Genetic, Social and Environmental Factors Affecting Child Obesity - Essay Example

hildhооd оbеsity disсussiоn рареr Name Institution Course Date Obesity is a term used to refer to any excessive amount body fat in an individual. Since the turn of the new century, child obesity has been on the rise. Most people blame parents for this scenario, but are they responsible? One underlying factor that leads to obesity is the consumption of more calories than the body can burn (Smith 1999). Many people point to environmental, social, genetics, illnesses and medications as causes of child obesity. However, these are only risk factors and not causes. The factors only serve to increase the chances of a child becoming obese. This paper looks at the environmental and genetic risk factors that increase the chances of a child becoming obese. The paper also looks to shield parents from the blame that they are responsible for their children’s obesity. Genetics and the environment do not directly cause obesity in children. However, both factors are closely related to child obesity because they increase the risk of child obesity. If a child can burn all the calories they consume, then we can say that the child has good genetics. Their rate of daily metabolism is much higher than that of a normal person. Researchers say that the increase in the rate of child obesity is because of environmental changes that have taken place in the last decade. This includes food availability and the reduction of child physical activity. Reduction in physical activities means that the child will burn fewer calories than he or she is consuming; ultimately leading to obesity. The environment and Child obesity Home, school, community and childcare environments affect food consumption and physical activity. These environments affect the lifestyles that children live. The home environment and family relationships influence the behavior of children therefore directly influencing the rate of calorie consumption and burning. At home, parents and older siblings are role models for children. Being copycats, children will copy their parent’s habits. The shift towards snacks and take away foods in the modern homes lead to obesity (Sallis & Glanz 2006). The home environment provides the perfect environment to learn about nutrition. However, parents are doing very little to teach their children on nutrition issues. Beliefs and habits on food selection and use of leisure time are factors that influence child obesity (McMurray 2007). Excessive watching of television and playing of video games are agents of child obesity. Child who are addicted to video games increase their calorie intake by taking snacks and other junk foods, while at the same time reducing their rate of physical activity. These kids no longer go to the community center to play with their fellow children (GrBich 1999). More than fifty percent of television advertisements now focus on junk foods. A child who is constantly on the TV will no doubt be watching them. Watching television also reduces the rate of physical activity of the child (Sallis & Glanz 2006). The home environment in which a child grows forms the child’s microsystem environment (Kearn 2010). Most of working mothers leave their children with childcare providers. On average, these children spend 50 hours in childcare every week. Childcare is an important setting that reduces the chances of child obesity. Children are playful in nature, especially in the company of other children (Cameron 2006). Childcare homes provide healthy eating habits and useful physical activity for children under their care. This is part of a child’s microsystem (Kearn 2010) mentioned in the prior above. The community in which we live also plays a significant role in shaping up the perceptions and habits that lead to child obesity. The community forms the child’s exosystem according to Bronfenbrenner (Kearn 2010). This environment determines the access that children have to physical activities (Sallis & Glanz 2006). It also influences the access to healthy and affordable foods. A community with secure sidewalks and bike paths encourage children to walk and bike while going to school (Sallis & Glanz 2006). On the contrary, a community without these forces parents to drive their kids to school or take the school bus. A community without a community center or a community park where parents can go for a walk with their children limits the physical activity of the children (Sallis & Glanz 2006). The presence of cheap and affordable fast foods in a community is an obstacle to healthy eating. Schools play an important role in child obesity. Physical education and nutrition is a prerequisite of many curriculums across the globe. Schools also provide other opportunities that encourage physical activity such as health related fitness programs and after school sports. Nutrition education gives the school-going children the needed tools to make informed health choices (Hills 2005). These choices aid already obese children in mitigating the effects of child obesity. Eating and physical exercise habits are harder to change, as a person grows older. It is important that children have the best nutrition and exercises programs from a young age. Bronfenbrenner places the relationship between scholl and home for kids as the mesosystem (Kearn 2010) Public schools offering discounted or free food programs may lead to high calorie intake especially for children from low-income. Most of these school meals exceed the fat contents limits set by the relevant authorities (Sallis & Glanz 2006). This is because most schools aim at keeping the students happy by providing fatty and sweet foods as a way of providing a serene learning environment. Snack bars and vending machines in schools also increase the risk of child obesity. Genetics According to Kearnes (2010), heredity influences the following aspects in a child’s development: intelligence, gender traits, personality and physical attributes. Genes affect a large number of chemical processes in our bodies that are weight related. Metabolism of blood glucose, fat storage, metabolic rate all have a linkage to a person’s genetic composition. A child genetic composition can lead to child obesity especially in conjunction with the environmental factors discussed in the above section. However, this does not mean that genetic factors do not contribute to child obesity on their own. Genetic disorders such as Cushing’s syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome directly lead to obesity (GrBich 1999). Hereditary factors control body fat distribution, fatness and effects of overeating. Studies show that children of obese parents