Public Health - Obesity | Assignment

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLIC HEALTH
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Section 1:
Obesity is a medical disorder that accumulates excess body fat to the point that it can
have a detrimental impact on health. It is characterised by the body mass index (BMI), and
further measured by the waist-hip ratio and total disease risk factors in terms of fat
distribution. Obesity can be caused by variations in the environmental, economic, and social
environment that influence an individual to consume more calories than required while
finding it more challenging to get enough physical exercise to utilize the extra calories
resulting in excess fat accumulation (3). The two major risk factor of obesity is the poor diet,
which lacks in nutrition and lack of physical activity. The world's leading cause of death is
non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as coronary failure, stroke, asthma, chronic
respiratory diseases, and diabetes, and obesity is a leading cause of NCDs (18). More than
one out of four adult Australians were found to be obese in 2014/15. This reflects
approximately five million Australians aged 18 and over (30.0kg / m2 or greater BMI).
About 28% of all males aged 18 years and older in Australia are overweight that count at
least two million people. Australia has a big public health problem with substantial
environmental and financial costs that are nothing but increasing overweight and obesity
among the people. The primarily attributed to a spike in obesity that in 2011–12 cost the
economy $8.6 billion, not only making it the public health issue but also rising issues in the
economy of the country (3). The aim of the paper is to analyze the risk factors of obesity by
adequate literature review, identify the specific risk factor for specific community or
subgroup, recognise specific intervention methods, evaluate them and summarize potential
future research areas. The study will primarily focus on the topic of unhealthy eating as a
cause of obesity and the relation between obesity and non-communicable diseases.

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Section 2:
Obesity is, without doubt, one of the 21st century's biggest medical issues (12).
Unfortunately, the epidemic is disproportionately impacting on children and adolescents. Ten
percent of school children in the world have a body weight that is more than a healthy level,
and one-quarter of those children are obese. Every fifth school child in Europe has excess
body weight. The extra body fat found to be the result of genetic causes, endocrine disorders,
or certain medications habits. In addition to that, "simple obesity" is the most prevalent result
of consuming food items with extreme energy relative to energy expenditure (12).
Theories of health behavior are helpful when understanding the eating patterns of
teenagers. Research shows the theories primarily describes that food consumption is the
expected behavior, and the social cognitive theories are motivated by determinants of social
and psychological structure. Support of beneficial interactions between social cognitive
buildings and plants, herbs, milk classes, and whole-wheat foods has been found with the
negative association of sugar-overloaded foods, cold drinks, high in fat or oil sweets, fructose
and/or salt, and sweet treats (14). Health behavior theories are helpful in evaluating the
dietary behavior of a child, giving adequate knowledge to understand and draw intervention
methods. There is proof that theories are guided by social as well as the psychological
determinants, and that the theory is focused on the mechanism of self-regulation and how
various social cognitive factors are correlated with eating behaviors (19).
Today's lifestyle, which includes physical activity, an energy-rich diet, and a
sedentary lifestyle, are the primary causes of an accumulation of excess body fat. Children
consume an excess of calories because of improper eating behaviors, and their diet has
deficiencies in the elements required to grow properly. Examples of these poor eating habits
like snacking heavily refined and high-calorie snacks between meals consumed sitting in
front of the TV screen, skipping breakfasts, consuming sugar-sweetened drinks, often "eating

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out" and "emotional feeding." Bad eating habits are key factors influencing the growth
of obesity. In early childhood, eating habits are typically established and a very significant
role played by the parents in the habit development (3).
An average child spends 93 percent of their lunchtime watching TV and 97 percent of
their time in front of a TV screen; they consume unhealthy snacks. Watching TV during
eating enhances a child's consumption of food, mostly the intake of soft drinks, fast foods,
and snacks. The consumption of calories is 175 kcal higher in women who has a habit of
watch TV for more than five hours a day than boys. Claims states that the incidence of
obesity was greater among a community of children who are habituated of watching TV for
more hours a day (3).
The frequency of obesity in children has shown that the frequency of meals is
inversely linked to obesity in children but also in adults. In children, one more predominant
reason for obesity due to improper dietary frequency. It is found that children who intake a
small number of meals more frequently re less obese than the children eating a less frequent
but large amount of meals. The reason behind that may be the high amount of insulin
secretion in frequent high meals. Carbohydrates, including a monosaccharide, such as
glucose and fructose applied to non-alcoholic drinks, are associated with obesity prevalence.
The energy intake by these sugary drinks is more than 100%, whereas The World Health
Organization advises that the level of monosaccharide in a normal diet should not reach more
than 10 percent. A very common eating behavior in children is the huge intake of sugar-
sweetened drinks (18). Quite much, even toddlers get used to consuming sugared fruit juices.
Most evidence points to the correlation between artificial sugar based drink intake and
healthy energy imbalance, adding to the growth of obesity. Some scholars also claim that
sugar-sweetened drinks raise the appetite and boost food intake, even further leading the
consumption of extra calories and accumulation of them in the body. So-called fast food is