Childhood Obesity in Rural Queensland Aboriginal Children

This project examines the critical issue of childhood obesity among Aboriginal children in rural Queensland, Australia. It begins by presenting the current state of the problem, highlighting the disproportionate impact on this demographic and the contributing factors such as socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and lack of physical activity. The project then delves into the impacts of childhood obesity at individual, community, and population levels, detailing health consequences for children, increased burden on healthcare facilities, and broader implications for the overall health of Queensland. Key areas for intervention are identified, including education, access to services, and community-based programs. Finally, the project proposes a community-level action plan focusing on awareness programs, healthy eating education, and physical activity initiatives to combat childhood obesity and improve health outcomes within this vulnerable population.

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The issue of overweight and obesity is one of the serious problems
for most of the countries around the world and Australia is not at all
different from them. The rate of obesity and overweight among the
children is enhancing day by day in Australia. According to the data
of Australian Bureau of Statistics, it can be stated that the rate of
obesity and overweight is high among the children and adolescents
of the country. While discussing about the state and territory based
obesity and overweight among the children, it can be stated that the
condition of Queensland is a major area of concern for the
government as the rate is enhancing day by day (Queensland
Health, 2018). According to the study of Sherriff et al. (2019),
childhood obesity under the age group of 2-15 years has become a
huge burden for Australia and it is estimated that almost 1 out of 4
children is affected by the problem of obesity and overweight in the
country. Therefore, the uneven nature of distribution of this problem
has enhance the severity of this problem as well. In this context, it
can be stated that the burden of this problem is impacting the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children than that of the non-
Indigenous Australians. The problem of obesity and overweight is
the second highest contributor of the health gap in between the
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of the society.
Effect of Childhood Obesity
Effect on the Children
The effect of childhood obesity on the children itself is not at all good
and it can cause long term disease condition among the children. It is
stated that the period of childhood is the ultimate time to develop
healthy habits and behaviors for maintaining a healthy life in the
upcoming future. As a health effect of obesity on the children, it can be
stated that the obese children have higher risks of breathing problems,
hypertensions, fractures, insulin resistance, and along with this, it is
also true that the issue of childhood obesity is an early indicator of
cardiovascular disease. From the health report of Queensland Health
Department, it can be stated that the in the year of 2014-15, children
under the specified age group, reported about asthma or shortness of
breath (Almost 11 per cent children), 6.3 per cent of children reported
about the food related allergies, 2.3 per cent children reported about
the behavioral problem, cognitive development problem. Moreover,
lower socioeconomic condition of the children makes the condition
more difficult as the quality of life is again hampered due to the disease
burden (Queensland Health, 2016).
Effect on Community
While discussing about the impact of obesity and overweight on the
community people it can be stated that this problem is enhancing the
burden of the health care facilities. For example, it can be stated that
the children under the specified age group, made 4.8 visits to a GP in
2016 (2-4 years) and in case of 5-14 year old, this rate was almost 2.5
visits in 2016-17 and it was reported that the increase in the GP visit is
almost 6.3 per cent in Queensland for the children. The hospitalization
rate for asthma was a little high in Queensland and it is one of the
leading cause of hospitalization (Queensland Health, 2018).
Effect on Wider Population
While discussing about the effect of obesity and overweight on the
wider population, it can be stated that the disease condition has huge
impact on the overall health condition of the Australia and it is
increasing the overall disease burden of the country as well. In other
words, it can be stated that the issue of childhood obesity is
contributing to the young adults’ obesity rate and as a consequence of
this the issue of chronic diseases are increasing among the young
adults of the country. For example, it can be stated that due to the
enhance rate of obesity chances of developing heart diseases are also
enhancing and the overall mortality rate of the country is amplifying
(Queensland Health, 2018).
Action Plan
Obesity among Children of Queensland
References
Leslie, E., Magarey, A., Olds, T., Ratcliffe, J., Jones, M., & Cobiac,
L. (2015). Community-based obesity prevention in Australia:
background, methods and recruitment outcomes for the evaluation
of the effectiveness of OPAL (Obesity Prevention and
Lifestyle. Adv Pediatr Res, 2(23), 23.
Queensland Government (2016). Health disparities in Queensland
children. Queensland Government. Retrieved from-
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/research-reports/reports/public-healt
h/cho-report/2016
[Accessed on 3rd April 2020]
Queensland Government (2020). Dieting and Weight Management.
Queensland Government. Retrieved from-
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/staying-healthy/diet-nutrition/diet
[Accessed on 3rd April 2020]
Queensland Health (2016). Closing the gap performance report
2015. State of Queensland. Retrieved from-
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/153861/
closing-gap-2015.pdf
[Accessed on 3rd April 2020]
Queensland Health (2018). The health of Queenslanders 2018:
Report of the Chief Health Officer Queensland. Queensland
Government. Retrieved from-
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0032/732794/
cho-report-2018-full.pdf
[Accessed on 3rd April 2020]
Sherriff, S. L., Baur, L., Lambert, M. G., Dickson, M., Eades, S. J.,
& Muthayya, S. (2019). Aboriginal childhood overweight and
obesity: the need for Aboriginal designed and led initiatives. Public
Health Research & Practice, 29(4).
While discussing about the action plans regarding reducing childhood
obesity targeting towards a specific area, it can be stated that the main
goal of the plan should be targeted towards community level
improvement so that the problem can be reduced at source. In this
context, the action plan will target the issue of education level
enhancement so that the parents of the children can guide themselves
towards a healthy life style.
As a part of this, the government and the local authorities can design
awareness program at the community level and all the people should
take part in the community. As a part of the program, a 2-3 days
awareness program should be arranged and training on healthy eating
practices, physical activity program should be provided to the people
(Leslie et al., 2015). Therefore, it may possible that after attending this
program, children may develop the healthy eating behaviors, regular
physical activity program and it may help in the overall improvement of
the obesity condition (Queensland Government, 2020).
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that the condition of Queensland is a major
area of concern for the government as the rate of obesity is enhancing.
The high rate of obesity condition is associated with various health
related problems and along with this the condition also enhance the
overall burden of health. In order to improve the condition, community
level education program can be recommended.
Introduction
Source- Sheriff et al. (2019)
Childhood Obesity in Queensland
While discussing about the childhood obesity in Queensland,
it can be stated that children living rural areas of Queensland
are more affected by the issues of obesity and overweight.
From the data of Queensland Government, it was observed
that in the year of 2016, the children under the age group of
5-17 years almost 7 per cent or 59000 children were affected.
On the other hand, 19 per cent or 158,000 children under the
same age group were affected by over weight. However, this
report stated that the condition of overweight and obesity is
not dependent on remoteness (Queensland Health, 2018).
Key Areas Related to the Condition
While discussing about the key factors associated with the issue of
obesity among the children in Queensland, it can be stated that there
are a few areas which are contributing towards the high rate of
obesity among the Indigenous Queenslander people. The key areas
are as below-
• Living in rural and remote areas reduces the accessibility of the
health care services
• Poor socioeconomic status of the people also restrict them to
access the healthy lifestyle
• Lack of proper education and knowledge regarding healthy
lifestyle. Modification in the above said areas will help to reduce
the burden from overall population (Queensland Health, 2018).
• Lack of empowerment of the Aboriginal people in the obesity
intervention and thus the knowledge gap is widening Modification
in this area will help to reduce the burden on community level.
• Lack of physical activity among the children suffering from the
condition. Modification in this area will help to reduce the burden
on individual level (Queensland Government, 2016).
Source- Queensland Government