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Child Obesity

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Child Obesity

Child obesity is a major health concern worldwide. This condition occurs when a child’s

weight is way above the normal for their height and age. Obesity in children and adults have

similar causes; these causes include genetics and behavior. Child obesity is however generally

contributed by an individual’s society as it influences lifestyle choices. Child obesity is serious

public health problem in the 21st century. It is a global issue and majorly affect second world and

third world countries especially in urban centers. Childhood obesity prevalence is rapidly

increasing. About 40 million children below five years are obese; more than 70% of these

children are from third world countries. Child obesity is associated with several health

consequences like cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and musculoskeletal disorders. It is

therefore essential to reduce child obesity through limiting sugars and fats intake, consuming

more fruits and vegetables and regular physical exercise. Therefore, this paper analyzes the

nature and nurture contributions to child obesity.

Nature Components

Changes in the society and the environment has been associated with child obesity over

for the last thirty years. The rising prevalence of obesity in developed countries is caused by

consumption of food with high calorie content and the dawn of deskbound lifestyle. Childhood

obesity is caused by a wide range of factors including the genetic background. Genetics are one

of the primary causes of childhood obesity. According to () genetics play a major part in

contributing to the condition. This research has proven that variation of BMI between people is

caused by genetic factors. Family studies have proven that adopted children have varying body

mass index from their foster parents. The however have similar body mass index compared to

their biological parents.

The influence of genetics in child obesity is analyzed by comparing the rates of obesity in

Asia and Europe with those in Pima Indian and Pacific Island. The rate of obesity in Pima Indian

and Pacific Island was about 49.9% while the rates in Europe and Asia was about 30%. The rate

of obesity rates in Europe is high. The Pacific populations are linked with a ‘thrifty genotype’.

They are therefore more prone to metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes and cancer. The high

prevalence of obesity may be linked with a particular evolutionary adaptation triggered by the

early Neolithic economic, social and cultural activities. This instance shows that obesity is

caused by a genetic variant associated with certain people. In Europe the dawn of sedentary

lifestyle has had altered the genes of particular individuals and have been passed down to

generations. Therefore, if a child is obese it is more likely that it is because of a thrifty gene.

Additionally, there are several complex diseases that have been discovered in adults

including obesity that originates from childhood. Therefore, it is essential to comprehend the

operation of body mass index loci in adults and how they confer obesity threat. The body mass

index loci study shows that the loci associated with obesity found in adults is also found in

children. Additionally, loci associated with body mass density were studied in the perspective of

childhood obesity. It showed that to increase the risk of BMI. Therefore, certain genes associated

with high BMI in the human DNA are hereditary and can be passed from one generation to

another. There are families with a long history of obesity; this situation is caused by the presence

of the BMI loci. Research is being conducted to understand the ways in which these loci

associated with high bone mass density are dealt with during childhood. It is simpler to reverse

the situation at a younger age than at an older age.

Nurture Components

When children eat excess food than they are supposed to intake, the body may fail to

burn all the calories and become obese from developing extra fat cells. These children may also

be exposed to a sedentary lifestyle also. Children understand signals of hunger and satisfaction,

however, these children may be forced to eat more than enough by their parents. Their bodies

may therefore fail to utilize all the fat and caused development of additional fat cells. Some

children become obese at childhood while others adopt this habit and continue eating more than

enough and therefore become obese. There are other behaviors that most obese children are

subjected to for instance being offered food as a form of reward, to express love and to comfort a

sad one. These instances promote eating even when one is full; these habits have also been

passed from one generation to another leading to a chain of obesities caused by irregular eating

habits.

Similarly, components of a child’s environment like schools, family, the community and

friends influence certain habits. Parents are too busy to plan time to prepare healthy meals for

their children who end up eating fast foods associated with high cholesterol levels which may be

hard to breakdown and hence accumulate to form additional fat cells causing children to be

obese. Children consume foods from more than nine thousand food commercials annually. Most

of these commercials are for sugared cereals, fast-food, soft drinks and candy. Most processed

foods in the 21st century have more fat and sugar content and primarily linked with metabolic

diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes which are associated with other lethal complications

like stroke and high blood pressure. Many parents may choose to purchase a quick snack from a

convenience store or a vending machine for their children who later consume high levels of fat
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and sugar. Besides there are certain restaurants which advertise foods with high calorie levels

which attract most individuals.

Most children adopt certain lifestyles like poor diet, more screen time and little physical

activity making them obese. Playing video games and watching television is linked with less

physical activity hence low calorie burning; children also demand certain processed food

displayed in commercials. Schools play a vital role in educating children on the importance of

consuming healthy meals; they also incorporate healthy food in their meals. Additionally, a

community that advocates for a healthy lifestyle is linked with a healthy population. However,

there are parents who advice their children to stay indoors since they believe that staying outside

is not safe. In these communities, most obese children are those whose parents deny them the

chance to participate in physical activities. Some children and young adults with eating disorders

are more likely to be obese. Eating disorders are associated with unhealthy focus on eating or

losing weight hence children experiencing this disorder are more likely to have a high BMI.

Some children who hate their body shape may suffer from eating disorders and obesity at the

same time. The most common eating disorders associated with obesity is bulimia and anorexia.

Also, there are certain health conditions like low thyroid function increase a child’s appetite.

Additionally, there are certain medications that like steroids that also affect a child’s appetite.

With time a child develops a high body mass index relating to obesity.

Evaluation

A child is more likely to be obese due to the nurture than nature components. Children

who develop obesity as inheritance from parents are less than children who develop obesity due

to factors lifestyle, education, medication and eating disorders. In the twenty first century, most

parents are more focused on work than their children’s health hence they purchase fast-foods for
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them. These children, too, adopt these habits and pass down to the next generation. Children

have also been exposed to too much screen and video gaming time that they have forgotten the

essence of physical exercise. Some parents deny children playtime for security reasons and these

children become obese. Additionally, high-calorie food is easily accessible in convenience stores

and vending machines hence easily consumable especially by children. Several processed foods

are associated with high fat content; a fraction of these calories remain unburnt and may result to

a high body mass index.

Natural components associated with obesity in children is genetics. Genetics however

weakly contribute to obesity. Obesity caused by genetics are common in particular areas only for

instance the Pacific islands due to certain evolutionary adaptations influencing loci linked with

body mass weight in an individual’s DNA. It is however easier to prevent obesity caused by

nurture components especially lifestyle habits.

References