Science assignment on : Obesity

Science assignment on : Obesity

1. Executive SummaryThis literature review takes into consideration obesity in regards to children as well as adults. Obesity is defined as a condition which leads to an excess amount of fat which accumulates over the body. The accumulated fat increases the body weight which exceeds healthy state of an individual. Technology advancements in the food industry have led to the development of abundant high energy foods which are rich in protein, energy, fat and poor in carbohydrate. With this high fat and high energy diet and reduced individuals energy demand is the major cause for the obesity epidemic.

This review also takes into consideration the main aspect i.e. obesity in case of children, threat to children’s physical health, environmental health, social responses or problems, etc. This review also takes into consideration the consequences of being obese & over weight. The trends in obesity in case of adults as well as children clearly depicts that, this issue is increasing at a high pace.

1. IntroductionObesity is defined as a condition which leads to an excess amount of fat which accumulates over the body. The accumulated fat increases the body weight which exceeds healthy state of an individual. Technology advancements in the food industry have led to the development of abundant high energy foods which are rich in protein, energy, fat and poor in carbohydrate. With this high fat and high energy diet and reduced individuals energy demand is the major cause for the obesity epidemic (Government of South Australia, 2011).

Change in the family style and long stretch of working hours have increased the demand for nutritionally poor quality foods when compared to the home made foods. Australian children consumption of energy dense foods in school environment has become a major concern of overweight and obesity in children. Media is influencing the children by their promotions and advertisements to choose high fat and energy dense foods than nutritious food which is good for health (Guh, Zhang &Bansback, 2009).

In addition to the food style modern world has reduced the energy expenditure leading to more sedentary life. Reliance on motor vehicles for transport, mechanized equipment and devices at home and work has drastically reduced the need for the individual’s physical activity and energy demanding tasks. At an individual level physical activity is highly important to control the weight. Physical inactivity is both the major cause and consequence of obesity (Sanigorski, Bolton, Haby & Swinburn, 2010).

1. Literature Review:

This literature mainly focuses upon gathering various information regarding the different aspects of obesity. Some of the aspects covered in this literature review refers to the prevalence of obesity in children as well as adults, the various trends of the same, the risk associated with obesity, threat of obesity to the children’s physical, environmental healthy, etc (Government of South Australia, 2011).

Intermediate affects measures like diet change towards healthy and increased level of physical activities. Special concentration was given to the studies performed aiming the children and adults. Search was extended to recent articles to find out the wide range of interventions in addressing the overweight and obesity (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006). Majority of the reviews focused on interventions for the treatment and management of the obese people. Interventions are less focused on the aim of preventing the weight gain in population.

Based on the nature of obesity, effective intervention is required to bring a considerable impact on the community (Atlantis, Lange, & Wittert, 2005). Experts are of opinion that population lack of significant knowledge on obesity and its prevention. While proposing approaches or health promotion programs, consideration has to be given — Factors responsible for the problem. This ensures that the solutions or intervention exactly address the problem and to the approach to Evidences.  Different evidences are essential in various stages of decision making (Sanigorski, Bolton, Haby & Swinburn, 2010).

Hence search of literature and assessment processes are mandatory to identify the evidences and use them in making interventions (Government of South Australia, 2011). Literature on interventions, which are targeted at high risk people with chronic health disorders provide less information on the effectiveness. Majority of the interventions concentrate on the improvement of life style and healthy behavior without proper evidences of the permanent effects.

The literature review also specify that Australians particularly adults require immense support to make changes in their life style by modifying the risk factors like overweight, sedentary behavior and poor diet, by investment in behavioral systems to make sure that the lifestyle changes are permanent (Government of South Australia, 2011).

3.1 Children Obesity:

Obesity in case of Children has increased in Australia in the past two years. Obesity or over weight in case of adults as well as children would be measured in terms of BMI which would record the growth in the amount of fat accumulated over one’s body.

Approximately, 25% of the children in Australia were measured to be overweight or obese. This percentage is expected to rise in the years to come at a very high speed. Significant rise in the childhood obesity and overweight has created an alarming situation. Based upon the various literatures, youngsters are more active than the adults (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006). But the modern life style has greatly reduced their voluntary and incidental activities. This situation has a major influence on the overweight and obesity of the children in the past decade. Numerous researches and studies on children and adolescents have discovered the causes (Popkin, 2011).

These researches and studies correlated the inactivity associated in children with factors such as age – younger are more active than adolescents, who are more active than adults, gender- males are more active than females, ethnicity, socio economic factors, school location and its environment, season and health status (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006). Moreover, over weight in childhood may have a psychosocial effect.

Urban environment has become less favorable for supporting active life demanding physical activity for children. Due to their safety and lack of suitable play space, low participation rates in sports and physical education in school are making the children physically inactive and the leisure time is dominated by the use of electronic media, like televisions and use of computers. Australian children exposure to the food advertisings in television is highest in the world, which influence their eating habits (Government of South Australia, 2011).

Children who watch television more than 20 hours /week are liable to obesity by twofold, than the children watching for less duration. The two key reasons that result in obesity by watching television are – first reduced physical activity, secondly it reduces the metabolic rate. A study conducted in the United States by Anon 2005, on children and television viewing, it was estimated that excessive watching of television cab be correlated to approximately 60% of overweight prevalence in the population.  Severely obese children are associated with serious physical and health complications (Popkin, 2011).

3.2 Consequences of overweight and obesity

3.2.1 Impact on Environmental Health:

Obesity is the key risk factor responsible for many other diseases. It contributes to numerous non-fatal diseases thereby increasing the probability of premature death.

