Report on Rising Concern of Childhood Obesity

Running head: RISING CONCERN OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN
RISING CONCERN OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN
Name of the Student
Name of the Author
Author Note

1RISING CONCERN OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN
Executive Summary
Childhood obesity is a serious concern that has gripped the entire world. This report describes the
rising concern of childhood obesity in the Maldivian context. Various factors can give rise to
childhood obesity. This report provides information about the extent of the problem and describes
the planning of an awareness program to be carried out to educate the people of Maldives about the
severity of the problem at hand. It provides the aims and objectives for the program, a time plan
chart and also provides the outcomes and the barriers associated with the program planning.
Finally, recommendations are provided for further initiatives.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background/Justification.................................................................................................................4
Aims and Objectives........................................................................................................................6
Plan of Activities.............................................................................................................................7
Important Activities and their outcomes......................................................................................7
Time Plan.....................................................................................................................................8
Success/Outcomes.........................................................................................................................13
Barriers/Shortcomings...................................................................................................................13
Recommendations/Conclusions.....................................................................................................14
Reference List................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
A complex health concern associated with children is obesity. This occurs when children
are above their normal weight according to their height and age (Kelly et al., 2013). Behavior is
one such factor that is responsible for obesity in children. Behaviors that results in excess weight
gain in children include sweetened foods and beverages, high-calorie diets, lack of exercise or
physical activity, among others (Prentice-Dunn & Prentice-Dunn, 2012).
Obesity is caused because of excessive accumulation of fat that impairs health. It is the
result of enhancement of size and quantity of fat cells in the body of the children (Chamorro-
García et al., 2013). Childhood obesity has reached the crisis stage in the present world
particularly, the urban areas of low and middle-income countries. Maldives is one such country
that is facing the crisis of increased cases of childhood obesity (Tzioumis & Adair, 2014). Culture
and community also plays a role in the development of obesity in children. Environments that do
not support healthy choices and food habits can also induce obesity development in children.
Obesity in children can give rise to serious health concerns in the future (Sahoo et al., 2015).
This report provides a proposal plan aimed to address the increased cases of childhood
obesity around the World concentrating primarily on Maldives. It provides a background of the
concern, aims and objectives, plan of activities, the success or outcomes of the project, the barriers
and problems associated with the project and finally provide recommendations to prevent or
reduce the rate of obesity cases in children.

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Background/Justification
Nutritional disorders give rise to obesity in children. It is highly prevalent in the United
States of America (USA). It is estimated that on the average, 21-24% of children in America are
overweight, while 16-18% is obese (Emedicine.medscape.com, 2017). The National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has reported the increased number of obesity cases in
various age groups of children (Www.cdc.gov, 2017). Children are considered either overweight
or obese or morbidly obese, when their weights exceed by 20%, 50% and above 80%, respectively
with respect to their height (Cole & Lobstein, 2012).
Poor lifestyle choices like low or negligible physical activity are found to be the reason for
developing obesity in children who are aged between 6-15 years. This is particularly the case in the
urban populations as compared to the rural populations. However, one study indicates that obesity
cases are higher in rural than the urban communities in USA. This are due to large distances from
their homes to the physical activity centers; lack of transportation, financial concerns prevents
making healthy eating choices and lack of access to healthcare facilities (Hill, You & Zoellner,
2014).
It has been reported that in USA, the children consume 20% and 26% of the total daily
energy needs on weekdays and weekends, respectively. According to researches done in China and
Japan, the children who consume food at a faster rate are more likely to develop obesity (Okubo et
al., 2017). Apart from USA, in Netherlands, significant number of childhood obesity cases have
also been reported (Sterkenburg et al., 2015). In developed countries, children lead a sedentary
lifestyle, primarily engaging themselves in watching television and these behaviors are taken up by
children whose families have migrated to these countries (Ferguson et al., 2017).

5RISING CONCERN OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN
Childhood obesity in children can give rise to serious health concerns like cardiovascular
diseases, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, liver problems, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, cancer,
mental illness and premature death. The World Health Organization has reported that an alarming
number of children of ages below 5 years are found to be obese and also indicated that it is one of
the serious health concerns of the twenty first century (Www.who.int, 2017).
The Maldives National Nutrition conference indicated that childhood obesity is one of the
serious and growing health concerns in Maldives. A population based survey in Maldives revealed
that females are more affected by obesity than males. Approximately, 14.5% women were found to
be obese when compared to only 8.6% of the men. The Health Protection Agency revealed that
childhood obesity rates have doubled from 2009 to 2015 in Maldives (Www.searo.who.int, 2017).
Reports reveal that approximately 65% of the world population die from obesity related
issues than from malnutrition. In various South Asian countries like Maldives, obesity is increasing
at a rapid rate among children. According to the World Health Organization, obesity related
diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and mental disorders are the major concern
of high mortality rates in South Asian countries and it is estimated to increase by 2030
(Www.unicef.org, 2017). It is necessary to prevent such increased cases of childhood obesity by
carrying out action based plans. These plans should be directed towards the parents, where they
should be informed about the risks associated with childhood obesity. Moreover, it is also
necessary to make them aware about the damaging effects of high calorie rich foods and what
impact they have on the lives of their children. It is also necessary to inform them about the
importance of physical activity in adults as well as in children. Children being the future of a
country, it is necessary to preserve their health in order to prevent development of serious health

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outcomes in the adult life. Necessary intervention programs are needed to spread awareness among
individuals about the risks associated with childhood obesity.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of a program proposal for addressing childhood obesity is the exploration of
causes, complications, prevalence and prevention strategies associated with childhood obesity. The
aim is also to raise awareness among individuals throughout the World and Maldives in particular.
The objectives of a program proposal regarding prevention of childhood obesity is the
identification of childhood obesity causes, prevalence, prevention strategies and developing
awareness programs to educate the public about the serious consequences associated with
childhood obesity. The objective of the program should also address the obesity concerns from a
rural population perspective and the various measures to overcome increased obesity rates among
the rural communities.
Plan of Activities
Important Activities and their outcomes
Planning of the activities required to carry out a successful awareness program is highly
essential. The main activities are identification of the causes of obesity in children like high intake
of calorie rich foods, lack of physical activity, among others. Other activities involve determining
the prevalence of childhood obesity in Maldives and the World as a whole, identification of
prevention strategies and raising awareness among the children as well as their parents. The
prevalence of childhood obesity can be obtained from various organization websites like the World
Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Health Protection Agency (HPA).

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The necessary prevention strategies like encouraging the consumption of healthy foods, increase in
physical activity, limitation of sedentary lifestyles, among others are to be included in the activity
chart. Moreover, the individuals should be educated about the E-learning services that will enable
them to carry out physical activities and learn about the components required to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. Other intervention strategies can be the appointment of physicians, nurses, dieticians,
among others. However, the most important part of the activities is raising awareness about
childhood obesity, educating the parents and children about the future outcomes associated with
obesity. Moreover, it also necessary to educate the rural people about healthy living. Schools
should also be educated about the importance of healthy foods in the canteens and physical activity
classes. These can be brought about by distributing leaflets and pamphlets to the individuals.
Moreover, major healthcare facilities can organize healthcare programs for this purpose. This will
help to attract a larger audience for the awareness program.
Time Plan
It is necessary to create a time plan in order to carry out the awareness program in a
categorical manner. A 15 weeks awareness program is planned consisting of planning the
necessary activities, finalizing them and carrying out the prevention/intervention strategies. The
causes, prevalence, prevention strategies and planning of the awareness program are carried out in
the first week. A research proposal is to be prepared and sent to the healthcare professionals and
stakeholders to obtain their views about the planning. After obtaining feedback, the
implementation of the strategies can be carried out from the third week to the ninth week. An
interim report is to be sent to the officials to gain feedback about the progress of the program. They
will determine , whether the program will continue or not. After their feedback, awareness
programs and health camps can be carried out in the eleventh and twelfth weeks. Final report is to

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be sent to the officials and stakeholders for their final evaluation. Lastly, in the final weeks,
questionnaires can be provided to the people, to determine how much information they have
gained and what their views about this awareness program are.
The original plan included only the designing of the program and its time plan, but the
revised plan includes the time plan for the fulfillment of the objectives as well. The revised plan is
provided in a table format as shown below. The original plan is provided in the Appendix and the
snapshot is provided for reference.
Original Plan

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Revised plan
Plans/Time (in weeks) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Evaluation
Activities/Objectives
1. Determination of
childhood obesity causes
in Maldives
Help to determine the
causes: lifestyle,
behavioral, environmental
and genetic
2. Prevalence of childhood
obesity in Maldives
Help to determine the
extent of the problem and
the severity
3. Determining prevention
strategies
Determination of
necessary prevention
strategies for their
implementation
4. Planning awareness
programs
Determination of the
causes and extent of the
problem and identification
of prevention strategies
will help in proper
planning of awareness
program
Prepare research proposal
for obtaining feedbacks
from doctors, healthcare
officials and stakeholders
Feedback from
professional will help
to determine the
efficacy of the
activities planned
Implementation of
prevention strategies and
awareness program
1. Physical activities
program
Engage the children in
physical activities in order

