Obesity is characterized as excessive body weight associated with several dangerous diseases. As the prevalence of obese people increases, the need to address its consequences also increases significantly. Some causes of childhood obesity might be a lack of physical activity, unbalanced food consumption, and a stressful psychological environment. Considering the detrimental consequences of childhood obesity and morbid outcomes, the United States should promote healthy nutritional regulations to decrease the number of obese children and address future health risks.
Starting front the factual information that proves the necessity to address obesity in the US, the number of children needing dietary intervention increases. According to the research conducted by Anderson et al. (2019), 18.5% of American children are obese, having a body mass index more prominent than 25. This number justifies that the overweight population “has more than tripled over the last four decades” (Anderson et al., 2019, p. 16). Although preschool children demonstrate a lower prevalence of obesity than school-aged children and adolescents, they still struggle with such a condition. Thus, the increasing number of obese children makes it impossible to ignore this health problem and leave it unresolved for health departments.
Another reason for addressing childhood obesity is vital during its initial phases and is connected to later adulthood obesity. As the child grows, his routine relies on similar consumption and activity patterns, resulting in a higher risk of being overweight (Anderson et al., 2019). Researchers assume that the increase to 39.8% of obese adults in the last decade is the result of neglected childhood obesity. When an adult struggles with excessive weight, it also deteriorates his chronic diseases, affecting his health negatively (Sanyaolu et al., 2019). If the US does not address childhood obesity, the number of obese adults suffering from various diseases will increase, harming national healthcare.
The importance of dealing with childhood obesity is primarily based on health problems, making it a public healthcare issue for most of the population. Since insulin resistance is increased due to high amounts of glycerol and hormones in obese individuals, they frequently develop diabetes. It causes more risks when people simultaneously struggle with hypertension or hyperlipidemia, resulting from abnormal shifts in body fat tissues, fatty acids, glucose, and metabolism (Sanyaolu et al., 2019). More importantly, when children continue ignoring their condition, they finally experience cardiovascular and digestive diseases as adults. Fat accumulation in the blood causes breast, colon, kidney, or pancreatic cancer in some individuals, increasing the premature death risks (Sanyaolu et al., 2019). Even patients who do not experience these extremes have impaired hypothalamic neurons with unhealthy homeostatic circuits. Such an association between obesity and morbid consequences urges the US to tackle this issue immediately.
The most neglected aspect of obesity is related to children’s psychological health, as they are more vulnerable to psychiatric risks. Chu et al. (2019) recognize depression, emotional disorders, low self-esteem, and eating disorders as the consequences of childhood obesity, persuading the US community to address them quickly. For overweight children, making new friends is more challenging as their peers consider them less sociable and more aggressive, resulting in social stigmatization. As these children grow up, they have more suicidal ideations caused by depression of being overweight and rejected (Chu et al., 2019). Some individuals compensate for attention deficit healthily, but others still struggle with emotional disorders. Therefore, these psychiatric risks cause more social issues that point to overweight children who need more support and help.
Although the association between some psychological problems and obesity remains debated, it is evident that overweight children are more prone to develop impaired body image. It is related to the increasing number of binge-eating school-aged who utilize harmful pills, abstain from all food types, and exhaust their bodies (Sanyaolu et al., 2019). Moreover, weight-based bullying is prevalent in children, which also deteriorates disorder eating behaviors such as uncontrolled and emotional eating. High stigmatization and discrimination cause social division associated with negative emotions and disrupted sleep patterns for overweight children (Chu et al., 2019). Hence, this problem is dangerous for all children since it undermines their further socialization as adults.
When the US healthcare departments start addressing obesity, they will find additional socially significant data due to identifying the causes of obesity. It serves as a different research area for scholars who want to improve the social aspects of American children. Since one of the obesity causes is stress, finding the correlation between unhealthy dietary intake and parental psychological distress, sexual abuse, or jobless parents would significantly contribute to the country’s internal regulations (Chu et al., 2019). If the government is interested in promoting healthier and better lives in its nation, it should start by addressing obesity among children.
To conclude, childhood obesity is usually caused by unbalanced calorie intake and stress patterns, persisting into adolescence and adulthood. When children interact with their peers, they remain rejected and stigmatized, increasing the chances of developing depression, binge eating, and even suicidal attempts. As children grow up, they experience more detrimental consequences of being overweight, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Therefore, the increasing number of obese children justifies the need to tackle this public healthcare issue and help children maintain a healthy weight.
References
Anderson, P. M., Butcher, K. F., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2019). Understanding recent trends in childhood obesity in the United States. Economics & Human Biology, 34(1), 16–25. Web.
Chu, D. T., Nguyet, N. T., Nga, V. T., Lien, N. V., Vo, D., Lien, N., Ngoc, V., Son, L., Le, D., Nga, V. B., Tu, P., Ha, L., Tao, Y., & Pham, V. H. (2019). An update on obesity: Mental consequences and psychological interventions. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 13(1), 155–160. Web.
Sanyaolu, A., Okorie, C., Qi, X., Locke, J., & Rehman, S. (2019). Childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States: a Public health concern. Global Pediatric Health, 6(1), 1–11. Web.
