Childhood Obesity and its Impact on Health and Society

Health and Society Assessment 2 1
Health and Society Assessment 2: Project Rubric
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Health and Society Assessment 2 2
Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity is caused by piling up of excessive fats in the body as calories. It is
measured by BMI (Body Mass Index) which is between 85th to 95th percentiles for children of
both genders according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Thorburn,
2005, p.188) Childhood obesity has drawn attention globally and in Australia has 8% of the total
population of children being obese. Australia is ranked third with the highest prevalence of
childhood obesity with each year an increase of 40000 obese children. (Tomkinson et al., 2010,
p.57)
Obesity is caused by majorly inactivity which leads to the body storing up a lot of
calories which are not being put into use. Research has it that obesity can be inflicted by medical
effects with diseases such as Prader-Willi Syndrome and Cushing Syndrome.
Significance of Obesity
Individual
Childhood obesity has immediate health effects such as musculoskeletal and joint
complications, hypertension, increased cholesterol Cardiovascular Disease, coronary heart
disease, stroke, asthma, arthritis, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes and gastro-esophageal
reflux.
It also causes social problems to a child especially bullying in school and stigmatization.
Some of the psychological problems related to childhood obesity we have low self-esteem,
depression and finally anxiety. All that amounts to the child having a low quality of life.

Health and Society Assessment 2 3
Obese children have a future risk of becoming obese adults which has adverse health
implications
Family
The family suffers financially due to treating obesity and obesity-related health
complications. It is expensive and very costly. The family suffers psychologically when such
complications lead to loss of life of a family member. It leads to trauma, depression, and grief.
(Fullagar, 2012, p. 130)
Community
The community incurs both direct and indirect cost related effects. This is as a result of
the in-patient and out-patient medical bills. A huge portion of expenditure is used in drug
administration, hospital equipment, and resourcing in an effort to save lives. The society may
lose young promising leaders who would be pillars to the society.
The Relationship between Childhood Obesity and Australian National Health Priority Areas
(NHPA)
The National Health Priority Areas is a move by the federal government to improve the
lives of the people by reducing the burden of illness in order to improve the quality of life. It is a
communal effort involving the State, Territory Government and Commonwealth. The
government opts to prioritize these medical conditions and population groups in a bid to
maximize the utility of resources. (Briggs and Buchbinder, 2009. p.500) These key priority areas