive in maintaining the weight of the child. It is in the parents that cooperation also of the child will be met. The parents should provide the appropriate foods to their children and if ever there are foods that are not suitable for children’s health just make it sure that it is out of reach from the children and hide it to a place where children have no access to that place.
The parents should be aware all the prevention methods in dealing with this serious problem; these prevention methods are include diet modification, children must be involve in physical activity in order to burn out the calories that are stored in the body, problem solving and behavioral modifications. These preventive measures help the parents to help their child not to acquire this condition. Parents must see to it the negative effect of each preventive measures, it should be balanced while implementing these preventive measures to the child so that there will be no further complications.
Thus the health of the children lies on the hand of their parents, where the parents should be careful in caring their child. It is their hands that the future of their children lays, so as parents we must be knowledgeable in things we do so that there are no complicated problems may exist. In order for the parents to become more knowledgeable the parents must be resourceful and active the issue that happens in their surrounding so that they are aware and protect their children from any threat to their health.
References:
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