Rodriguez 1

Alexandra Rodriguez

Monica Rodriguez

English 1302-262

6 March 2022

Health Issues Involving Childhood Obesity

Anderson, Patricia M., & Butcher, Kristian F. “Childhood Obesity: Trends and Potential

Causes”. The Future of Children, vol. 16, no. 1, 2006, pp. 1-27. JSTOR. Assessed 7 Mar.

2022.

When the author writes about childhood obesity in this article, it is stated that doctors, as

well as other medical individuals, use an instrument called the BMI to measure the amount of fat

one has in their body (4). Because of this, many children have been diagnosed with childhood

obesity or simply children being told they are overweight. There are many things that have

contributed to the drastic weight gain throughout the years in new children. For example,

because of many technological advances such as vehicles and tablets, there is no need for

children to walk to school from home or play outside while at home because they have the

television or mobile electronics to keep them entertained (Anderson, 19). This has caused

massive weight gain in children as well as the very inexpensive unhealthy meals from fast-food

restaurants compared to the meals with a high nutrient count being very expensive.

These claims are relevant to the topic because of the fact that the author is stating all of

the different causes as to why children are being diagnosed with childhood obesity much more

frequently now than ever before. Children are no longer wasting their energy playing outside,

forcing their bodies to use the fat to make it into energy because of the advances in technology,

they are much more fascinated by electronics rather than getting sweaty and dirty from playing
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around outside. By simply applying a new eating diet and making the children become much

more active can decrease the possibility of a harder future because of the diseases that could be

obtained due to the extra fat surrounding their organs.

Barton, Matthias. “Childhood Obesity: A Life-Long Health Risk.” Acta Pharmacologica Sinica,

vol. 33, no. 2, 3 Feb. 2012, pp. 189–193., doi:10.1038/aps.2011.204. Accessed 5 Mar.

2022.

In this article, Barton expresses that childhood obesity has become a life-long issue for

many children around the world, exceeding numbers from years before (189). There are many

diseases that come along with excessive weight gain as a child including many cardiovascular

illnesses. Child obesity has been in medical interest for many years; however, during the last two

decades, child obesity has increased to an epidemic just in the United States alone. Children

continue to get diagnosed with Childhood Obesity every day which could potentially lead to

adult obesity if it is not taken care of right away. If it is not attended quickly, the child could be

exposed to Premature Vascular Aging and Atherosclerosis (Barton, 190). Many treatments that

can be done in order to prevent any more diseases from occurring would be to follow a dietary

meal and implement physical exercise to help with the weight loss process and begin the child’s

journey to living a healthier life.

This article is related to childhood obesity because of the multiple health issues that the

author writes about as well as how being treated with this diagnosis can lead to a more life-

threatening way of living. The author continues on by writing about various physical activities a

child can do in order to help one’s self lose weight and reduce the chances of it
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becoming a much more painful future. Not only can this cause more diseases later on in life for

the child, but it can also result in early death and not being able to move as freely as others can.

The author introduced many diseases, however, highlights two important ones which are

Atherosclerosis and Premature Vascular Aging which is something that can be preventable with

the help of a healthier lifestyle.

Cachelin, F. M., & Thompson, Doug. “Predictors of maternal child-feeding practices in an

ethnically diverse sample and the relationship to child obesity.” Wiley Online Library,

vol. 21, no. 8, 21 Mar. 2013, pp. 1676-1683., doi.org/10.1002/oby.20385. Accessed

2 Mar. 2022.

In this article, the authors have compiled a list as to why they are firm believers that

mothers are the ones who allow their child to ultimately become overweight. The authors agreed

that the combination of the mother’s weight status, investment in eating-related issues, and

concern about the child’s weight would all reflect on the weight and health of the child (1676).

The authors then conducted a study to see if the hypothesis was correct. Gathered were 563

mothers with different ethnicities such as White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian with their children

who were between the ages of 2-11 (1679). It was concluded that the mothers who were on the

heavier side resulted in having bigger children rather than the parents who were slim with stricter

meal diets. The overall result of the experiment stated that there was a correlation between

heavier mothers and overweight children, however, this was not true for the Hispanic family.

This relates to the chosen topic because it is speaking on how a child’s weight is affected

and what the main contributors are towards all the excess weight gain. This article goes against

what the other articles mention which are the specific causes for the obesifying. Other articles

state that it is genetic and is something that cannot be controlled other than with lots of exercise
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and healthy eating habits. However, even though it is going against what the other articles are

mentioning, it is still stating clear facts on why childhood obesity is unhealthy as well as how it

could lead to early diseases as a child or early death.

