Childhood Obesity: A winnable battle through physical fitness
(Contributed by: Brittney Barton, Suad Mohamed, Clair Chin, Tyler Wood, & Gabriel Villanueva)
Image link: http://mrg.bz/hBesv2
Lack of exercise has been recognized to be one of the fatal catalysts to childhood obesity. Although we can associate genetics as a major component of childhood obesity, we can also conclude that it is an increasingly societal issue, fueled by lifestyle choices with exercise being a key component. The obesity epidemic in children and adolescents is increasing at concerning rates (Doak, 2009.) Equally concerning is the lack of policies implemented in schools. Policies that recognize how obesity is largely fueled by lifestyle issues, promoted by institutionalized poverty and lack of access to resources needed to live and meet basic needs. There is clear evidence of behaviors passed down through generations, towards life style choices leading to children that are obese or are subject to becoming obese in their adulthood.
Health Disparities
A study, looking at years 2003 and 2007, pulled information from the National Survey of Children’s Health to calculate childhood obesity in the U.S. in kids ages 10 to 17. It found that in 2007, 16.4% of children were considered obese and 31.6% considered overweight. This was a 10% increase from 2003. The study also found that when they looked closer at the demographics, the obesity prevalence “increased by 23%–33% for children in low-education, low-income, and higher unemployment households.” Children from low-income and low-education households had 3.4 to 4.3 times higher chances of becoming obese than a higher socioeconomic household. This evidence suggest definite social inequalities that correlate with racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in obese and overweight children in the U.S. (Singh, Siahpush, & Kogan, 2010).
Physical Effects
Physical fitness has a substantial positive impact on the youth of America. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the American Heart Association’s “Shape of the Nation Report” published literature highlighting the benefits of youth fitness (1). When a group of children who got at least sixty minutes of exercise a day, were compared to a group of mostly sedentary children, it was discovered that the children who exercised showed better health in a number of aspects. They had amazingly stronger cardiovascular and respiratory systems, sturdier bones, more powerful muscles, and showed less body fat. Fit children greatly decrease their chance of becoming obese when they reach adulthood where they can develop heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Obesity can also cause cancers from an excess amount of fat cells in the body that can potentially mutate into something malignant (Janssen & LeBlanc, 2010). It is important to stop obesity at the start of it’s track, America’s youth.
Solutions
As true with the study above, current evidence points to recommendations that the average child should be physically active at least 60 minutes a day (2), either accumulated or all at once. But how do we convince children and their families to be more active? An effectiveness review of interventions done by the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommended(3) School-based Physical Education interventions, where Physical Education (PE) classes were modified to increase the amount of time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity. These modifications could be done either by increasing the amount of time children spent in PE classes, or by increasing the activity levels in the class. Some schools have also come up with innovative ideas to incorporate physical activity into academic classrooms. One school district in Indiana, PA places small pedals under the desks of their students, allowing them to keep active while in class (4). This approach is useful for schools, as there is no federal law (5) requiring Physical Education to be offered to students or any incentive to states or schools to offer them besides student health. In fact, the 2011 Youth Risk Survey found that 69% of students surveyed did not attend PE classes daily, and 48% did not attend them weekly (5). While some may worry that increasing time spent in PE would take away from academic classes, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services found no evidence of academic harm (3) when physical education programs were increased. While individual schools and districts can make these efforts to increase the physical activity of their students, legislators and policy makers should also push for more mandatory activity levels in schools in order to guarantee that all of our youth can lead healthy lives.
During the school year of 2007-2008, four elementary schools in Arizona took upon a pilot program where schools were required to implement, at minimum, 150 minutes of physical activity per week for their students (6). After evaluation of this program, they determined that the levels of physical activity in students increased 17% at school and 6% at home. They also saw a 13% decrease in student absenteeism. These numbers, although modest, point towards a step in the right direction.With the rise in childhood obesity, it is more important than ever to get America’s children moving. Children of low socioeconomic status households are at greater risks and some schools are reducing the opportunities for children to get out of their classroom desks. With a rise in T.V. and video game use amongst the youth also playing a factor in promoting youth sedentation, it takes a combined effort on all parties involved in the development of America’s youth. Parents, to keep their children active through extra curricular activities and a reduction in T.V. and video game time; schools, to value physical education as much as academic education; and governments, to implement policies to combat childhood obesity. This battle, although turbulent, can be easily winnable through these proper strategies.
Hyperlinks:
References
Doak, Melissa. (2009).Percentage of children 6-17 who are overweight, by gender and age group,
selected years 1976-2006. Growing Up: Issues Affecting America's Youth. Detroit: Gale, Information Plus Reference Series. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Janssen, I., & LeBlanc, A. G. (2010). Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity
and fitness in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral
Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7(40), 1-16.
Singh, G. K., Siahpush, M., & Kogan, M. D. (2010). Rising social inequalities in US childhood
obesity, 2003–2007. Annals of epidemiology, 20(1), 40-52.
No comments:
Post a Comment