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Obesity Among the Young is Getting Old

Eric Wyatt

Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, University of San Diego

HCIN 540: Introduction to Health Care Information Management

Dr. Kathy Klimpel

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Abstract

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that has been and continues to be on the rise in the

United States. A full understanding of this public health problem suggests an analysis based on

demographics. Through this contextual examination, clear trends emerge on the community-

level. These trends aid in the discovery of important contributing factors. Public health

interventions must be tailored in such a way as to take these factors into consideration in order to

be the most effective. By targeting resources to the communities that are identified as the most

disadvantaged, the problem can be confronted with the most potential for success.
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Obesity Among the Young is Getting Old

Obesity is a public health problem in the United States and it has been understood, for

some time, that it is on the rise (Boulos et al., 2012). Within this public health problem, there is

yet another. Childhood obesity is one of the most concerning trends and has forced the pediatric

medical community to take note (Lytle, 2012). The literature reports that obesity in children can

lead to the development of health complications, which include Type 2 diabetes among others

(Lytle, 2012). Because of this, obesity has the potential to have health ramifications that affect

children as they age into adulthood. If this public health problem is to be addressed, the

contributing factors must be understood so that interventions to mitigate the crisis can be

pursued. If investigating the rise in obesity in children in the United States in context of age and

ethnicity, will increase the understanding of these contributing factors. Data can allow us to view

childhood obesity through these contextual lenses of contributing factors may further allow us to

better formulate an appropriate action plan (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC],

2019).

Not only does obesity put a strain on the health of the individual, it has direct

ramifications as it relates to the cost and strain on our medical system (Lytle, 2012). The increase

in childhood obesity in the United States, regardless of the demographics, is an important topic

to explore for social and public health reasons. Any strain on the medical system in the United

States, especially one that can be prevented, should be investigated in a way that identifies the

contributing factors so that solutions have the greatest potential to succeed in a meaningful way.

In addition to sex and ethnicity, there are other contributing factors to childhood obesity worth

identifying so that this unique public health problem can be fully addressed. We must identify

whether these factors, such as living a sedentary life and/or eating large amounts of nutrient-
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poor, high-calorie foods, are seen to affect the minds and lifestyles of children in the United

States (Boulos et al., 2012). This review will take a multifactorial approach and attempt to

develop interventions that fully grapple with the severity of the crisis.

Literature Review

There is wide agreement in the public health arena that childhood obesity is a problem of

significant concern (Lytle, 2012). The data shows that childhood obesity is on the rise and the

literature takes this reality into account and attempts to identify contributing factors. The overall

rise in childhood obesity has forced the public health sector in the United States to think in new

ways. This has created a multi-faceted, comprehensive perspective whereby broad initiatives are

pursued in an approach that focus on prevention and treatment. While there is wide agreement of

the problem, there are differences in what the solutions may look like and how best they are to be

advanced.

Lytle (2012) argues that dealing with the childhood obesity problem in the United States

will take the full effort of the public health sector. By taking a holistic overview of trends and

initiatives in the United States, Lytle aims to investigate what has worked to address the

epidemic and to what degree. The article explores prevention efforts at the medical practice level

and at the community outreach level. Though there is a consideration for future endeavors, there

is a large focus on trends and research. Rather than postulating a specific public health strategy,

the article serves mainly as a summary of public health failings with indications of where

interventions have come up short.

Boulos et al. (2012) takes one social trend in the United States, the prevalence of

television viewing, and attempts to tie this trend to the rise in childhood obesity. Although the

article does not suggest that this social trend is the only culprit, it aims to put the trend in a
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concrete context where it should be seen as a contributing factor. Through research, Boulos et al.

ties television viewing to a sedentary lifestyle, to an attraction to nutrient-poor food, and to a

consumption without mindfulness. They then take these explanations as support for the

perceived relationship between television and childhood obesity. The direct and indirect

pathways of this relationship are extensively explored. Though there are suggestions on how the

United States can address this problem, its focus on one contributing factor leaves the size of its

impact on childhood obesity questionable.