Ebbeling, Cara B., et al. “Childhood obesity: Public-health crisis, common sense cure.” The

Lancet, vol. 360, no. 9331, 10 Aug. 2002, pp. 473-482. ScienceDirect,

doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(02)09678-2. Accessed 6 Mar. 2022.

In this article, Ebbeling writes that back in the historic times, for a child to be overweight

or simply to have extra weight on one’s self would signify a healthy child (473). One who would

be able to withstand rigorous environments and long periods of malnourishment and infections.

As time and more technological advances developed, doctors and others in the medical field

began to notice a drastic change in the number of overweight children. Something that started off

small quickly turned into an epidemic with many diseases that could develop simply because of

the additional fat that surrounded the organs and brain. It was discovered that childhood obesity

is caused by genetics and prenatal overnutrition (479). In addition to the over-consumption of

unhealthy foods that a child eats, the lack of physical activity or no activity at all such as

television watching can be something that makes it easier for the body to want to store the fat

because there is no activity being done for the body to use up its energy.

The article correlates to the childhood obesity topic in the sense that it is speaking on how

dangerous it is for a child to have the added fat on them surrounding their organs, especially if

the child is always inactive. The author of the article also mentions the relativity of meals eaten

by the child and gives suggestions on what kinds of meals could be beneficial for the child as

well as having it be low calorie as well. The author goes beyond by adding a graph with the
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many different countries that have sky-rocket numbers with obese children from back then up

until now.

Gable, Sara., & Lutz, Susan., “Household, parent, and child contributions to childhood obesity”.

Family Relations, vol. 49, no. 3, 27 Feb. 2004, pp. 293-300.,

doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00293.x. Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.

In this article, it is written by the authors that although it is difficult to know exactly why

a child would put on so much weight at such an early age, it is important for the parents to be

informed and taught about proper child nutrition and reduce television watching for a child

(295). The author is very adamant about wanting parents to be educated about proper child

nutrition because it is something extremely important, especially for a child at a young age who

is still growing and needs all the greatest nutrients to be able to grow without any wrongful

complications in the future. As well as nutrition, it is important for children to get proper

physical activity (297). It has been highly encouraged for parents to teach their children to play

outside rather than to sit inside watching television or using a mobile electronic device. The

results of the experiment conducted showed that environmental/behavioral factors and children’s

obesity had a correlation.

This article is related to the child obesity topic because it is stating reasons as to why

children gain weight and who would be responsible for it. Not only that but giving tips on how

childhood obesity can be prevented so one’s child can grow to be healthy enough to not develop

any illnesses or cardiac problems later on in their adult life. Being strong enough to be able to

exercise and have a healthy diet is something that will encourage more overweight individuals to

participate in. By doing so, it will cause the obesity population to decrease and ultimately have

everyone be as healthy as they possibly can in order to live a long life.

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Golan, M., et al. “Parents as the exclusive agents of change in the treatment of childhood

Obesity.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 67, no. 6, 01 Jun. 1998, pp.

1130-1135. Oxford Academic, doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/67.6.1130. Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.

In this article, it speaks about how excessive weight gain during early childhood is a

serious health problem because of the major costly health consequences and its increasing

prevalence (Golan. et al., 1130). To see if something could be changed, the authors of the article

conducted a study where the parents served as the exclusive agents of change as well as in which

the children served as the agents of change (1132). The study lasted one year and contained sixty

obese children between the ages of 6-11 along with their parents. There was a clinical dietitian

that had fourteen sessions for the parents in the experimental group and thirty sessions with the

children. By the end of the year, the results concluded that the treatment of childhood obesity

with parents as the exclusive agents of change were superior to the conventional approach,

meaning parents are able to change the weight of their children drastically if they feed them the

proper meals and allow them to exercise or play outside for at least half an hour each day.

This article is related to the topic of childhood obesity because the author writes about

ways a child can lose weight and become healthy with the help of their parents. It also speaks on

how life-threatening it can be if the child maintains or continues to put on more weight as they

continue to grow. They could develop an incredible amount of illnesses and diseases if they go

on about their lifestyle without their parents putting a stop to it. This article relates to other

articles as well because it is mentioning how parents could be able to help their children out by

giving them the correct nutrients they need and exercising with them along the way.
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Hasler, G. et al. “Depressive symptoms during childhood and adult obesity: The Zurich

Cohort Study.” Molecular Psychiatry, vol. 10, 19 Apr. 2005, pp. 842-850.,

doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001671. Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.