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to inculcate the
importance of exercise for
healthy living
2. Health programs
regarding food habits of
both urban and rural
areas
Programs carried out by
doctors and nutritionists to
create awareness among
parents and children about
healthy eating at
affordable prices
3. Health programs in
schools of both urban
and rural areas
To inculcate the
importance of healthy
foods and to ensure that
nutritious foods are
available in school
canteens
Interim report to officials
and stakeholders for
feedback
Feedback is
necessary from
officials and
stakeholders
determine the
progress of the
program, so that they
can continue the
funding for further
progress
Awareness programs and
health camps in both
urban and rural areas
Healthcare programs
by healthcare
professionals will
help to educate the
people about the

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causes and the extent
of childhood obesity,
inform them about
the importance of
physical activities in
schools and in homes,
inform about the
importance of
healthy eating at
affordable prices
Final report sent to officials
and stakeholders for
feedback about program
success
Final report sent to
the professional and
stakeholders
(funders) to obtain
their evaluation
about the success of
the program
Questionnaires about
public evaluation of the
program
Questionnaires can
be given to the public
to determine whether
such an awareness
program was
beneficial to them or
not

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Success/Outcomes
The success of the program will depend on thorough research about the growing incidence
of childhood obesity in Maldives, the causes and the necessary prevention strategies. Moreover,
the success is also based on the involvement of healthcare officials and stakeholders who can
provide resources and funding for the intervention strategies. The outcome of such a program will
be: enhanced knowledge about the growing problems of childhood obesity, intervention strategies
and awareness programs will enhance the knowledge of the common people about the necessary
causes, risks and prevention measures in relation to childhood obesity. Moreover, with the
involvement of stakeholders and healthcare officials necessary funding and expertise will be
available, which will help in the development of healthcare centers, medical facilities and even
transportation measures, especially for the individuals living in the rural areas. Such strategies will
help not only the urban population but also the rural people in participating in the healthcare and
awareness programs carried out by the healthcare officials. Moreover, it will also help the rural
population to carry out exercises in the healthcare centers, while transportation facilities can enable
them to participate in awareness programs in the urban areas. The final outcome of the program
will be increased knowledge and subsequently decrease in the number of childhood obesity cases
in Maldives.
Barriers/Shortcomings
The barriers to the program may include the lack of time and money in association with
carrying out physical activities. Rural people particularly face this problem. The large distances of
their homes to the physical activity centers and lack of transportation prevents them to engage in
such physical activity programs. Moreover, poverty is also an issue, as they cannot spend large
amounts of money in consulting nutritionists and adopting healthy feeding habits. Moreover, lack

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of education can also act as a barrier between the people and the program. Finally funding can be
an issue, as proper funding of a program is needed to implement prevention strategies. If the
stakeholders are not convinced with the issue at hand, they may not provide proper funding
(Schalkwijk et al., 2016).
Recommendations/Conclusions
Measures taken during childhood can act as the stepping-stone for a healthy and successful
future. Schools need to provide health learning, promote the importance of eating healthy and
balanced diets and the importance of physical activities. The school canteens can provide healthy,
nutritious foods at affordable prices. Moreover, physical activities should be made mandatory in
schools and every day one hour should be allocated for students to carry out physical activities like
yoga and other freehand exercises. Healthcare programs are needed to educate the parents about
making good food choices within their budget. Moreover, transportation facilities should be
provided in the rural areas for their access to physical activity centers in the cities. Additionally,
physical activity centers can be built in rural areas also to facilitate the children in carrying out
various exercises that would improve their health (Heath et al., 2012). It is also necessary to carry
out public monitoring programs to monitor the health of the children as well as adults. Health
camps can be carried out in rural areas, where healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses and
nutritionists can participate and monitor the health of the children, their weights, their level of
physical activities and the type of foods consumed by them. Lack of education gives rise to
ignorance and it is a concern, particularly in the rural areas, so necessary actions should be taken
by the Government to set up schools in the rural areas. Thus, it is necessary for the Government to
take necessary steps in order to prevent the rise of childhood obesity in Maldives.

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15RISING CONCERN OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN
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