Obesity
CHILDHOOD OBESITY
BACKGROUND Obesity is one of the most significant current health promotion and disease prevention priorities in this country because it is a major contributor to many preventable causes of death. Obesity in children is an equally significant public health concern. In addition, there is evidence that the incidence of children who are overweight is increasing despite efforts to the contrary. Healthy People (2010) objective 19-3 call for the reduction of the percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese from the 1988-1994 baseline rates of 11% to not more than 5% of the population. The current estimated percentage of overweight children is 16% and as high as 24% in some high risk populations (United States Department of Health and Human Services National Centre for Health Statistics, 2004). Overweight children face an increased risk of compromised physical and mental well-being. Indeed, the consequences of childhood obesity are far reaching, implicating not only children, but parents, schools, communities and health care systems. Moreover, there is evidence that childhood obesity may become a lifetime sentence. Pediatric providers are at the forefront of the effort to reverse these trends, particularly in the role of determining the breadth of the problem. Yet there is evidence that there are shortcomings to current childhood obesity monitoring practices (Cameron et.al 2006).
The prevalence of obesity in United Kingdom and other countries and the cost to National Health Service and economy will be looked into. The World Health Organization (WHO 1986) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not just the absence of disease and infirmity. Forster (2002) confirms that health is generally seen in terms of people being ill or well but indicates that this is a simplistic view, as being well or ill is not entirely separate notions but in fact overlap to some degree. Forster (2002) while
BACKGROUND Obesity is one of the most significant current health promotion and disease prevention priorities in this country because it is a major contributor to many preventable causes of death. Obesity in children is an equally significant public health concern. In addition, there is evidence that the incidence of children who are overweight is increasing despite efforts to the contrary. Healthy People (2010) objective 19-3 call for the reduction of the percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese from the 1988-1994 baseline rates of 11% to not more than 5% of the population. The current estimated percentage of overweight children is 16% and as high as 24% in some high risk populations (United States Department of Health and Human Services National Centre for Health Statistics, 2004). Overweight children face an increased risk of compromised physical and mental well-being. Indeed, the consequences of childhood obesity are far reaching, implicating not only children, but parents, schools, communities and health care systems. Moreover, there is evidence that childhood obesity may become a lifetime sentence. Pediatric providers are at the forefront of the effort to reverse these trends, particularly in the role of determining the breadth of the problem. Yet there is evidence that there are shortcomings to current childhood obesity monitoring practices (Cameron et.al 2006).
The prevalence of obesity in United Kingdom and other countries and the cost to National Health Service and economy will be looked into. The World Health Organization (WHO 1986) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not just the absence of disease and infirmity. Forster (2002) confirms that health is generally seen in terms of people being ill or well but indicates that this is a simplistic view, as being well or ill is not entirely separate notions but in fact overlap to some degree. Forster (2002) while