There have been studies done that have stated that there has been a correlation between

depression and obesity. The authors of the article have conducted a study to test their hypothesis

to see if there is a correlation in if being depressed causes weight gain (843). There were 591

participants in the study varying between males and females. Based on the results of the study,

the authors of the article came to the conclusion that depressive symptoms do not predict BMI

(Body Mass Index) (848). However, did notice that there was a gender-by-age interaction,

meaning the men with childhood depressive symptoms did appear to have an increase in BMI as

they got older. This was true for the correlation between childhood depression and female

obesity as they got older.

This article relates to the topic of obesity because it is stating which are the specific

reasons as to why children are gaining weight and what could be done to stop or prevent it from

happening to their future children. It also relates because of the different exercises that could be

done which means that they work if multiple articles are stating them. It also gives a different

perspective as to what could be the reason for the weight gain in children if everyone is

constantly talking about genetics and killing all the other factors available.

O’Dea, Jennifer A. “Prevention of child obesity: ‘first, do no harm’. Health Education Research,

vol. 20, no. 2, 24 Aug. 2004, pp. 259-265. Oxford Academic,

doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg116.

Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.

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The author of this article states that childhood obesity has been the number one issue

within our government for the past two decades (260). The author and their medical team go in

with the problem with the phrase and mindset of ‘first, do no harm’. The doctors decided to do

this because they have noticed that it lead to much better results with children wanting to lose

weight. Many doctors are straight up and do not sugar-coat anything which causes a major

confidence decrease in the child thinking they will not be able to lose the weight (263). The

difference between this author and the medical team is that they let the child know that they are

overweight in the kindest way possible and give them tips on how to lose weight. They have

noticed that this has helped tremendously.

This article relates to the topic of child obesity because the author is stating how being

kind to children while telling them bad news is something that can severely impact the child’s

life and could possibly be the thing that will either help or make the child lose trust in

themselves. Finding new techniques is always something to be proud of and ways to prevent any

future weight gain within a child. This is also a learning opportunity for a mother to speak to her

children in a kind way which is lead their child to grow with manners and kindness.

Russell-Mayhew, Shelly., et al. “Mental Health, Wellness, and childhood overweight/obesity.”

Journal of Obesity, vol. 2012, 24 Jun. 2012, pp. 1-9. Hindawi,

doi.org/10.1155/2012/281801. Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.

There has been concern about childhood obesity for many years, however, there has been

progress to show the understanding and education behind why obesity happens and ways on how

it can be prevented or slowed down (2). Although there is knowledge on how it can develop,

there is still short information on the relationship between mental health and childhood obesity

(3). There are many psychological factors that can affect obesity such as depression and anxiety,
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self-esteem issues, body dissatisfaction, unhealthy weight control practices, dietary restraint, and

many more. The authors of this article conducted a study and ultimately resulted in writing that

one would still be unsure about the correlation between all the different psychological factors

and which ones affect a child more than the other. Overall, the authors suggested focusing more

on body positivity, loving oneself, and having a positive attitude because it will get you to have

more motivation in losing weight.

This article relates to childhood obesity because it is writing about the different

possibilities that can arise from eating too much and ultimately gaining weight at such a young

age. The author provided ways how to help one be happier with themselves which will help them

in the long run when they lose weight. This article also relates to other articles by mentioning

how mental health plays a role in unhealthy weight gain. The author believes that being able to

love one’s self is the first step to a healthy life.

Simmonds, M., et al. “Predicting adult obesity from childhood obesity: A systematic review and

Meta-analysis.” Obesity Reviews, vol. 17, no. 2, 23 Dec. 2015, pp. 95-107. Wiley Online

Library, doi.org/10.1111/obr.12334. Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.

In this article, the authors conducted a study to see if childhood obesity correlates to adult

obesity (96). BMI was the only measure of obesity reported in the study that was conducted to

the 200,777 participants the showed up. From what they concluded, it was shown that it was five

times more likely for an adult to not be obese if they were not overweight as a child. They also

concluded that 55% of obese children will likely go into their teenage years being obese or

overweight before they begin the journey of losing weight (106). Overall, individuals who have

experienced childhood and adolescent obesity will lead on to become obese adults.
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This article is related to the topic because it is writing about how childhood obesity will

stick with you if one does not do anything to prevent it. Exercise and a healthy diet will help

tremendously and make life easier in the long run. Being about to run, jump, and simply walk for

long periods of time makes one feel as though they are healthy. Especially not having to worry

about pains and illnesses during adulthood. Being overweight is something that could severely

mess up one’s life because it is something that can be prevented with a few decisions.