Childhood Obesity A Child s Body Mass Index - 1701 Words

Childhood Obesity is usually measure by a child’s body mass index. This tells where a child lands on the health scale. At the same time, a child’s body mass index doesn’t give the final and complete picture about that child. In order to create an effective action plan to combat this public health issue, it is imperative that it is understood that children are very unique. Children are a lot like snowflakes; each one has different and unique characteristics to them. How a child grows is usually different from the next child’s growth pattern. Children have different amounts of muscle and how their body is built or their frame varies, because of this children have varying contributing risk factors (Sprouse, n.d.). These are all factors that†¦show more content†¦Among 2 to 5 year olds and 6 to 11 year olds, 27% and 33%, respectively, are either overweight or obese (Lowenstein et al, 2013). Bad choices in food and the absence of physical activity are t he main contributing factors of childhood obesity. The act of overeating unhealthy foods result in a child consuming and taking in more calories than that is needed for the body to function and the child will start to gain weight. This happens when children consume large portion sizes and/or foods that are loaded with sugar and calories; this results in an excess of calories (Sprouse, n.d.). Also, as a result of the elevated levels of amount of time spent in front of the television, video games and recreational computer use, children are spending more time inside and less time out engaging in physical activity. In addition to the lack of exercise and poor diets, there are other risks that increase the chances of children being overweight or obese. These risks include a family tree of relatives who were or are obese, a genetic predisposition to being overweight, psychological challenges, such as coping with stresses, and socioeconomic factors, such as low-income individuals without the time and resources to support healthy activities are at an increased risk (Sprouse, n.d.). In order to have an effective action plan, it is to be understood that combining all or some of the aforementioned risk factors with a poor choice in food and a sedentary lifestyle, it can be a dangerous