Childhood Obesity in Connecticut: A Preventable Health Crisis

2009 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olha Bobrykovych

Obesity has become one of the most urgent social problems worldwide. Continuous and rapid increase in obesity rates is considered by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic. Obesity affects children as well; the World Health Organization recognized childhood obesity as an acute public health crisis. Childhood obesity is often accompanied by arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia and disorders of        carbohydrate metabolism resulting in symptom complex – metabolic syndrome. While teaching the problems of metabolic syndrome in children to interns, a significant attention is paid to risk factors, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of syndrome. Such approach will allow future pediatricians to diagnose and prevent the development of early complications of metabolic syndrome in children timely.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-79
Author(s):  
Kristen R. Howard

Although the national health crisis of childhood obesity is a well-documented problem, few if any clinical interventions have had success in curbing its growth. In fact, childhood obesity, along with its associated morbidities, continues to climb even in the face of increased awareness. Research shows that factors contributing to obesity are almost entirely modifiable on some level. Furthermore, specific behavior changes have been shown to result in positive outcomes, yet these changes have not been widely implemented by practitioners, families, or individuals. The transtheoretical model of health behavior change offers insight into assessing individuals and targeting interventions for behavior change. This article focuses on guiding school nurses to assess parents of school-age children at risk for obesity for readiness for health behavior change, then choosing parent-focused interventions based on their stage of readiness for change.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Homs ◽  
P. Berruezo ◽  
G. Según ◽  
L. Estrada ◽  
J. de Bont ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Childhood obesity represents a global public health crisis: the number of obese children and adolescents (aged 5–19 years) worldwide has risen tenfold in the past four decades. The vast majority of overweight and obese children live in high-income countries, and low socio-economic status (SES) is a significant risk factor. Family Based Interventions (FBI) have demonstrated positive results in preventing obesity, although these results are strongly influenced by SES. Moreover, we still poorly understand how FBI can determine a positive trend in weight status in low-income communities. Therefore, there is an urgent need to define and evaluate innovative and multi-target projects to reduce obesity risk behaviors and health inequalities and the present study aims to present the study protocol of FIVALIN a FBI that pretends to achieve this goal. Methods We will conduct a quasi-experimental design within 60 Community Child Centers (CCC) in Barcelona metropolitan area. Each cluster (CCC) will be assigned by convenience to the intervention and control groups. For the whole study, a total of 810 children aged 8–12 years and 600 parents will be recruited during 3 consecutive editions (1st – 2019/2020; 2nd – 2020/2021; 3rd – 2021/2022) of 10 months each. The action is a regular multicomponent health-promotion intervention targeting children, families, and CCC. All activities are based on the Motivational Interviewing (MI) approach and will focus on promoting good dietary habits, physical activity, appropriate screen time and sleep duration, and psychological well-being. The control group participate in a unique workshop on general awareness of healthy lifestyles for families. We will perform a comparative analysis of the evolution of weight status, healthy lifestyles, and socioeconomic variables, between the intervention and control groups. Discussion There is a need for more evidence on how to target and evaluate holistic interventions in low SES families. Our multi-targeting intervention for obesity prevention tackles risky behaviors that go beyond diet and physical activity (PA). Therefore, future interventions can effectively promote all the behavioral domains that determine trends in the weight status. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry: ISRCRN12682870. Registered 9 July 2020. Retrospectively registered. Protocol version: 30 April 2021, version 5.


The Lancet ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 360 (9331) ◽  
pp. 473-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara B Ebbeling ◽  
Dorota B Pawlak ◽  
David S Ludwig