Lanza et al. (2012) acknowledges that there are many cultural and biological reasons for

the rise in childhood obesity, but chooses to focus its efforts in studying social factors as a cause

of decreasing health. They elect to study this by comparing two communities of different

socioeconomic status. With this approach they note the differences in the community’s

respective aspects as it relates to the living, working, and eating spaces. Overall, they suggest

that the quality of food and the availability of physical activity in the built environment

differentiate the communities. They posit that these differences contribute to the disparity

between the respective community’s health status. Although their inferences are well-supported,

the sample size is limited to two communities in Tennessee which makes its larger, global

conclusions about the United States difficult to create.

The literature agrees that the rise in childhood obesity is a reality that public health

professionals must address. In order to adequately address the problem, there exists a genuine

exploration of what factors contribute to the problem. With sober analysis of the trends, the

literature aims to put the rise of childhood obesity into a framework of better understanding. It is

with this better knowledge that meaningful interventions can be formulated and followed. Lytle

(2012) aims to holistically understand what the data trends illustrate and how it can influence
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prevention strategies. Rather than taking a global perspective, Boulos et al. (2012) takes a more

granular approach and attempts to take one contributing factor and put into an actionable plan

moving forward. The literature shows that though there is general understanding of the problem,

there are different approaches to analyzing and organizing the problem into a context that

promotes significant change.

Methods

For the purposes of this investigation, data was collected from the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. The data that was collected represents the measurement of childhood

obesity for children aged 2-19 years within the United States for the duration of 1988 through

2018. This data was organized by selected characteristics which includes age, sex, race, and

poverty level (CDC, 2019).

Results

Childhood obesity has consistently risen in recent years within the United States, as can

be seen in Figure 1. This figure depicts obesity in children as a percentage of population as

measured over a span of approximately 30 years. Figure 1 illustrates that the most recent overall

trend of childhood obesity in the United States is one of increase.

Figure 2 shows the rise of childhood obesity in terms of age groups. The bar graph

demonstrates that older children, within the ages of 6 through 19 years, represent a larger

proportion of the problem than younger children, within the ages 2 through 5 years. Though this

holds true, all age groups have shown an increase in childhood obesity over time. Also, Figure 2

shows that the largest rate of increase in obesity can be seen in children ages 12 through 19

years.
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Figure 3 shows the rise of childhood obesity in terms of racial groups. The bar graph

shows that different racial groups experience childhood obesity in different terms. For example,

Hispanics and African Americans, respectively, have a higher prevalence of childhood obesity

when compared to Whites and Asians, respectively. Though there is an increase over time in

childhood obesity among all racial groups, Figure 3 also shows that the Hispanic and African

American population in the United States, respectively, have seen a higher degree of increase

than the White and/or Asian population.

Discussion and Future Recommendations

In the United States, childhood obesity is a legitimate public health concern because

contemporary data suggests that it is on the rise (CDC, 2019). By separating the data into age

and race demographics, certain conclusions can be drawn about how specifically the problem can

be understood. The data reveals where to search for contributing factors to this public health

problem. Childhood obesity is a multifactorial problem and when the data is organized to

facilitate proper analysis several judgments can be made.

When considering sex, the increase in childhood obesity can be seen to be experienced at

a similar rate in Figure 1. Regardless of whether or not there are differences in calorie intake or

expenditure in regards to sex, childhood obesity has increased over the past 3 decades in both

sexes which is demonstrated in Figure 1. This suggests that any public health intervention aimed

at addressing the problem needs to be broad enough to take both sexes into account. Because the

rate of increase is relatively similar, the societal factors that contribute to childhood obesity does

not appear to be sex-specific.

