Obesity in young children is a growing concern. School nurses are primary sources for children and can give professional advice, as they spend most of their day at school. A school nurse has two important roles: to monitor children's health in a learning environment and to educate them about their health.
School nurses can monitor students’ physical and mental health. The American Academy of Pediatrics, United States Preventive Services Task Force, and Institute of Medicine recommend that schools monitor the weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) of each student and inform their parents of any borderline obesity. Nurses should first take permission from the parents to calculate the students' BMI and emphasize that the sole purpose of obtaining
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First they should acknowledge that obese children are teased and ridiculed. Nurses should properly handle the situation if an obese student complains about depression or shows signs of low self-esteem, as a result of bullying (Schantz, 2012). In this way, nurses are helping students maintain a healthy psychological state, which is critical to excellent academic performance. Nurses can also take other actions, such as uplifting the student's mood, informing his parents, referring to a health professional, or enforcing consequences for students who …show more content…
During that week, students engage in various activities that show how they can lead a healthy lifestyle. For instance, for one week, students can only bring a healthy snack and lunch. The school cafeteria could also only provide fruits, vegetables, low calorie snacks, and other healthy food items during this time. Nurses should enforce the entire staff to model and emphasize eating only healthy food items. Research suggests that the best way to give healthy advice is to follow that advice (Smith & Robinson, 2014). During that one week, school nurses could also enforce that teachers do not award students with chocolates and candies, rather give stickers. At the end of the health campaign, students could be awarded with gifts for successfully completing one week free of junk food.
During the one week of health campaign, nurses should also present information sessions to all students. The information sessions should teach students about the seriousness of obesity. During the sessions, nurses should emphasize that obesity is a growing concern. Twenty years ago, about 20% of children were obese; however now the percentage has increased exponentially (Preventing Childhood, 2012). The increased rates are likely a result of unhealthy lifestyle (Preventing Childhood, 2012). Thus nurses should motivate and advise students to lead a proper lifestyle, beyond that one healthy
Many would argue that children should not focus on their weight because children should lead a youth with little worries, yet obesity affects a child much more than people with that argument think. Being overweight can cause increased risks for several serious diseases and even can result in decreased mental health on account of low self-esteem and social discrimination. Children who are overweight also are at least twice as likely to have heart disease, diabetes, and orthopedic problems (Internicola, 2009). Sadly, children are being pressured into unhealthy lifestyles even more so than adults are.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an individual health promotion for an 8 year old African American female who is in the 95 percentile for weight. Guiding change is a key component that a nurse must display in order to combat childhood obesity (Berkowitz & Borchard, 2009). The health promotion will aim to increase physical activity and enhance the individual’s consumption of nutrient dense food based on Healthy People Guidelines 2010, as well as improve the health literacy for the parent and the individual with regards to childhood obesity. It is essential that the nurse, parent, and child have open communication with mutually agreed upon goals (Caprio et al., 2008). The goals set forth by the nurse, parent, and child are that the attendee participate in at least 60 minutes of sustained aerobic activity 5 days a week for the next 6 months.
Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% . Not only has prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity increased dramatically over the last several decades, but being an overweight or obese child puts one at a heightened risk for adult overweight and obesity .
The Encyclopedia Britannica emphasizes the increasing significance of the epidemic of childhood obesity and its complex biological, social, and health in today’s American Children with just increases year over year since the early nineteen eighties from just fewer than twenty percent from the adolescent and childhood life stages into adult transition. {Britannica} One out of every three children in the U.S. are obese, with the majority facing higher risks of developing medical, social and academic problems as a result of this health crisis. Over the past ten years, the United States rates of obesity in children have been on a steady incline. Various public health problems like obesity paired with attempted solutions to its consequences dating back years but hidden by all with differing views on exploring certain areas of life experiences. Parents’ early interventions with proper training slow the disease increase trend. The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health asserts the prevalence of early diagnosis and treatment in children will help improve transitional health into adulthood by encouraging main factors in adult health complications when a cycle of weight loss followed by weight gain begins. {Gale} Parents are not provided enough conventionally accessible education to support children in prevention of the disease. We need to focus our efforts on teaching children how to lead consistent and healthy lives and eradicate this excessive weight disease by an overall healthy lifestyles starting with parents, by setting the groundwork for culture principals while providing guidance which will lead to healthy weight development into the adolescent and latter adult years. The CDC estimates studies show kids before school age ar...
