New research reveals a sharp rise in child obesity in East London. Learn about the causes, interventions, and strategies to combat this issue.
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Child Obesity in East London Introduction New research that has been done In London reveals a new twist in the obesity prevalence among children in East London. The statistics derived from research done by NHS reveals a sharp rise in the number of obese children in the country. This trend has threated the health sector and the authorities(Udo and Grilo, 2016). The government through the National Child Measurement Program has also reported that almost a quarter of school children at school reception level are overweight or obese and those in stage two, more than one out of three are overweight. The reports have also reported the correlation between deprivation and obesity. For instance, the most affected children are those that come from poor families or those that are deprived of a proper diet. In the last few decades, an increase in childhood obesity has been noticed in East London. In 2016, obesity in children was discovered to be increasing in both boys and girls. The younger ages have recorded this increasing prevalence in obesity specifically in East London. The assumption by two pediatricians from East London is that almost 41- million children below the age of five years in the world are overweight(Ulijaszek et al., 2016). This is also a report given by the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2016, there were 20000 girls and12000 boys with obesity in East London, while the global number of moderately or severely underweight girls and boys was 75 million and 117 million respectively. Focussing on the case of East London where some research on obesity has been carried out, the trend is surprisingly taking a dangerous direction, where tactical intervention must now be considered to reduce the prevalence. It has, therefore, prompted the response of the British government
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which has declared that the problem needs urgent intervention. It is also noted that the problem is common in children who are deprived of proper diet. Experts recommend that the first intervention to fight the problem is to reduce the consumption of soft drinks and sugar. However, it is also necessary to consider the environment where children grow(Wang, Mamudu and Wu, 2012). This is because environmental factors are contributors to the problem of overweight and obesity. According to dietetics, a healthy diet plays a great role in reducing obesity in children. Therefore, the problem can be put under control if a healthy diet is observed. National and International public health policies and drivers on obesity Fighting obesity has been a policy priority in East London for quite a long time. The government formed two formal strategies to deal with the problem. These strategies were developed between 2008 and 2011 and have drawn closer many initiatives that are intended to fight obesity(Sonntag, Ali and De Bock, 2015). For now, various strategies and policies have been adopted to ensure that obesity prevalence in children is controlled. Some of these policies include; supporting breastfeeding mothers and ensuring proper and healthy weaning process, ensuring children in schools receive nutritional foods, restricting advertisement of foods with high-fat content, sugar, and salt content, and programs to enhance participation in sports, healthy travel and tour plans, and services intended to reduce the wait. It has been noted from various health researches and the World Health Organization that the rate at which obesity is affecting children in East London continues to grow. Therefore, proper strategies are to be put in place to deal with the problem(Townsend, Rutter and Foster, 2012). A cross-government strategy was developed in 2011 to include both national and local governments to fight the problem. Policies could be developed at the national level,
but the local government must play an important role in the development of such policies and to ensure the people on the ground implement them. Before the implementation of any policy on obesity, the policymakers have ensured that there is policy guidance that sets goals or objectives and identification of effective interventions. The local government has also come up with guidelines on weight management strategies, although, many policies on the same are stated in the World Health Organization set of guidelines that are available at the local and national government offices. The intervention of stakeholders to child obesity in East London Researchers have indicated that childhood obesity predicts that there is a likelihood of the occurrence of obesity in adulthood(Tan et al., 2018). Therefore, tackling obesity requires early intervention. It is noted that once a child has developed obesity, it becomes difficult for the child to do exercise because lack of confidence to do so. This even worsens the situation because it would be difficult to lose weight because they lack exercise. Interventions to address obesity can be classified into three major categories, firstly, the weight management programs that are intended on the individuals who are already overweight or obese to help reduce their weight(SE and JL, 2018). Secondly, the interventions that are focused on prevention measures such as avoiding fatty foods and reducing sugar in drinks and lastly wider prevention strategy intended to reach a large group of people. This last category focuses on environmental factors that lead to obesity and overweight in children. This analysis mainly focuses on two types of intervention, for instance, obesity prevention programs which should consider varieties of complex factors that give rise to obesity. The main focuses of obesity prevention include public education, advice on nutrition, and change
