Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Obesity in childhood
Possible solutions to childhood obesity
Possible solutions to childhood obesity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Obesity in childhood
The National Center for Cultural Competence at Georgetown University defines culture as "an integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations ("NCCC: Curricula Enhancement Module Series"). Culture is a significant factor in who somebody is, and what he or she enjoys. Culture tells one how to dress, how to talk, influences what you believe, and also influences one's role in society.
So how is physical activity related to culture? Science has shown that physical activity or physical inactivity levels are consistent among members of the same cultural background. For instance children of non-Caucasian racial backgrounds have a higher change of being over weight than children who are of Caucasian background ("Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Childhood Obesity: Implications for Prevention and Treatment" 2212). Many cultures rely on physical activity as a part of their daily lives to survive, therefore these cultures participate in significantly more amounts of physical activity than most cultures in developed countries. Physical Activity can be a way for members of a culture to bond with other members, effectively strengthening the cultures cohesion. If physical activity is integrated into the actions and rituals of a culture, then that culture reaps the benefits. Cultures that do not strategically involved adequate amounts of physical activity are now being exposed to the detriments.
The kinds of physical activity required of a...
... middle of paper ...
...
Works Cited
Afghanistan: Weight of the World. Dir. Brent E. Huffman. Perf. Shoib Satar. PBS. PBS, 23 Sept. 2005. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
"Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Childhood Obesity: Implications for Prevention and Treatment." Diabetes Care 31.11 (2008): 1-11. No Records. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Kenya: Run Lonyah Run. Perf. Lornah Kiplagat. Frontline/World, 24 Mar. 2004. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. .
"NCCC: Curricula Enhancement Module Series." NCCC: Curricula Enhancement Module Series. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. .
The Tarahumara - A Hidden Tribe of Superathletes Born to Run. N.p., n.d. Web. .
Rao, Goutham. "Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus". Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.( 2005): 473-480. Print.
Obesity is one of the biggest issues in America today. Obesity is still present to a lot of people, and they struggle to lose some weight. To get the “body goals” like they want to. Groups are created to help people not being awkward. Tribal mentality in fitness should be encouraged because it helps people to interact with others and to maintain a stable body with motivation.
World Book, 2014 -. Web. The Web. The Web. 23 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
The obesity epidemic in U.S. minority communities (Issue Brief). Retrieved from : :. Towns, N., & D’Auria, J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Parental perceptions of their child being overweight: An integrative review of the literature.
Marder, William D. and Stella Chang. “Childhood Obesity: Costs, Treatment Pattern, Disparities in Care, and Prevalent Medical Conditions.” Thomson Medstat Research Brief. Web. 5, September 2011.
Giger (2013) defines culture as a response in behavior that is shaped over time by values, beliefs, norms and practices shared by members of one's cultural group. A person's culture influences most aspects of his or her life including beliefs, conduct, perceptions, emotions, language, diet, body image, and attitudes about illness and pain (He...
Unger, Jennifer B. et al. 2004. “Acculturation, physical activity, and fast-food consumption among asian-american and hispanic adolescents.” Journal of Community Health 29:467-481.
Childhood obesity in particular poses a large problem because it increases the likelihood of these children developing diabetes and heart disease, staying obese into adulthood, and therefore being more prone to chronic diseases. According to Healthy People 2020, 81.8% of adolescents do not reach the optimal amount of physical activity recommended for them. This is one of the factors that has led to 1 in 6, or 16.2%, of children and adolescents being obese (Nutrition). A research conducted on children and adolescents from 1999-2010 showed that 21.2% of Hispanic American children and adolescents were obese compared to 14.0% of non-Hispanic white children and adolescents (Ogden). In a 2004 study researchers examined the risk factors for obesity in Hispanic American 5 and 6 year olds. They took height and weight calculations of 230 kindergarteners from two public schools and interviewed and measured several mothers. They defined overweight as height for weight measurement at or above the 95 percentile for other children their age and a BMI of 25-29.9 as overweight for mothers and 30 or above as obese (Ariza). The growing prevalence of overweight children makes it clear that the problem is rooted in environment not just genetics. The risk factors focused on in this study were demographics, acculturation, physical activity, infant/toddler feeding practices, current eating habits, the mother’s attitude toward and belief about obesity and psychosocial family elements (Ariza). The researchers proposed the more acculturated to Western ideas the family was, the more overweight the children. Demographics asked about where mother and child were born and the education level and marital status of the mother. Physical activity asked how much time was spent participating in physical activity and watching TV. Infant/toddler feeding practices focused on the length of time breast-feeding and introduction
Childhood obesity has become a huge problem in the United States. Over twenty one percent of African American children are obese, not including the twenty percent who were just overweight. Studies show that the increase in Type II diabetes, which is caused by obesity has increased dramatically in children of African American culture. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) The hospital costs associated with childhood obesity were 127 million dollars from 1997-1999, increasing $92 million from 1979-1981. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) However, long term effects are also a concern for adolescent obesity. Overweight children have a 70 percent chance of being obese or overweight adults, which increases to 80 percen...
Institute of Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved Jan 10, 2011, from Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Government: www.iom.edu/Activities/Childhood/LocalObesPrevention.asp
...its members to adhere to it could be established that it does in fact hold a huge influence over the way and nature we use our body. Culture through its system of symbols, that are structurally formed, through habitus, serves to teach us how to behave in order to become a fully fledged member of our given society. These symbols are further reinforced through the intuitions of family and education, the media, fashion and perceived societal norms. This affects the many ways in which we use our body, from the technique of walking through to sleeping, whilst also helping us to classify our social identity of gender and age. It is only through learning, continual practice and adhering to constant self control of one’s self, that we are able to do this successfully making every action we make a taken for granted “gymnastic art, perfected in our own day” (Mauss 1934:456).
The Maasai live throughout north central Tanzania and southern Kenya. Kenya Maasailand is presently located near the coast in the Narok and Kajiado districts. The territory in 1981 measured approximately 39,476 square kilometers. Details on the environment in this area are necessary in order to understand the Maasai people who depend upon it for their survival. The region is typical of arid and semi-arid lands. The Maasailand area has an extremely low amount of surface water, and shallow alkaline soils which proves to be a difficult problem for their cattle-raising practices, and the main reason why they have adapted pastoralism rather than agriculture. The amount of rainfall varies greatly (usually less than 500 mm a year) , with occasional violent storms erupting. The location of the rain may be very specific, effecting a very small area without touching a nearby location. The amount of rainfall fluctuates every year and droughts are frequent. The Maasai have adapted to their living co...
What is culture? Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.