Essay Sample on Childhood Obesity: A Growing Pandemic in Need of Solutions

Introduction

Indeed, the dominance of childhood increase in body weight and obesity has risen significantly over the past two decades, developing a great concern regarding the future health as well as the safety of most children across the globe (Boutelle et al., 575). Multiple strategies to assist in controlling the universal obesity pandemic remain challenging due to the helplessness of the children and the complexity of their environmental nature. Even though the child's early environment seems restricted, it is all about the family (Mehdizadeh et al., 3). Usually, the family remains the most critical aspect as the child's environmental growth continues to expand, consisting of peers and the school as the children develop maturely. In the family set up, the parents are primary members who affect their child (Rhee & Kyung). They successfully achieve this behavior in their children by effectively conducting their parenting responsibilities. The term parenting involves various practices implemented by the parents if closely cooperating with their children to enhance physical, behavioral health and safety, and socio-emotional behaviors of the child. The responsibility that parents play towards the growth of their children's health and well-being behaviors, specifically those concerning eating as well as exercise, is essential (Sermo). This role makes parents known as the agents of change in a child's health and well-being behaviors as children heavily depend on their parental responsibility to frame their environmental nature and enhance healthy selections that maintain the balance of energy and children's weight their entire childhood to adulthood life. Therefore, this paper illustrates parental responsibilities in preventing obesity in their children.

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Parental Responsibilities in Preventing Children Obesity

Based on the various causes of the increase in obesity among the children, several factors exist: Rise in portion sizes, increase in fat content, poor diet, and lack of physical exercise, among others. First, even though multiple research findings indicate that parents not only provide their genetic composition to their children but also have a considerable influence on their parenting role (Boutelle et al., 576). The research studies also show that guardians who participate in dietary eating and significant physical activity behaviors can significantly influence their children to copy such behaviors as they develop from childhood to adulthood (Mehdizadeh et al., 18). Hence, parents must initially involve themselves in such healthy behaviors to influence their teenagers in embracing healthier eating and physical activities behaviors as they develop.

Second, the parents can also influence their children's food choices as well as eating behaviors by ensuring that healthier and best selections are readily present. For instance, parents can take away all the fatty foods like chips from the cabinet and replace them with fresh fruits or green vegetables readily available so as when the children are hungry, they have got only the option of eating healthy foods (Holt et al.,). This factor helps in minimizing various sedentary behaviors as they should install different objects that encourage children to be physically active such as jumping ropes, playing football or basketball games, running or even martial arts to remind them that there are also other ways of entertainment other than watching television or watching movies. Similarly, parents are also advised to stop placing a television in their children's room, or use of any electronic devices like a computer as this aspect prevents them from conducting physical activities that promote healthy growth (Golan et al., 104). Therefore, by effectively managing the home environment, the parents can easily influence their children's behaviors, reducing the chances of being obese.

Third, some behaviors at home can negatively impact the children and, therefore, should be avoided. For example, frequent use of food as a gift to reward children by parents has harmful consequences in a child's health. Since it seems very easy to pledge children some piece of ice crime if they entirely eat their chips and chicken for lunch, hence increases the interest of the ice cream (Golan et al., 103). This desire will enable children to eat more fatty foods to get a reward food of ice cream. Hence, parents are encouraged to avoid such promises to their children is the desire to have healthy children in terms of eating habits and physical activities (Live Science). Those parents who have adopted healthy eating and physical activities have significantly reduced the effects of obesity among their children.

Additionally, other research findings have also reported that limiting access to the exciting foods, mainly if they are still available as well as seen by the children, enhances the value and desire of that given food to children (Lindsay et al., 172). For example, thinking of a situation when the children see a piece of cake in the home cabinet, but they are not allowed by parents to eat it. Later on, when they have easy access to the cake when parents are not available at home, they will try to eat the cake whether they are hungry. Hence, restricting much-desired foods can consequently lead children to respond to the apparent nods of availability instead of internal bows of hunger as well as satiety (Danford et al., 39). Therefore, as parents, taking away all the undesired types of foods from the house and then developing a healthier environment of home would be the better decision for the parents to prevent obesity among the children.

Besides, the parents can influence their children more widely through their parenting style, which is the overall approach of parenting that offers an emotional framework towards the parent-child connection (Karmali et al., 10). One unique parenting style involves an authoritative technique. Over an extended period, this technique has been linked with appropriate child results and several dimensions. This type of parenting approach can be illustrated as the most warmth and sensitivity towards the growth and developmental requirements of children (Lindsay et al., 184). Most often, parents are emotionally connected with their children, but again convey some expectations and provide a reasonable limit for them; they are regarded as a firm, but very flexible, enabling children to show their independence, but within the specific, confined rules in the family. Fascinatingly, this style of parenting has also been linked with the decreased predominance of childhood obesity (Holt et al.,). Hence, encouraging the application of this particular style of parenting in combination with some specific health-promoting behaviors may lead to positive effects on the development of healthy eating as well as physical activity habits among the children.

Similarly, experiences and opportunities of life are linked with the knowledge as well as the behaviors of parents. Various demographic issues and personal assumptions regarding obesity are linked with parents' willingness to assist their obese children or those who are highly risking becoming obese to reduce their weight (Golan et al., 106). A research study on healthy eating among the children reports that the parental support, the full availability of foods as well as beverages that lead to healthy diet among the children, and interest of taking care of individual's appearance are essential factors in enhancing healthy food preferences among the children (Danford et al., 46). