Putting an End to Childhood Obesity: Lost Cause?

I started this leadership assignment with the pre-conceived notion that doing some research and typing up a paper on how we can apply this finding of these reports to our nursing practice would be a piece of cake. As I read more and more articles regarding childhood obesity, the more daunting the topic became. We as nurses have been fighting this growing, epidemic if you will, for years and yet the number has more than tripled over the past 4 decades and currently stand approximately around 9 million with 15% of the rest of them at risk for becoming obese. So, hence the title, I researched a few different ways for us as nurses to approach this matter. Also while researching how we can help I came across some very interesting theories as to why the number of children who are obese is on the rise.

One theory pointed to food marketing to children and youth and how the majority of adds were found to promote foods that were high in sugar, calories, salt, fat and low in nutrients. Although kids are more inclined during this day and age to sit in front of the t.v. instead of go outside and play, these adds only contribute to the problem as they are promoting very unhealthy snacks. These articles also went in to much detail on how habits are learned from other family members and that children will tend to eat foods that are readily available to them and eat greater quantities of these foods when larger portions are provided. So for every caregiver that places a plate of these high calorie/sugar/salt/fat with low nutrient content out for them to grab, they are going to go for the food no questions asked.

So after reading all of the contributing factors and how many different people and things help to form the unhealthy habits in kids, I was pleased to read that there are many options for us as health care workers to intervene. One proposal was directed towards Social Marketing ( having the behavior you would like to see changed exchanged for another activity that is attractive and wanted by the family and the child). Since we as nurses are constantly teaching our patients and making/adjusting/ and implementing our plans of care, this is a easy approach that can be implemented. The road blocks come up when the rest of the family is not agreeing to make the change. "Do as I say, not as I do" is not the best way to promote change in young individuals as their family in their key socializing agent. So in hopes of decreasing morbidity/ mortality rates among individual that illness stems from their obesity, all sectors must work together to make the change and all members of the caregivers and family members must be on board!


PS: just another statistic- 80% of children who have 2 obese parents will become obese themselves, 40% with one obese parent, and only 7% when neither of their parents are obese.