of behavior programs, physical activities, and parental development guidance. Although a number of these intervention strategies have been developed in the UK, few of them have been adopted and implemented both locally and internationally(Rubin, 2011). This is because a number of these interventions require serious evaluation in terms of financial costs. Literature of evaluation of the effectiveness of these interventions has shown that many of them have failed because of financial hindrances. However, intervention programs like public health education, nutritional advice, and parental development programs have contributed to the reduction of the number of children being affected by obesity in East London. Health education plays an important role in informing the public on the type of foods that should be given to children to prevent obesity and overweight. It is one of the best intervention strategies because it is said that ‘prevention is better than cure’. Parents are advised on the types of food to give their children, informed on the importance of doing physical exercise(Lawrence, 2010). One of the policies is promoting healthier food choices. You may realize that a number of children consume food with high-fat content this may begin at a younger age that makes them have an increase in high-fat content in their body (Katz, 2014). The policy is trying to inform the people to reduce the intake of food with high carbohydrate and fat content. It also tries to reduce too much protein in the body as they regulate and promote the importance of eating vegetables. Personal advice and support is also another important strategy that the government of UK has introduced to inform the public on the importance of preventing obesity in children and ways of improving physical fitness as one of the measures to manage the problem. That has been found to be effective(El-Gilany and El-Masry, 2011). Normally those who suffer from obesity only lack advice. By having advice and providing guidance to the food that is being consumed by an individual this can help in reducing the risk of people having obesity both in
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adult and child. Children can be trained right from birth on the food they are likely to consume. By having a clear guideline and procedure, even diseases such as diabetes and hypertension in young children. Through advice, the parent also knows the best meals to give their children while providing a restriction to some of the other foods that increase the chances of having obesity. Education can also help one change the behavior of people concerning the type of food they should take to manage or to prevent obesity. It will also make a parent to know the type of food a child should not consume (Lobstein & Frelut, 2018). Social marketing and campaign are other policies that can really help and have been tested and proved to be working in developed countries. This helps all the ethnic group both the minority group and the majority. However, other reports have indicated that most children who suffer from obesity in East London come from families that are well-off and may not suffer from malnutrition. Through the educational campaigns, both the learned and the illiterate will get information about the management and prevention of obesity and overweight(YS and MG, 2015). This will also help in the elimination of the aspect of discrimination and will encourage inclusivity when it comes to fighting obesity among the children of East London. Reasons why education is the most important strategy to deal with obesity Considering the fact that education is one of the most effective strategies, proper interventions should accompany educational programs in order to meet the targets. Since some learning institutions in the UK are dominated by young children, it would be easier to spread the message among them(Jwa, Fujiwara and Kondo, 2014). Using the teachers to act as agents of delivery of information would even bring more effectiveness in the way things are handled. Additionally, schools provide a better environment for physical activities.
School children are subjected to daily physical exercises that improve their physical and mental fitness. In the previous section of this paper, it is highlighted that physical fitness is one way of managing obesity and overweight. Through educational programs, even the minorities will be considered in awareness campaign It will also help the parents who are the key component to understand their responsibilities and to regulate the type food to be given to their children(Lee, Lee and Park, 2015). In schools, children have lessons that teach them how to cook healthy food as well as actively involved in sports. It is through education that the schools may provide information to the individuals even in the remote areas about the importance of good health. Education discusses the importance of different types of meals and how to balance the diet. Conclusion Everybody wants to have a good lifestyle and also have good health; therefore, it is important to know the preventive measures and management methods of obesity and overweight. However, children in East London have a good awareness of healthy foods they are supposed to take although they do not take it seriously as something that affects their life. Parents can have a significant role in deciding which kind of food their children are to consume but for some reasons may not consider providing a balanced diet to their children.
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