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A24-A25
Author(s):  
Hang Long Li ◽  
Man Fung Tsoi ◽  
Qi Feng ◽  
Ching-Lung Cheung ◽  
Tommy Cheung ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Obesity is a public health crisis in the US. Childhood obesity is associated with multiple comorbidities in the adulthood, including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, and premature death. A recent study found that the prevalence of childhood obesity varied according to age and ethnicity. This study aims to evaluate the long-term trends and the underexplored socioeconomic factors associated with childhood obesity. Method: From the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018, 35 907 children aged 2–19 with body mass index (BMI) data were included. Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity, defined as BMI ≥95th percentile and ≥120% of 95th percentile of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts, respectively. Trends in prevalence of obesity and subgroup analyses according to age group, sex, ethnicity, language used in interview, household education level, and household income level, were analyzed. Data analysis was performed using the R statistical package “survey” (version 3.6.3). Results: The prevalence of obesity and severe obesity increased from 14.7 [95% CI: 12.9–17.0] % to 19.2 [17.2–21.0] % and 3.9 [2.9–5.0] % to 6.1 [4.8–8.0] % in 1999–2018, respectively (p=0.001 and p=0.014 for obesity and severe obesity, respectively). In 2017–8, the prevalence of obesity among children from Spanish-speaking households was 24.4 [22.4–27.0] %, higher than children from English-speaking households (p=0.027). Children from households with high education level and high income level had a lower prevalence of obesity compared to those with low education level and low income level (p=0.003 and p=0.002 for education level and income level, respectively). Compared to girls, boys had higher prevalence of obesity (p=0.002) and severe obesity (p=0.004). Conclusion: The prevalence of childhood obesity in America kept increasing during the period 1999–2018 despite various public health initiatives. The problem is worse in children with lower socioeconomic status, and in children from Spanish-speaking households. Public health interventions are urgently needed to halt the rising trend of childhood obesity, and measures specifically catering to children from Spanish-speaking families should be put in place.


Author(s):  
Lucille Mclean ◽  
Richard Phillips

Abstract Background: The childhood obesity epidemic is a public health crisis. Most surveillance occurs in primary care, yet there is limited guidance for the detection and management of childhood obesity. Aims and methodology: We sought to establish the overweight and obesity prevalence in children aged 4–11 years old in a single primary care centre. Furthermore, we assessed whether appropriate weight management referrals were considered and determined the average duration since children last had their height and weight measured. Findings: We detected overweight or obesity status in 29.0% of our cohort, and only one-third (31.1%) of eligible children had evidence that appropriate weight management referral was considered. The average duration since last height and weight measurement was 20.3 months. Discussion: Childhood obesity requires an effective and inclusive solution, and in this report, we explore whether increased surveillance is necessary and how we might achieve this.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 352
Author(s):  
Gorav Kumar ◽  
Guneet Monga ◽  
Nilesh Gothi

Background: Obesity is fast becoming the developed world's greatest health problem. Moreover, childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased over few years. It is caused by imbalance between calorie intake and calories utilized.Methods: The current paper analyses the impact of Surya Namaskar and Pranayama on management of child obesity. For this purpose, a group of 120 respondents were selected for a 4-month program to measure that whether the program can improve their living standards or not.Results: The result revealed positive impact on the obesity of the participants, further the variables of their medical condition and living standards improvement is identified.Conclusions: One variable Rate_yoga_1 is predicting the Overall_quality of Surya Namaskar and Pranayama. Further, four variables medi_conImp_3, medi_conImp_2, medi_conImp_5 and medi_conImp_4 are predicting the medical condition improvement under session of Surya Namaskar and Pranayama, and two variables Livi_stanimpr_4 and Livi_stanimpr_3 are predicting the living standard improvement under session of Surya Namaskar and Pranayama.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Evangel Sarwar

Adequate food consumption is essential to stay alive. However, overconsumption and consumption of nutritionally deficient food can increase risks of obesity that negatively impacts health; ultimately leading to more expensive medical treatments, reduced quality of life, and early death – making it a public health issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes there is an increase in the prevalence of infant, childhood and adolescent obesity, and this is alarming because obesity can affect a child's immediate health, educational attainment, and quality of life. Overweight children are likely to be obese as an adult and consequently be at risk for various chronic illnesses. The prevalence of severe obesity in the United States has alarmingly increased among children, and research suggests that approximately 90% of children with severe obesity will become obese adults depending on the age at which these children became obese. This only shows that obesity is a precursor for a far more significant public health crisis that is about to explode with time. Moreover, obesity is also associated with the development of psychosocial implications such as diminished self-esteem and self-worth as a result of associated social and peer stigma. According to experts, the focus on childhood obesity should be on prevention rather than on the treatment of obesity. Even though obesity has been identified as the overconsumption of calorically dense and high-fat foods and inadequate physical activity, there is a socioeconomic dimension to the obesity crisis. This raises ethical questions regarding the role of government in implementing policies to eliminate obesity. To address obesity, it is better to understand it at the community level. Better policies that address the socioeconomic issues and environmental factors that fuel the obesity epidemic are needed – with that in mind; this paper aims to target these issues at the community and policy level.


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