Many children who are obese are the targets of bullying from other children. Self-esteem can be greatly damaged from a disease that can be prevented. Having an obese or once obese person tell the stories of struggle, difficulties and how life is greatly impacted by not eating right and exercising could have a great influence on just how serious obesity is. In the academic journal, “Childhood obesity and Self-Esteem”, has found that there are social and emotional effects from childhood obesity. Other than just low self-esteem, obesity can lead to “Smoking and consuming alcohol” (Strauss 3) compared to children who are not obese. Preventing obesity could also decrease the rate of smoking and drinking in children underage. The more than one solution to how this can be done, for parents and students, for schools “Replacing vending machines containing unhealthy foods and drinks and replace with healthy items” (Green 4). This has been increasing in many schools and even colleges; Montgomery College has also taken the steps of changing the vending machine. Another resolution for schools is to “Provide quality daily physical education for all students. Be sure to select activities that are fun, challenging, and aerobic in nature” (Green
This article from CDC talk about the basics about childhood obesity. It provides information on how childhood overweight and obesity is measured by calculating an individual’s body mass index (BMI). It also states some consequences that are related to childhood obesity, both consequences that can happen now and later...
Childhood obesity has been on the rise in the last couple of years. In the 1970’s childhood obesity was never a concern to the public until the number increased over the years. An alarming rate of 31% of all adults have been obese since they were children and the rates of childhood obesity don’t fall too behind with an 18% of children being obese. That makes almost half of obese adults and children. A child that is obese has a 70-80% higher chance of staying obese even through their adulthood if no action is taken. Childhood obesity is not something children are in control of, these children suffer from different outcomes since they can’t look after themselves and heavily rely on someone to aid them when they need it. These numbers can be drastically altered in a positive way by educating both children and parents about healthy, nutritious foods to consume, supplying schools with better lunch and healthier vending machines with healthy choices and promoting after school activities to keep children active and away from electronics.
There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015)
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem among American children. Some doctors are even calling childhood obesity an epidemic because of the large percentage of children being diagnosed each year as either overweight or obese. “According to DASH sixteen to thirty-three percent of American children each year is being told they are obese.” (Childhood Obesity) There is only a small percentage, approximately one percent, of those children who are obese due to physical or health related issues; although, a condition that is this serious, like obesity, could have been prevented. With close monitoring and choosing a healthier lifestyle there would be no reason to have such a high obesity rate in the United States (Caryn). Unfortunately, for these children that are now considered to be obese, they could possibly be facing some serious health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancers. All of these diseases have been linked to obesity through research. These children never asked for this to happen to them; however, it has happened, and now they will either live their entire life being obese, or they will be forced to reverse what has already been done (Childhood Obesity).
Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last thirty years, it has recently become one of the major health issues in children. Children who are obese have a greater chance of getting other major health issues such as; heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Not only does this child have a greater chance of getting other major health conditions but they also have a greater chance of getting anxiety and depression because these children get bullied for being overweight. It affects these children as they are children but also as they grow older. According to the article “What is Childhood Obesity”, “Children who are considered affected by obesity are seventy percent more likely to cont...
Adolescent obesity is a very serious issue and the need for nursing interventions has never been more prominent. The majority of cases of teenage obesity have been linked to poor eating habits (kids and obesity). Further emphasizing the immense need for new nursing interventions to promote healthy eating habits. Aims of Study The purpose of this study is to understand and analyze current trends in food choices among overweight and obese adolescents with hopes of discovering strategies that can be useful in reducing the risk of habitual poor eating habits.
Obesity is a very common disease in America. An estimated one third or 12.5 million of children in the United States are overweight or obese. Out of this number an estimated four to six percent of children and teens are severely obese. Children are determined to be overweight or obese based on where they are on the body mass index (BMI) growth charts. Children that are in the 85th to 95th percentile are considered to be overweight. Children that are above the 95th percentile are considered obese. Doctors are advised to calculate their patients BMI and weight-to-height ratio at least once a year. If they find that their patient is overweight or obese, they are typically help to create an exercise plan, tell their patient to moderately cut back on calories, and send them to health counseling. The side effects that go along...
Childhood obesity is a health problem that is becoming increasingly prevalent in society’s youth. For a number of years, children across the nation have become accustomed to occasionally participating in physical activities and regularly snacking on sugary treats. In result of these tendencies, approximately one third of American children are currently overweight or obese (Goodwin). These grim statistics effectively represent all the lack of adult interference, in regards to health, has done to the youth of America. The habits of over consuming foods and under participating in physical activities are all too common in the children of today. Children cannot solve this issue alone, though. These young people need to essentially be given the opportunities to make positive health decisions and learn about good, nutritional values.
Obesity simply put, is an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity puts children at increased risk of disease and other health-related problems. Childhood obesity is a very serious and ongoing problem-putting children on the pathway to health conditions earlier in their life such as diabetes, elevated cholesterol, hypertension. Childhood obesity also has a link to depression as well as affects the self-esteem of children and adolescent. I recently performed a community teaching on childhood obesity and will be discussing the teaching experience, observation, summary of the teaching plan, epidemiological rationale for childhood obesity, evaluation of my teaching and the community’s response to the teaching.