Impact of Childhood Obesity on all Aboriginal Children of Low SES, Aboriginal Community, and the General Population in NSW

According to Hardy et al. (2014), a third of the Indigenous children in NSW have developed overweight or obesity, and such statistics sound bad. Indigenous communities experience a high share of the burden of obesity, as
well as mortality, relative to the non-Aboriginal communities, characterized by the huge disparity, whereby the non-indigenous people live for 10 more years than the indigenous before they die.. Evidence shows that childhood
obesity can have harmful impacts on the Aboriginal children of low SES, the Aboriginal people, and the NSW population. However, the disorder can be addressed through action plans directed to the communities in NSW.
Impact of Childhood Obesity on all Aboriginal Children of Low SES, Aboriginal Community, and the General Population in NSW
Impacts of Childhood Obesity on Aboriginal Children of Low SES
a) Health Impacts
Childhood obesity among the Aboriginals is associated with the increase in diabetes rates in indigenous children, a disorder that is
approximated to minimize the maximum years to live
for a child to 27 years, which keeps widening (Thurber
et al., 2014). Obese children will probably grow and
increase adulthood obesity. They also have a higher
chance of developing one or more of conditions such as
heart disease, breathing problems, and particularly sleep
apnoea (Best Start Resource Centre, 2010). Sherriff et
al. (2019) also postulate that overweight and obese
Aboriginal children are likely to develop early
indications of kidney disease.
b) Social Impacts
There are higher chances of obese children encountering emotional and social side effects similar to those of children receiving
cancer care, including bullying, poor social skills, and
depression. These issues may even pose a problem for a
child to lose weight by protecting themselves from
negative comments as well as attitudes through going
back to safe places where they find comfort (Bhadoria
et al., 2015).
c) Academic Impacts
Bhadoria et al., (2015) postulate that childhood obesity causes a reduction in school performance.
Impact of Childhood Obesity on the Aboriginal Community
a) Health Impacts
Thurber et al. (2014) cite that the high burden of the metabolic disorder in the Indigenous individuals can decrease the average
indigenous people’s life expectancy by about a
maximum of 3 years, representing nearly 9 percent to
17 percent of the disparity existing between Indigenous
as well as non-Indigenous communities. Childhood
obesity can predict occurrence of future obese
aboriginal adults with one or more metabolic disorders,
and psychological problems like low self-esteem.
b) Socioeconomic Impacts
Childhood obesity leads to adult obesity, which will lead to lost productivity, and an increase in health costs (Thurber et al., 2014).
Lost productivity means individuals may work less to
generate revenue because of obesity-related problems.
An increase in healthcare costs can exert pressure on
existing poor economic conditions of households within
the Aboriginal community in NSW. Impact of
Childhood Obesity on the NSW population
a) Health Impacts
Aboriginal childhood obesity contributes to increased burden of obesity in NSW, which is 24 percent (representing one in five
children). This population is more probable to carry
excess weight when they become adults and are at
increased danger of chronic illness, including diabetes
and cardiovascular disorders, as well as premature death
(NSW Government, 2019).
b) Economic Impacts
Health problems linked to childhood obesity contribute to the economic impacts of the overall obesity problem in NSW. For
instance, the economic implications in NSW contributed
by obese children were projected by Access Economics
as 2.7 billion AUD on economic expenses, as well as
production losses, as well as 16.3 billion AUD used as
expenditures in deteriorated health (NSW Government,
2015).
Key Areas for Change to Reduce the Impact of Childhood Obesity Among Aboriginal Children
The NSW government aims to reduce childhood obesity by five percent over ten years (to 16.5 percent in 2025).
Therefore, key areas involving Indigenous children, the community they live in, and the entire NSW population
must be addressed to reduce the impact or effect childhood obesity.
• One key area to focus on is improving maternal and children’s diets, which will help children to maintain a
healthy weight. Although physical inactivity among children is a challenge, and inadequate and unhealthy food is
the most significant causal factor for the disorder. One of the critical factors that influence maternal besides
perinatal outcomes of Indigenous mothers and their infants is a socioeconomic disadvantage. The majority of the
Aboriginal people live in low SES characterized by overcrowding, food costs, distorted cultural food values, and
little income (Brimblecombe et al., 2015). Thus, without socioeconomic means to access nutritious foods can lead
to an increase in the proportion of obesity as found in Indigenous children.
• Another area is education and life skills. Although this area cannot directly cause healthy food intake or improve
food insecurity situations, it can be incorporated into other interventions. For instance, nutrition education in
Indigenous communities and the rest of the population can generally target to increase food besides nutrition
knowledge and skills and can range from structured workshops besides informal information sessions.
• Unhealthy meals contribute to diet-related non-communicable diseases, including obesity and other metabolic
disorders, and related adverse impacts. Mortality rates among Aboriginal people are more likely to rise from
cardiovascular disorders, yet they are preventable at an early stage, in children. According to Al-Yaman (2017),
obesity, which is related to poor diets, is the cause of increased health inequality among the Indigenous people
and non-Aboriginal people.
.
Action Plan to Address Childhood Obesity Among Aboriginals
Action Plan: Providing Community Information for Behavior
Change and Counselling
One of the action plans that NSW has adapted is to empower communities to make better
food selection by providing them with the essential information, and involve themselves in
healthy lifestyles and exercise (NSW Department of Health, n.d.).
• The first action is that the New South Wales Government will use community
publicizing avenues targeting five main behavior information, which are: engage in
physical activity for an hour every day, take water, do not switch on the TV, consume
large amounts of fruits and vegetables, and minimize snacks consumption.
• The second action is that the New South Wales authority will create and put to work a
Lifestyle and Advisory Service to provide behavior change counselling related to
exercising, adequate diet consumption, as well as managing weight.
• The third action is that the NSW Government will keep on developing besides
promoting various websites involving critical information on child nutrition in
partnership with other agencies such as the National Heart Foundation, to give every
material with important messages besides views on exercise as well as healthy
consumption for children.
• The fourth action is that the New South Wales authority will also continuously support
specific initiatives such as the Good for Kids, Good for Life that is a critical program,
which will contribute to the averting of overweight in children and the general public.
Conclusion
Childhood obesity rates in Australia are high, with NSW having consistent statistics among
Aboriginal children. Research has shown that the impacts of the disorder are deleterious to
Aboriginal children, the Aboriginal community, and the NSW population. One of the key
areas that an action plan is needed is on healthy food choices, and the actions to improve
this area involve making information available to the NSW community.
References
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