Tackling Obesity in Children: Initiatives and Suggestions

The assignment focuses upon obesity management in children through adopting healthy lifestyle. Some of the approaches which had been taken over here are educating the children and their respective families regarding the importance of healthy diet and exercises. Subject: Health, Course Code: NA, Course Name: NA, College/University: NA

Running head: TACKLING OBESITY
Tackling Obesity
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Summary..........................................................................................................................................2
2.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................2
3.1 Recent initiative of raising healthier kids (refer to appemdix1 and appendix 3)......................2
4.0 Suggestions on the best way to enhancece towards the accomplishment of this objective:......3
4.1 Systems to promote easier access to healthier foods.................................................................3
4.2 communities need to improve on putting up more supermarkets in the rural areas as well......4
4.3 communities should be encouraged to purchase foods directly from the farms........................5
4.4 Government Should Enhance Infrastructure that supports Walking (refer to appendix 2).......5
4.5 Techniques to Encourage Communities to Organize for Change.............................................6
5.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................6
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................7
Appendix 1.......................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 2.......................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 3.....................................................................................................................................10

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Summary
The assignment focuses upon obesity management in children through adopting healthy
lifestyle. Some of the approaches which had been taken over here are educating the children and
their respective families regarding the importance of healthy diet and exercises. Some of the
initiatives from the local government such as free access to fresh and farm grown foods,
providing suitable infrastructure for encouraging active, lifestyle have been discussed through
the assignment. On the whole change in attitude and belief could only be brought about through
sufficient education and community support.
2.0 Introduction
The current assignment focuses on the concept of obesity management in kids through a
number of implementation programs. Obesity has been the problem of the hour and has been
adversely affecting the health of all age groups across the globe. The current assignment
however focuses upon the young age group who had been predominantly affected with obesity
owing to their lifestyle and food habits. Some of the current trends have been highlighted
through the assignment which impacts upon the overall health of the growing children. The
assignment focuses upon the initiatives for raising healthier kids through controlling obesity. For
the purpose of which there is a need to increase free access to healthier diets.
3.1 Recent initiative of raising healthier kids (refer to appemdix1 and appendix 3)
There has been a lot of work on the global frontier for obesity control and management in
young kids. Random checks and assessment programs have been run in schools to identify the
overweight or obese kids. These kids are further undergone thorough health checkups for
analysis of associated health complications. In this regards, the New Zealand government has
launched a B4 school check in the Bay of Plenty area, which is a nationwide programme for
identification and addressing the health, behavioural , social and developmental concerns which
has a strong influence in shaping up the well being and overall personality of a child (Roberto,
(2015))

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One of the prime objectives listed under the B4 school programme is obesity
management in young kids. Under this the children 95 % obese children were offered referral
through clinical trials, where they were subjected to further intervention through active lifestyle
changes and incorporation of healthy diet. The B4 school campaign is repeated at an interval of
very six months and the figures are reported to the respective government channels and
authorities responsible for providing interim solutions to the problem.
4.0 Suggestions on the best way to enhancece towards the accomplishment of this objective:
The problem of obesity is much widespread and can have much deleterious effect on the
life of an individual. Obesity often comes along with huge number complications. Though the
effect is much pronounced physically, there are wide scale emotional consequences too
(Fitzpatrick, 2017). The obese kids have been seen to develop associated health complications
such as respiratory disorders and hormonal complications. The obese condition in children has
been often related to hormonal disorders which are much pronounced in case of girl child.
In this regard, the lifestyle changes through incorporation of sufficient number of
exercises in the daily routine of the child can be beneficial. Additionally, incorporation of fresh
fruits and vegetables in the diet of the children could help in controlling the bad cholesterol.
Moreover, some of the bright coloured fruits are rich source of antioxidant and has repairing
properties (Anderson, 2016).
Health education plays a significant role in this aspect b helping in removing the myths
and false beliefs possessed by the family members of the obese children. Sometimes the parents
of the children are of the mentality that their child is not obese but healthy (Swinburn, 2013).
These wrong ideologies could only be removed through sufficient health education and
monitoring by active health channels and community networks.
4.1 Systems to promote easier access to healthier foods
The accesses to healthier foods need to be promoted on a community wide basis with the
help of local and federal level government. Healthy eating can improve the health standards of
the community as a whole. Eating healthy foods promote economic development by reducing the

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charges spent in community wide unnecessary hospital administration (Kelly, 2015). Healthy
eating could be correlated with strong immunity and better resilience.
Some of the effective measures which could be followed over here for improving the
access to healthier have been discussed thoroughly over here. In this respect, development of a
local food network, conducting regular assessment of local food can promote the access to
healthier food. The local and federal government of New Zealand has introduced a concept
known as Knowledge garden (Hayes, 2014). The ideology behind such initiative is to develop
sufficient sustainability framing skills within the community. Here, the local people are taught
regarding the methods and process of growing healthy fruits and vegetables in their kitchen
gardens through vegetative propagation and organic farming. Additionally, organising ‘buy
local’ campaign by the government through highlighting the positive effects of eating healthy
could be a much appreciated step forward (Vandevijvere, 2014).
4.2 communities need to improve on putting up more supermarkets in the rural areas as
well.
The local residents of the Bay of Plenty Area should be encouraged to participate in
such campaigns by educating them regarding the ill effects of obesity on long term health and the
impact of healthy eating in controlling and management of the same. One of the approaches
which could be undertaken over here is setting up of more number of supermarkets in the rural
areas.
Studies and evidences have shown that majority of the population are residing in the rural
areas. This also includes the Maori group of people which is an indigenous group settled in the
interior parts of New Zealand and are often denied the basic services such as health services,
education among others.
Additionally, the language typical of the community isolates them from the rest of the
population restricting their access to the supermarkets. According to NZ statistics 17% of Maori
children are obese as compared to 8% of Non-Maori children. This ratio becomes triple in most
deprived areas. Therefore, educating the indigenous community regarding the health benefits of
eating fresh fruits and vegetables along with supporting them to set up their own food outlets can