have a higher risk of being obese than other children. Children with certain genetic composition have mechanisms that make fat storage easy. The downside of this scenario is that the children cannot do anything to change their genetic composition. However, they can take several measures to prevent obesity. Children who are prone to obesity should avoid unhygienic eating habits and any sedentary lifestyles. Constant physical exercise should be mandatory for them. However, the genetic composition of the human race has changed minimally over the last decade while the rate of child obesity has surged upwards at an alarming rate. Twenty percent of children in America are obese compared only to ten percent thirty years ago. Genetic changes and DNA changes take thousands of years to change (White 2004). The discord in the two is clear proof that genetics and heredity alone contribute very little to child obesity. They contribute less than 10% of the total obesity risk factors. Their interaction with other risk factors contributes a bigger proportion. Obese parents have a duty to ensure that their children do not follow the same path they followed. The parents cannot change the genes of their children, but they can do small things that can prevent child obesity. IMPLICATIONS If the community is going to change the way that it fights child obesity, it needs the right information about the causative agents. This reading is important to any health care provider as it provides him or her with the best practices suited to ensuring that it fights properly with this pandemic. Without a doubt, this reading has given me an opportunity to compare the current practices at our care center with what is required. This way, I have formulated measures that will enable my care center to tackle the problem in a saner manner. The current practices in my care center focus on the parent. The program places the parents at the epicenter of child obesity prevention. As indicated in the discussion above, parents play a small role in contributing to child obesity, and should therefore be exonerated from all blame previously directed to them. This is probably one of the reasons that the fight has so far been unsuccessful. The program teaches parents on practices that they must adopt to ensure that their children do not become obese. Part of the program teaches parents on proper nutrition for their children. It gives the guidelines for a balanced diet for their children. In addition, it gives the exercises that the parents should encourage their children to do in order to avoid being obese. Our focus however has to make a drastic change if child obesity is going to reduce. Children below 13 years spend less time with their parents than they spend at school and in the community combined. The community and the school therefore play a large role in influencing child health than parents do (McMurray 2007). The focus should be on changing school and community structures so that they can conform to the required standards that will aid in the fight against child obesity. This calls for all the stakeholders in the community with a say on how the community is run, and school administrators to get actively involved in the fight. In addition to teaching parents on how to take care of their children, the center should teach the community and schools on how to take care of the obese children. The center should liaise with community planners to ensure that several community centers are put up. These centers should be well equipped for exercises and sports. This way, children will have a place to spend and play after school (Sallis & Glanz 2006). Parents should be at the forefront in ensuring that their children participate in after classes’ sports activities. If possible, the possible, they should accompany them to serve as a living testimony of their commitment to their wellbeing. Parks where families can spend their weekends should also be made available. Such places provide avenues where children from different families can meet and engage in playful activities. The center shall also focus its efforts to see to it that advertisements targeting young children are scrapped off from televisions. If children have no knowledge of the existence of junk foods, then, they will rarely consume them. Meals offered in learning institutions have to meet strictly the guidelines provided by the regulatory authorities. Physical education should not just be a formality just because it is in the curriculum, but an exercise with purpose and authority. The center will now focus on programs that are targeted towards the whole society and not just parents. This is because the whole society has a collective role to play in ensuring that the alarming rate of child obesity goes down. For this to be a reality, the society needs proper guidelines and directions that can only be provided by a center such as ours. Conclusion Many factors increase the chances of a child becoming obese including genetic, social and environmental factors. Many people consider these as causes of child obesity; but they are only risk factors, as they do not lead to obesity themselves. The cause for obesity is the consumption of more calories than the body can readily burn. The time is now to something if someone has an obese child because studies show that an obese child will be obese in adulthood. Obesity is not a matter of genetics against the environment as both contribute to the pandemic as discussed above. It is time that parents and the community at large embraced the benefits of proper diets. They should shy away from enticing advertisements that make them feed their children fatty and sugary foods. If we can go back to indigenous foods, and increase the rate of exercise for our children, child obesity will be outdated. References: Hayden Jacqueline & John Macdonald (2000). Health promotion: A new leadership role for early Childhood professionals. University of Western Sydney. 25 (1). McMurray, A. (2007). Healthy children. In Community health and wellness : a socio-ecological approach (3rd ed.) (pp. 143-181). Marrickville, N.S.W. : Elsevier Australia. Sallis, J. F. & Glanz, K. (2006). The role of built environments in physical activity, eating, and obesity in childhood. The Future of Children, 16(1), 89-108. Grbich, C. (1999). Theoretical perspectives in health sociology. In C. Grbich (Ed.), Health in Australia : sociological concepts and issues (pp. 15-34). Sydney : New York : Prentice Hall. Le, B. M. D. (1984). Child obesity: A new frontier of behavior therapy. New York: Springer. Cameron, N. (2006). Childhood obesity: Contemporary issues. 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