Free article review on global trends in childhood obesity

[University Affiliation]

Introduction

Childhood obesity is considered as a serious healthcare problem affecting children, from a very young age. As childhood obesity could lead to early death and other serious health issues in future, the issue requires greater attention from the healthcare authorities at various levels. Though the intensity of the problem might vary, childhood obesity forms a serious concern for almost all the nations across the world and so appropriate policies need to be taken at national as well as international levels for dealing with the issue. De Onis, Blossner & Borghi (2010) in the study on the global trends in child obesity have assessed the extent of this problem from a global dimension and the article is reviewed and is presented below.

Health policy issue

The article deals with the issue on childhood obesity, in particular about the extent of obese problems in children from a global perspective. Studies indicate that obesity related issues are increasing at an alarming rate among the children and this forms a major concern for both developed and developing countries alike. Though there appear various healthcare policies that are aimed at dealing with the issue, the article points out the need for devising better and effective strategies for containing the issue, which needs to start at a much younger age. This is perhaps; problems such as this could be contained only through initiating tactful interventions at early developmental stages of the child (De Onis, Blossner & Borghi, 2010).

Details of the research study

Problem: Prevalence of childhood obesity on a global basis and quantifications of its occurrence form the major problem that is researched in the article. The study also assessed the intensity of the obese problems in children through identification and quantification of over weight and obese children world over. The children who are at risk of obesity were also assessed during the study.

Purpose of the study

The main aim of the study was to quantitatively assess the occurrence of obesity in children globally as well as on the trends that exist in this regard. The study mainly focused on understanding the obese problems among the preschool children worldwide. The study also assessed the current trends in obesity in children and made comparisons with the previous studies made in this regard. Studies on the subject indicate rise in obesity among children and considers it as a major cause for health disorders like diabetes, metabolic problems, etc at very young ages (Han, Lawlor & Kimm, 2010). So it becomes inevitable to quantify and understand the extent of prevalence of the disease on a global basis for devising appropriate and effective strategies for dealing with the issue in its entirety.

Brief of literature review

Many researches indicated obesity related problems among children are in the rise and it is a major health hazard that is affecting different nations across the world (Han, Lawlor & Kimm, 2010; Karnik & Kanekar, 2012; Song et al, 2013). The risks associated with childhood obesity appear to be huge as it would have direct impact on the health status of the population. Karnik & Kanekar (2012, p. 2) have opined that “ increased prevalence of childhood obesity may have adverse morbidity and mortality implications in the adult life of the child”. When considering the statistics of obesity from a global perspective it can be noted that the increase in obesity is more obvious and is prevalent in the ages from infancy to childhood (Song et al, 2012). In these scenario quantifications to gain insights on the current status of childhood obesity in relation to previous survey results is needed to reduce the gaps in this regard. Increased occurrence of childhood obesity could no longer be treated as a problem confined to a region but it has become a major issue for both developing and the developed world (Rosati, Triunfo & Scambia, 2013). The intensity of the problem might vary region wise depending on the nature and reason of its occurrence and hence an understanding of the issue from a global perspective appear to be imperative for devising policies that can be useful in containing the ailment.

Research methodology

The research study utilized the techniques of quantitative analysis. Assessments were based on the primary data collected using survey method. Surveys were conducted in different nations across the world to quantify and estimate the problem of obesity on a global basis. The survey results were compared to previous survey outcomes to understand the percentage changes in obese problems in different regions. Evaluations on over weight and obesity were on the basis of World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards. Statistical methods were applied for various assessments during the study.
Summary of the results of the research study: The findings of the study by De Onis, Blossner & Borghi (2010) showed that obesity problems among children especially the preschool children are on the rise. This trend is followed in different countries across the globe, which includes both developed and developing countries. The findings of the research study were in unison with the assessments made by previous researches (e. g. Rosati, Triunfo & Scambia, 2013; Song et al, 2012). The study showed that about “ 43 million children (35 million in developing countries) were estimated to be overweight and obese; 92 million were at risk of overweight” (De Onis, Blossner & Borghi, 2010, p. 1257). Forecasts on the future trends were made as a part of the study and the researchers pointed out the need for adopting effective strategies for dealing with childhood obesity on a global basis.

References

De Onis, M., Blossner, M. & Borghi, E. (2010). Global prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity among preschool children. Am J Clin Nutr, 92: 1257–1264.
Han, J. C., Lawlor, D. A. & Kimm, S. Y. S. (2010). Childhood Obesity – 2010: Progress and Challenges. Lancet, 375 (9727): 1737–1748. Retrieved October 14, 2013, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC3073855/pdf/nihms230011. pdf
Karnik, S. & Kanekar, A. (2012). Childhood obesity: a global public health crisis. Int J Prev Med., 3(1): 1–7. Retrieved October 14, 2013, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278864/? report= printable
Rosati, P., Triunfo, S. & Scambia, G. (2013). Child nutritional status: A representative survey in a metropolitan school. Journal of Obesity, 2013 (2013): 1 – 4. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www. plosone. org/article/fetchObject. action? uri= info%3Adoi%2F10. 1371%2Fjournal. pone. 0053069&representation= PDF
Song, Y., Wang, H., Ma, J., & Wang, Z. (2013). Secular trends of obesity prevalence in urban Chinese children from 1985 to 2010: Gender Disparity. PLOS One, 8 (1): 1 – 6. Retrieved October 13, 2013, from http://www. plosone. org/article/fetchObject. action? uri= info%3Adoi%2F10. 1371%2Fjournal. pone. 0053069&representation= PDF