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be a progressive step ahead (Sabin, 2015). Additionally provision of food at nominal prices can
attract a huge base of target customers.
4.3 communities should be encouraged to purchase foods directly from the farms
The local residents should be encouraged to collect their foods directly from the farms.
This could be reducing a lot of time as well as additional charges vested in the setting up of
supermarkets. The same could be promoted by the state and federal level government by
promoting active workshops along with the schools. Under the B4 school program the New
Zealand government in collaboration with the school conduct active workshops where the
children are educated regarding the benefits of healthy eating and the nutritional quotient of each
and every vegetable (Malakellis, 2017). The program also includes details regarding effective
weight management through self care.
The initiative could be discussed with the parents and they could be asked to take their
children to the farms and educate them more regarding the health benefits of eating healthy. The
participation in these programs could be further appraised through provision of small gifts.
Therefore such practices undertaken could generate sufficient interests and knowledge within the
community regarding health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased right through the
farm than processed food and vegetables.
4.4 Government Should Enhance Infrastructure that supports Walking (refer to appendix
2)
The New Zealand government has recently focussed upon walking infrastructure to
promote active lifestyle within the community. Statistical reports and analysis has shown that
one out of 4 children in NZ is obese and suffering from a number of a number of health
complications. Some of these are fatigue in performing in simple and basic tasks or activities
such as running, jogging, lifting objects from one place to another. Health reports and medical
surveys through randomised control trials in the Bay of Plenty area of New Zealand have pointed
out that 25 out of the focus group consisting of 137 children reported hyperthyroidism, hormonal
disorders and asthmatic conditions (Dodd, 2014). Therefore, in order to provide the children with

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healthy alternatives the government has initiated a project where wider footpaths and pavements
are made to promote brisk walking and cycling activities in the children.
The heavy traffic on the roads often delimits the children from cycling over there. Therefore, the
lack of activities and the sedentary lifestyle of the children often contribute towards increasing
the rate of obesity in the children.
4.5 Techniques to Encourage Communities to Organize for Change
Some of the techniques which could be applied by the community for bringing about a
change in the present health status of an individual are organizing workshops in schools. This
could be a means of educating the children and their parents regarding the benefits of healthy
eating. Some of the change movements which could be brought about by the government in this
regard include organizing health and activity sessions such as community wide running
programmes where both the children and their parents are encouraged to participate and are
appreciated through provision of gifts. Additionally, free access to fresh food and increasing the
number of distribution channels can reduce the dependency on readymade foods (Gendall, 2015).
5.0 Conclusion
There has been a drastic rise in the consumption of oil rich fast foods or junk foods and
preserved foods. These are high on the cholesterol content which adds on the excess of adipose
tissue leading to obesity. The obesity have been resulting in vast number of health related issues
in the children ranging from diabetes, hormonal disorders, respiratory and cardiovascular issues,
fatigue. Therefore, a number of intervention methods and approaches could be followed for
providing the children with alternative strategies for obesity control and management. Some of
these are lifestyle changes, healthy diet plan, educating the children and their respective families.

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Bibliography
Anderson, Y. C. (2016). Dietary intake and eating behaviours of obese New Zealand children
and adolescents enrolled in a community-based intervention programme. 25-55.
Dodd, J. M. (2014). The effects of antenatal dietary and lifestyle advice for women who are
overweight or obese on neonatal health outcomes. BMC Medicine(1) , 163.
Fitzpatrick, K. &. (2017). Critical health education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Sport, Education
and Society, 22(5), , 552-568.
Gendall, P. H.‐S. (2015). Should support for obesity interventions or perceptions of their
perceived effectiveness shape policy?. , . Australian and New Zealand journal of public
health, 39(2) , 172-176.
Hayes, A. L. (2014). Economic evaluation of “healthy beginnings” an early childhood
intervention to prevent obesity. Obesity, 22(7), , 1709-1715.
Kelly, S. &. (2015). Childhood obesity in New Zealand. The New Zealand medical journal,
128(1417), , 6-7.
Malakellis, M. H. (2017). School‐based systems change for obesity prevention in adolescents:
outcomes of the Australian Capital Territory ‘It's Your Move! 490-496.
Roberto, C. A. ( (2015)). Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched
barriers, and new thinking. The Lancet, 385(9985), , 2400-2409.
Sabin, M. A. (2015). Childhood obesity: Current and novel approaches. Best Practice &
Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 29(3 , 327-338.

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Swinburn, B. &. (2013). Progress on obesity prevention over 20 years in Australia and New
Zealand. Obesity Reviews, 14(S2), , 60-68.
Vandevijvere, S. &. (2014). Reducing childhood overweight and obesity in New Zealand
through setting a clear and achievable target. NZ Med J, 127(1406), , 10-15.

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Appendix 1
Child Obesity (2-14 year old obese)
2006/07 2011-14 Change
BOP
NZ
NA
8.3%
8.6%
10.4%
-
2.1%
Appendix 2
Usually watched 2+ hours TV daily (2-14 years) (NO physical activity)
2011/14 Totally Boys Girls

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BOP
NZ
57.6%
51.6%
55.1%
51.2%
60.5%
51.9%
Appendix 3
NZ Health Survey
Body sizes of children Proportion of 4 years old
Under weight 0.5%
Normal weight 78.2%
Over weight 13.8%
Obese 4.0%

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Extremely obese 3.5%
SOURCE: NZ STATS 2006/07 and 2011/14