Causes, Effects and Prevention of Obesity

Running head: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
CAUSES EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
Executive Summary
In accordance to present statistics, the prevalence of childhood obesity has reached alarming
levels in the United Kingdom. Considering the present shortcomings in current nursing
intervention practice, the following report aims to critically evaluate the various causes,
effects and treatment pertaining to the prevalence of childhood obesity among school
children. For the assessment of this clinical statement, three papers were critically reviewed,
namely two cohort and one qualitative study, due to their assessment of various
physiological, social and economic factors associated with the incidence of childhood
obesity. Hence, according to the studies reviews, future nursing practice must aim to consider
the role of familial views, socioeconomic inequalities, usage of technology and sleep duration
in the occurrence of childhood obesity. To conclude, considering the lack of high quality
data, future research considering prevalence of childhood obesity must consider usage of
randomized controlled or multi-centred trials for reduction of errors and bias.

2CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................4
Identification of Existing Literature: Search Strategy...................................................5
Inclusion Criteria........................................................................................................5
Exclusion Criteria.......................................................................................................6
Critical Examination......................................................................................................6
Turner, Salisbury & Shield (2011).............................................................................6
Goisis, Sacker and Kelly (2015)..............................................................................10
Arora et al., (2012)...................................................................................................15
Contribution of other Research Designs......................................................................18
Conclusion....................................................................................................................18
References....................................................................................................................20
Appendix One – Tables showing results from database searches................................26
Table 1 – Database results from search term ‘Causes, Effects and Prevention of
Childhood Obesity’..............................................................................................................26
Table 2 – Database results from search term ‘Causes, Effects and Prevention of
Obesity among children’......................................................................................................26
Table 3 – Database results from search terms ‘Causes, Effects and Prevention of
Obesity among school age children’....................................................................................26
Appendix Two................................................................................................................0

3CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
Table 4 – Table showing relevant papers after funnelling and expanding of search
terms.......................................................................................................................................0
Appendix Three..............................................................................................................1
Table 5 – Table showing an overview of the chosen articles....................................1
Appendix Four: CASP Analysis: Qualitative Research (Turner, Salisbury & Shields,
2011)..........................................................................................................................................1
Appendix Five: CASP Analysis: Cohort Study (Goisis, Sacker & Kelley, 2015).........2
Appendix 6: CASP Analysis: Cohort Study (Arora et al., 2012)...................................4

4CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
Introduction
The prevalence of obesity in the United Kingdom is alarmingly high, as claimed by
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Trembling et al., 2017). There
has been a 92% increase in obesity in the United Kingdom, since the year 1996. The country
holds the highest rank of obesity amongst European countries, with an estimated 27% of the
population being inflicted. Almost half of the children of the nation are overweight, with one
child being obese amongst five (Zilanawala et al., 2015). Increased consumption of sugary
and calorie-dense foods, lack of physical activity along with adherence to sedentary lifestyle
is some of the key causative factors contributing to childhood obesity (Foerste et al., 2016).
However, according to Ratcliffe and Ellison (2015), social and economic inequalities
amongst underprivileged families, stereotypes associated with culturally acceptable physical
features and parental doubts concerning the expertise of public health professionals often act
as barriers for the treatment of childhood obesity. Despite governmental efforts to induce
taxation on sugar-containing foods and promotion of importance of exercise, there still lies a
need to execute further health promotion strategies for the prevention of childhood obesity
(Hawkes et al., 2015). Nurses, as stated by Sivero et al., (2016), lie at the forefront for the
treatment and prevention of obesity amongst children, through the provision of supervised
exercise and dietary intervention strategies, nutritional consultation, involvement of
concerned parents through usage of a family-centred approach and the adoption of a
multidisciplinary team garnering support from various professionals. However, current
nursing practice is still far from considering the inequitable distribution of resources amongst
low income group families, and hence must amend changes related to clinical practice at the
community level, in order to impart effect dietary and exercise education and treatment to
every child, irrespective of income (Blackburn et al., 2015).

5CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
The following report attempts to critically evaluate existing literature pertaining to the
causes, effects and prevention of obesity among school children. Three articles have been
chosen due to their assessment of a variety of social, physiological and economic factors
pertaining to the prevalence of obesity in children. While the cohort study by Goisis, Sacker
and Kelly (2015) attempts to economically associate the occurrence of obesity and the low
financial status of children’s families, the cohort study by Arora et al., (2012) attempts to
uncover the links between adolescent sleep cycles, physiological complications of obesity
and academic performance. Lastly, the qualitative study by Turner et al., (2011) has been
assessed which focuses on the social views pertaining to the treatment facilities of childhood
obesity, with due emphasis on parental views and opinions.
Identification of Existing Literature: Search Strategy
Databases such as Medline, COCHRANE, BioMed Central, PubMed and CINHL
was assessed with the aid of Boolean operators and key words ‘obesity’, ‘childhood
obesity’, ‘school children’, ‘causes’, ‘prevention’, ‘effects’ ‘treatment’. The search strategy
yielded 730 articles. Articles which dealt with paediatric obesity, obesity in young
adulthood, or the policies and programmes associated with obesity and health promotion
were excluded. Articles referring to countries other than the United Kingdom were excluded.
Researches which discussed concerning the various economical, social and physiological
factors associated with the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity among school children
were included.
Inclusion Criteria
 Studies conducted in the United Kingdom
 Studies assessing childhood obesity
 Research spanning from 2010 to 2017

6CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
 Studies containing the keywords ‘obesity’, ‘childhood obesity’, ‘school children’,
‘causes’, ‘prevention’, ‘effects’ ‘treatment’
Exclusion Criteria
 Studies conducted in countries apart from the United Kingdom
 Studies assessing paediatric and adult obesity
 Studies dealing with policies and programmes associated with obesity and health
promotion
 Research showing irrelevance to keywords ‘obesity’, ‘childhood obesity’, ‘school
children’, ‘causes’, ‘prevention’, ‘effects’ ‘treatment’
However, upon conductance of the search strategy, it was observed that there was a
dearth of researches utilising multi-centred of high quality or randomized controlled trails,
which are regarded as possessing high levels in evidence based research, as stated by Deaton
and Cartwright (2018). Further, there also seemed to be a lack of sufficient follow up studies,
which could have proved to be beneficial in the evaluation of the long term outcomes of the
various treatment measures undertaken for childhood obesity (Weber et al., 2014).
Critical Examination
Turner, Salisbury & Shield (2011)
 The research by Turner, Salisbury and Shield (2011), aimed at evaluating the
experiences and opinions felt by parents with regards to the provision of primary care
settings directed at the treatment of obesity in school going children of the United
Kingdom. The research included an analysis of the views from 15 parents of children
belonging to the age group of 5 to 10 years, through the usage of interviews in Bristol,
England, at a clinic based in the hospital, providing treatment for childhood obesity.

7CAUSES, EFFECTS AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY
 The authors clearly stated the aims of their research as evident in their objectives
which were directed at exploration of the experiences and views of the parents with
regards to the treatment of obesity in primary care settings. According to Taveras et
al., (2015), primary treatment principles have been documented to yield beneficial
effects in the treatment of obesity amongst school-aged children. However, according
to Syrad et al., (2015), there has been a dearth of evidence considering the view of
parents with regards to such treatment for their children, which the authors have stated
clearly as their primary research question.
 The purpose of conducting qualitative research is to uncover the deeper explanations
pertaining to individual’s feelings, experiences, opinions and actions as per their
present surroundings (Lewis, 2015). With this regards, usage of a qualitative study by
the authors is an appropriate ethnomethodology since the study focuses on what
parents truly feel concerning the quality of treatment received by their obese children.
 Despite the potential advantages of such a methodology for the purpose of assessing
the claimed research question, the authors however, did not mention the factors of
reasons outlining their selection for such a research procedure. However, considering
the presence of limited information pertaining to the views of parents, the authors
attempted to overcome this prevalent research gap through usage of a qualitative
study.
 The authors clearly mentioned the participant recruitment process which included
parents of school children who were obese, belonging to the waiting list of clinics
providing obesity treatment, recommended by general practitioners dealing with
treatment of obesity and participants of the Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It! Program
initiated by the Childhood Obesity Foundation.