Childhood Obesity: Inequity and Interventions

CHILDHOOD OBESITY 1
CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Student’s Name
Course Name
Professor’s Name
University Name
City, State
Date
Q1. Reasons for inequity between indigenous Australia and non-indigenous
Australia in relation to obesity
Historically the inequity between the indigenous Australia and non-indigenous Australia
started in the nineteenth century. The reasons for inequity in children with obesity between
aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander and the non-indigenous Australians factors like poverty,

CHILDHOOD OBESITY 2
income inequality, poor food and nutrients intake, and inequity in physical activities among other
reasons(Browne, Adams & Atkinson, 2016). In this question income inequity and inequity in
food and nutrient intake is discussed in detail. Over the past decades, the minority groups across
the world have been recognized to suffer obesity more than majority groups (Black, Hughes &
Jones, 2018). This is because of the traditions held by these groups such like Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander, Pacific island nations, Papua New Guineans, Canadian Inuits, Alaska
Natives and American Indians. From the times of colonial history, Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders people have not been able to enjoy similar receipt of money compared to the non-
indigenous population. It was until the beginning of equality era during the passage of the 1967
referendum and the racial discrimination act of 1975 that led to better salaries (Markwick,
Ansari, Sullivan and McNeil,2015).
According to new research conducted by the University of Auckland involving over
200,000 children in 36 countries, national income and income inequality have an impact on
children and adolescents’ body size(Dyer et al., 2017).. The study which was conducted in
Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand recognizes income levels with adolescence
girls in wealthier nations showing the highest rates of obesity (Smithers, Lynch, Hedges &
Jamieson, 2017). If a child is obese or overweight, they have a high risk of a range of health
problems like social problems, sleep disorders, respiratory and joint problems, some types of
cancers, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart diseases.
Poor food and nutrient intake are common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
In a study conducted for children aged between 10-12 years living in relative socio-economic
disadvantaged areas of the north coast of New South Wales shown that a high number of
children had poor food and nutrient intake (Smithers, Lynch, Hedges & Jamieson, 2017). They

CHILDHOOD OBESITY 3
had a far less fibre intake than the Australian Nutrient Reference Value which ranged between
74-84%. Calcium intake was less by between 54-86% Estimated Average Requirement, folate
and magnesium intake of 36% and 28% respectively less than Estimated Average Requirement
among girls.
The study also found that the majority of children exceeded sodium intake upper limit of
between 68-76%. White bread, salty snacks, high-fat processed meats, sugary drinks, and hot
chips were very common contribution per capita intake. Children for indigenous people were
found to consume less fruit and vegetables (Pandita et al., 2016). Intake of sodium,
macronutrients and energy were higher amongst indigenous boys than non-indigenous boys.
Indigenous people across the world face poor health status and suffer greater mortality than non-
indigenous peoples.
Australia leads with a greater gap as well as chronic diseases compared to other similar
countries. Indigenous people of Australia have a three times high rate of diabetes compared to
non-indigenous people and six times among indigenous youths compared to non-indigenous
youths (Hayes, Lung, Bauman and Howard,2017). Improving the diet of children is a strategy
that is associated with reducing the risks of chronic diseases for children and adults. Poor
nutrition and poor food intake during childhood have been linked to type 2 diabetes
development.
Q2. Primary healthcare intervention that is addressing this health issue for
indigenous Australians
Obesity has been recognized a global problem and children are among those highly
affected. According to Mihrshahi, Gow and Baur (2018), there are 124 million children across
the world suffering from obesity. This group comprised of children and adolescents aged