This assignment analyzes childhood obesity, its significance, immediate and future health risks, and its relationship with health determinants and national health priorities. It also discusses the upstreaming approach to nursing care for childhood obesity.
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2 Childhood obesity Introduction The World health Organization defines childhood obesity as the condition in which children store more than the recommended fats in their bodies. Childhood obesity contributes to mortality among children and there is the need for immediate action. Within the framework of this assignment, there will be an analysis of childhood obesity and how it relates with different factors such as determinants of health and the National Australia Health Priorities. Discussion Significance of childhood obesity Childhood obesity is regarded as one of the most serious public health issue in the 21stcentury. The condition is mostly affecting low and middle income countries. As of 2016, the World Health Organization reported 41million cases of obesity among children below 5 years. The CDC states that as of 2014, 13.7 million children and adolescents were suffering from the condition. This translates to 18.5%(Taveras et al 2017). Childhood obesity has severe consequences that can be classified either as immediate health risks or future health risks. According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC). The immediate health risks include high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol. Recent studies indicate that obesity leads to the above complications. The two complications together leads to cardiovascular diseases which is one of the most causes of mortality among children with the World Health Organization reporting 25% of deaths due to CVD among children in 2017(Woo Baidal et al 2017). Childhood obesity also leads to increased risk of impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. This eventually leads to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Scientists also link childhood obesity to other conditions such as
3 psychological problems like anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the physical appearance of obese children creates low self-esteem and social problems like bullying and stigma which contributes to suicide among the affected children as reported by the World Health Organization in 2015. Childhood obesity is associated with health risks in the future. These are complications that could occur in the future if the risk factors for childhood obesity are not addressed effectively. Recent studies link childhood obesity to obesity in adulthood. This further subjects the children to other health conditions like type 2 diabetes and cancer in the future. Childhood obesity is a serious condition that needs serious interventions among different stakeholder to avert the consequences associated with the condition. Relationship between childhood obesity and one of the Australia National Health priority The Australia National Health Priorities were stipulated back in 1996. The objective was to indicate the areas that were in need of urgent interventions to improve the health status among the Australian citizens(Simmonds, Llewellyn, Owen, & Woolacott 2015). Cardiovascular health is one of the Australia National Health Priorities. The aim of this priority was to improve cardiovascular health through lowering the rate of cardiovascular diseases and their impacts on the overall population. This priority directly relates to childhood obesity in Australia. According to research, obesity is associated with high fats or cholesterol that lodge in blood vessels making them narrow and this subsequently creates pressure in the heart leading to cardiovascular complications. Therefore, the basis of addressing cardiovascular problems lies in handling obesity among children.
4 Relationship between childhood obesity and the social determinants of health The world health Organization defines social determinants of health as conditions in the environment that people are born, live learn, worship, work and play and how they affect a wide range of health(Gurnani, Birken, & Hamilton 2015). There are different social determinants of health for the case of childhood obesity. However, only three will be illustrated in this section. Availability of resources to meet the daily life is the first social determinant of health that affects childhood obesity. According to recent studies, nutrition plays an important factor in the development of obesity(Kumar & Kelly 2017). The studies link unhealthy diets to obesity. Such diet include junk food with too much fats. It’s the lack of resources that contributes to consumption of unhealthy foods that eventually lead to obesity. In order to address childhood obesity therefore, there is the need to make resources available that will enable children to feed on healthy diets. Access to healthcare services is the second social determinant of health that directly relates with childhood obesity. Effective control of any health condition lies in the ability to access health care("Correction to: Childhood Obesity 2016;12(1):1–11," 2016). However, in one of the meta- analysis conducted recently, it was established that children who do not readily access healthcare services have higher prevalence of obesity than those that do(Cheung, Cunningham, Narayan, & Kramer 2016). This therefore implies that the Australian government should struggle to ensure all children have easy access to healthcare services. Finally, access to mass media and emerging technologies like internet is another determinant. With the rapid technological advancement globally, children spend most of their time watching videos or playing games online at the expense of physical activities(Carbone, Lavie, & Arena 2017). Studies link physical inactivity to
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5 obesity. In order to effectively address the problem of childhood obesity, there is the need to correct or handle the social determinants of health that relate with the condition. Relationship between childhood obesity and upstreaming approach to nursing care. The upstreaming approach to nursing care that directly relates to childhood obesity is patient education. A comparison of different meta-analysis indicate that patient education is the most effective way of handling childhood obesity(Bhadoria et al 2015). This upstream approach basically involves identifying the group at risk then educate them on how they can modify their lifestyle like engaging in physical activities and eating healthy food. Conclusion In conclusion, childhood obesity is a serious condition affecting more than 41 million children globally. Failure to avert the condition leads to complications such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The Australian government took an initiative to improve childhood obesity through the National Health Priorities back in 1996 with the aim of reducing cardiovascular diseases. This condition directly relates to different social determinants of health such as availability of resources and access to healthcare. It is imperative to utilize upstreaming nursing approach like patient education to eradicate childhood obesity.
6 References Bhadoria,A., Sahoo,K., Sahoo,B., Choudhury,A., Sufi,N., & Kumar,R. (2015). Childhood obesity: Causes and consequences.Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care,4(2), 187. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.154628 Carbone,S., Lavie,C.J., & Arena,R. (2017). Obesity and Heart Failure: Focus on the Obesity Paradox.Mayo Clinic Proceedings,92(2), 266-279. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.11.001 Cheung,P.C., Cunningham,S.A., Narayan,K.V., & Kramer,M.R. (2016). Childhood Obesity Incidence in the United States: A Systematic Review.Childhood Obesity,12(1), 1-11. doi:10.1089/chi.2015.0055 Correction to: Childhood Obesity 2016;12(1):1–11. (2016).Childhood Obesity,12(3), 226-226. doi:10.1089/chi.2016.29003.cxn Gurnani,M., Birken,C., & Hamilton,J. (2015). Childhood Obesity.Pediatric Clinics of North America,62(4), 821-840. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2015.04.001 Kumar,S., & Kelly,A.S. (2017). Review of Childhood Obesity.Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(2), 251-265. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.09.017 Simmonds,M., Llewellyn,A., Owen,C.G., & Woolacott,N. (2015). Predicting adult obesity from childhood obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity Reviews,17(2), 95-107. doi:10.1111/obr.12334 Taveras,E.M., Perkins,M., Anand,S., Woo Baidal,J.A., Nelson,C.C., Kamdar,N., … Land,T. (2017). Clinical effectiveness of the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research
7 Demonstration initiative among low-income children.Obesity,25(7), 1159-1166. doi:10.1002/oby.21866 Woo Baidal,J.A., Nelson,C.C., Perkins,M., Colchamiro,R., Leung-Strle,P., Kwass,J., … Taveras,E.M. (2017). Childhood obesity prevention in the Women, Infants, and Children Program: Outcomes of the MA-CORD study.Obesity,25(7), 1167-1174. doi:10.1002/oby.21865