When considering age, the increase in childhood obesity can be seen across age groups

all the way through adolescence when considering the past 3 decades as seen in Figure 2. As
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seen in Figure 2, the data also reveals that the age group with the greatest rate of increase over

this time appears to be older children right before they transition to adulthood. This supports the

assertion that adolescents are more susceptible to targeted advertising of unhealthy food than

younger children (Boulos et al., 2012). If children were to consume only food that is advertised

on television, they would be consuming 25 times the daily recommended amount of sugar and 20

times the daily recommended amount of fat (Boulos et al., 2012). In the United States, television

has increasingly become part of the daily life of children with school-aged children watching an

average of three hours a day (Boulos et al., 2012). This dynamic has promoted a sedentary

lifestyle whereby a decrease in physical activity and an increase in food intake has contributed to

the problem (Boulos et al., 2012).

Figure 3 reveals that childhood obesity is greater in the African American and Hispanic

minority communities. The environment of minority communities tends to be of lower

socioeconomic status whereby access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity is

decreased (Lanza et al., 2012). With African Americans living more years with chronic health

problems than Whites, socioeconomic conditions may be the main origin of racial disparity in

health (Lanza et al., 2012). Access to healthy food in the community is an important part of

whether a healthy lifestyle can be pursued. Communities of lower socioeconomic status, which

are ones that tend to be minority communities, are often seen as “food deserts” where there is a

shortage of healthy grocery options and a surplus of fast food restaurants (Lytle, 2012).

Resources and interventions aimed at addressing the rise in childhood obesity should

focus on increasing physical activity and decreasing the consumption of unhealthy foods. Foods

that are high in sugar and fat are often advertised in such a way as to appeal specifically to

children (Boulos et al., 2012). The rise of television entertainment has contributed to this
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problem which means that education to children and parents should focus on communicating the

importance of activity outside the home (Boulos et al., 2012). The promotion of a sedentary

lifestyle in children form habits that are unhealthy for them to adopt. The community outreach

level has proven to be an effective instrument in the public health sectors toolkit (Lytle, 2012).

Community outreach to provide this education in the communities of low socioeconomic status

could alleviate childhood obesity in the United States. Resources should focus on all age groups,

but should be catered to each one. For example, education to younger children and their parents

could focus on forming health habits whereas education to older children and their parents could

focus on stopping unhealthy habits. In the United States, childhood obesity continues to be a

problem and for that reason public health interventions should be specific and precise. The data

in this analysis allow for important conclusions that are specific to different groups of children in

the United States. It is this analysis that can promote the development of these catered public

health interventions. Our public health departments must aim to fund programs that promote

healthy food in schools and educate parents on how to read nutritional labels on food products.

Politically, representatives must take the presence of “food deserts” in their community as a

serious problem and one worthy of eliminating. Childhood obesity doesn’t need to be an

accepted reality. Our nation’s children need guidance and it will take all of our efforts to give

them that support.

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References

Boulos, R., Vikre, E. K., Oppenheimer, S., Chang, H., & Kanarek, R. B. (2012). ObesiTV: How

television is influencing the obesity epidemic. Physiology & Behavior, 107(1), 146–153.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.05.022

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Table 27. Obesity among children and

adolescents ... - cdc.gov. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2018/027.pdf.

Lanza, A. L., Pope, J., & Mayrsohn, B. (2012). How the built environment contributes to the

adolescent obesity epidemic: A multifaceted approach. Vanderbilt Undergraduate

Research Journal, 8. https://doi.org/10.15695/vurj.v8i0.3504

Lytle, L. A. (2012). Dealing with the childhood obesity epidemic: A public health

approach. Abdominal Radiology, 37(5), 719–724. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-012-

9861-y
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Figure 1

Rise of childhood obesity among the sexes

40
35
Percent of Population

30
25
20
15
girls
10
boys
5
0

Years of Measurement
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Figure 2

Rise of childhood obesity among all age groups

25

20
Percent of Population

15

10

0
1988-1994 2003-2006 2015-2018
Age Groupings Within Selected Year Groupings

2-5 years 6-11 years 12-19 years

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Figure 3

Rise of childhood obesity among racial groups

30.0

25.0
Percent of Population

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0
2011-2014 2013-2016 2015-2018
Racial Groupings Within Selected Year Groupings

ASIAN WHITE AFRICAN AMERICAN HISPANIC