Prevalence and treatment of childhood obesity

Prevalence and treatment of childhood obesity

Question

Problem statement

According to the Commission on Combating Childhood Obesity (2018), there is a recognition that the obesity epidemic is simply a chronic disease. Educational campaigns for children will promote progress for those who need it, and health efforts to prevent obesity in the social and personal sphere will be complemented by treatment. This will cause parents and health care providers to pay more attention to childhood obesity. Of course, such an approach would not only increase the prevalence of “patient presentations” but also increase the burden on healthcare workers and immediate healthcare costs (da Silva & Barbosa, 2021). Eating habits during this formative period influence health status and long-term consequences. Therefore, children and young people need to develop good eating habits in the long term. According to Kim & Lim (2019), nutritional monitoring has been used in various childhood obesity intervention studies. Nutritional therapy includes a variety of nutritional education and counseling, key messages, a low-calorie Mediterranean-style diet, and a variety of nutritious foods.

The childhood obesity pandemic has grown to an estimated 124 million people, with approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents being significantly overweight (Ogden et al., 2018). From 2017 to 2018, obesity prevalence among adolescents and children aged 2 to 19 years was 19.3%, with nearly 14.4 million people reported to be affected by obesity (CDC, 2018b). According to a detailed report published by the CDC (2018b), the prevalence of obesity in children aged 2 to 5 years is 13.4%, in children aged 6 to 11 years it is 20.3%, and in adolescents aged 12 to 19 years it is 21.2%. % was. . Childhood obesity has also been reported to be more common in certain populations. The prevalence of obesity was reported to be 25.6% in Hispanic children, 24.2% in non-Hispanic black children, 16.1% in non-Hispanic white children, and 8.7% in non-Hispanic Asian children. I am. Obesity is more common in higher income groups, including non-Hispanic white girls, Hispanic girls, and non-Hispanic Asian girls. However, income had no effect on obesity rates among non-Hispanic black girls (CDC, 2018d).

For more than 40 years, the global trend in adolescent obesity has led to a gradual increase in body mass index (BMI) in children and young people. Addressing key nutritional components includes modifying significant dietary risks through micronutrients, products, dietary habits, and dietary behaviors (Oddy et al., 2018). However, the multicomponent strategy to treat childhood obesity has numerous interacting components, making it difficult to determine whether healthy dietary management has been successful. As a result, certain changes in health care delivery are required, including sufficient additional skills and adequate financial support. For example, health insurance companies may need to improve their medical coverage to include the cost of cognitive behavioral therapy for obesity, which has a positive effect on reducing obesity and comorbidities (Jannah et al., 2018 ).

Childhood obesity epidemic

Until now, such treatments have been primarily limited to children suffering from other chronic diseases, including type 1 diabetes. In the United States, little was known about the availability of care for people with obesity (Flynn et al., 2017). Early childhood influences eating habits, health habits, and food preferences that continue throughout adulthood (Bull & Northstone, 2016).

Obesity is associated with bad eating habits and overconsumption. Heterogeneity in food intake among teenagers has increased the incidence of diet-related physiological diseases such as obesity, glycemic resistance, hypertension, and cholesterol (Juonala et al., 2015). Dietary variables are the most important determinants associated with the obesity epidemic. The increasing incidence of diet-related non-communicable diseases among children and adolescents has created a need to focus on proper nutritional habits. This is underpinned by associated non-communicable diseases in children and adolescents, such as obesity and type II diabetes. According to Kim & Lim (2019), a controlled experiment with nutritional supplementation and a multidisciplinary approach in overweight children and adolescents showed positive improvements in muscle mass and nutritional variables. Modifiable risk factors associated with obesity in adolescents and teens include dietary variables such as high-energy diets, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and artificial feeding tendencies.

References

Bull, C. J. & Northstone, K. (2016). Childhood dietary habits and adolescent cardiovascular risk factors: Results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort. Nutrition in Public Health, 19(18), 3369-3377.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/childhood-dietary-patterns-and-cardiovascular-risk-factors-in-adolescent-results-from-the-avon-longitudinal- Alpac parent-child cohort study/04C66BA733AF231CEA4E484A1B8687C1

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018b). The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html

Committee on the Eradication of Childhood Obesity. (2018). Childhood obesity facts and figures. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/end-childhood-obesity/facts/en/

Da Silva, F.C.T., & Barboza, C.P. (2021). Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in intensive care units: Psychiatric symptoms in healthcare workers – a systematic review. Journal of Psychiatric Research.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395621001941

Flynn, J.T., Kerber, D.C., Baker-Smith, C. M., Blowy, D., Carroll, A.E., Daniels, S.R., … & Urbina, E.M. (2017). A clinical practice guide for the assessment and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 140(3).

Gianna, N., Hild, J., Gallagher, C., and Dietz, W. (2018). Obesity prevention and treatment service coverage: An analysis of Medicaid and state employee health insurance programs. Obesity, 26(12), 1834-1840.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/oby.22307

Juonala, M., Voipio, A., Pahkala, K., Viikari, J.S., Mikkilä, V., Kähönen, M., … & Raitakari, O. T. (2015). 25-OH vitamin D levels in childhood and carotid intima-media thickness in adulthood: a cardiovascular risk study in young Finns. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 100(4), 1469-1476.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/100/4/1469/2815113

Kim, J. & Lim, H. (2019). Nutritional management of childhood obesity. Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, 28(4), 225-235. https://doi.org/10.7570/jomes.2019.28.4.225

Oddy, W.H., Allen, K. L., Trapp, G.S., Ambrosini, G.L., Black, L.J., Huang, R.C.,… & Tatsuya Mori (2018) Dietary habits, BMI, and inflammation: Pathways to depression and mental health problems in adolescents. Brain, Behavior, and Immunology, 69, 428-439. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159118300023

Ogden, C.L., Carroll, M.D., Fakhouri, T.H., Hales, C.M., Friar, C. D., Lee, X., and Friedman, D. S. (2018). Prevalence of adolescent obesity by household income and household head education level – United States, 2011-2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(6), 186. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5815488/