Obesity has adverse effects which are both physical and physiological in nature.  Epidemiological studies showed that increased risk of death and morbidity is associated with obesity, due to various clinical effects. Obesity is key factor responsible for metabolic syndrome that results in adipose tissue deposition, hypertension and resistance to insulin.  People with high body mass are associated with diabetes, and cardio vascular diseases (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009).

Obese or over weight persons are at a risk of high BP, high blood cholesterol and atherosclerosis all of which lead to cardio vascular diseases including heart failure and coronary heart disease. Obesity is also associated with risk of gall stones in both males and females (Dehghan, Akhtar & Merchant, 2005).

Obesity in women is associated with the risk of hormone dependent cancers like endometrial, uterine, ovarian, breast and cervical cancers. An association exists between the incidence of gastro intestinal cancers like colorectal cancer, gall bladder cancer and renal cell cancer in particularly women with obesity. Evidences exist for prostate cancer in men with overweight (Altunoglu, Muderrisoglu, Erdenen, Ulgen, Mustafa & Memis, 2011).

3.2.2 Social Problems or Responses:

Psychological impact is associated with the people suffering with the weight related problems. Studies has revealed that obese individual prefer to lead an isolated life. Obese people will be academically backward, have a deprived job prospects, and low self-esteem (Dehghan, Akhtar & Merchant, 2005).

They feel they are less attractive. They get depressed, when they fail to achieve the desired things and blame themselves. Obese people often face discrimination and develop negative attitude. Physiological problems of obesity are more common in men than women. Obese people are associated with altered or poor body image. Emotional distress makes them to turn to food to hold back their feelings, which may even worsen the condition, due to lack of control over the food (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009).

3.2.3 Child obesity and its health consequences

Obesity in case of children refers to a chronic pediatric disease which has many complications involving many systems in the body. Children who are obese in the childhood remain obese in the adolescent stage too and continue to grow as obese adults. It was proved the relative body weight or obesity is carried from the child hood to the adult (Dehghan, Akhtar & Merchant, 2005).

Obesity results from the energy imbalance caused by the consumption of fatty and high energy foods, minimal physical activity and inactive life style (Atlantis, Lange, & Wittert, 2005). Weight gain has a significant effect on the children health leading to the emergence of life style related disease in children, which were exclusive to the adults previously (Popkin, 2011).

Severe obesity in children is associated with conditions like respiratory disorders during sleep and breathing cessation .Obstructive sleep in children are at a risk of memory dysfunction.  It was established that obesity and asthma are allied with one another (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006).

Over weight in girls will result in hormonal disturbances, abnormal menstruation and early menarche. Poly cystic ovarian syndrome, a hormone imbalance condition is quite common in obese girls. Early menarche is allied with increased risk of breast cancer, cancers of female reproductive system and psychiatric problems like depression and disordered eating (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009).

Overweight and obesity in adolescent age is associated with number of risk factors that my leads to cardio vascular diseases that persist even in the adult stage like High BP and high blood cholesterol (Preventative Health Taskforce, 2008). Obese adolescents have a lesser number of friends, and shown to be associated with reduced psychological functioning. Obesity in adolescents is interrelated with economic consequences like low education, low income and high rate of poverty in adult stage (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006).

1. Need to address obesity:

Obesity is the accelerating problem in the industrialized and developed countries. According to an international report Obesity in Australia is growing at a rapid rate. An analytic report of 33 countries revealed that, in Australia one among the two people was overweight. In view of fact that obesity as well as over weight in Australia is affecting more than 60% of the population (Atlantis, Lange, & Wittert, 2005).The complexity and multitude of health, social, economic consequences demand a much greater change has to be attempted. These changes should be at individual, family, community, organizational and environmental level for the Australians to prevent obesity and to achieve and maintain a healthy weight (Nicholas, et al 2011). Expert team of Australia has requested the government to address the problem. If the obesity rates in Australia continue to rise the resultant consequences will have a severe and overwhelming effect on the health and welfare (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006).

1. Trends in obesity and over weight

Based on the self-reported height and weights Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 2001 has analysed that16% of the Australians in the age group of 18 and above were having obesity while 34% of the Australians in the age group of 18 and above were overweight but not having obesity (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006).

Based on the survey performed by the National Health Survey in 1989-90, demonstrated that 9% of the Australians in the age group of 18 and above were having obesity and 30% of the Australian  in the age group of 18 and above were overweight but not having obesity (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006).

By comparing the data, it was found that in a span of 13 years, the percentage of adult obesity in Australia raised by approximately 80%, and the percentage of overweight adults raised by 14% (Nicholas, et al 2011).

These statistics enlighten the predominance of obesity and overweight in the past decade.

Fig:  Obesity and overweight predominance by BMI: self-given height and weight, Australian males and females, in the age group of 18 and above, 1989-90 to 2000                               (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2006)

1. Conclusion

Excessive accumulation of fat in the body is known as obesity, which was determined by BMI. Adults with BMI more than 30 are considered obese. Waist circumference and BMI are interrelated to each other. In the past 2 decades a significant raise in the obesity proportion was observed in Australia (Anon, 2007).

Obesity is the key risk factor responsible for many other diseases. Its consequences may contribute to numerous non-fatal diseases and may increase the probability of premature death (MediBank, 2010). Obesity also leads to social and economic problems. Development and lifelong continuation of healthy and nutritious balanced diet associated with increased physical activity, reduced sedentary behavior enables to achieve weight control, prevent over weight and obesity (Nicholas, et al 2011).

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