Childhood Obesity and Its Effect

1273 Words3 Pages

Childhood obesity is considered to be a serious issue among our youth. Obesity can cause many types of physical problems, which most are aware of, but it can also cause some undesirable internal feelings within children and adolescents who suffer from it. Self-esteem, or self-worth, is important as it helps develop personality and is a major ingredient to our mental health status (Wang, F. and Veugelers, P. J., 2008). Some have said obesity may even have a negative effect on cognitive development, as well. There have been studies performed to research the effects of obesity on children and adolescents, which I am going to review.
First, let me discuss some statistics that have been measured by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Within the past 30 years, the incidence of obesity among children has doubled and the incidence among adolescents has quadrupled ( Childhood Obesity Facts, 2014). Childhood Obesity Facts (2014) reported that in 2012, more than 1/3 of our youth suffered from being obese or overweight . An imbalance in caloric metabolism is to blame for obesity; however, this imbalance can be due to an assortment of factors (Childhood Obesity Facts, 2014), not just overeating and a lack of exercise.
Because of the prevalence of obesity and its effects on our youth, it is expert opinion that addressing this issue of childhood obesity is more necessary today than ever before. Before it can be addressed, though, biological and environmental factors need to be recognized (Gundersen, Mahatmya, Garasky, Lohman, 2014). Gundersen et al. (2014) explored the idea that there are psychosocial stressors in children’s lives that play a role in obesity. These stressors are important to take a closer look at becau...

... middle of paper ...

...l stressors and childhood obesity. Obesity Reviews, 12e54-e63. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00813.

Miller, J. L., Couch, J., Schwenk, K., Long, M., Towler, S., Theriaque, D. W., & ... Leonard, C. M. (2009). Early Childhood Obesity is Associated With Compromised Cerebellar Development. Developmental Neuropsychology, 34(3), 272-283. doi:10.1080/87565640802530961

Phillips, F. (2012). Facing up to childhood obesity. Practice Nurse, 42(11), 14-17

Pizzi, M. A., & Vroman, K. (2013). Childhood Obesity: Effects on Children's Participation, Mental Health, and Psychosocial Development. Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 27(2), 99-112. doi:10.3109/07380577.2013.784839

Wang, F. F., & Veugelers, P. J. (2008). Self-esteem and cognitive development in the era of the childhood obesity epidemic. Obesity Reviews, 9(6), 615-623. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2008.00507.

Open Document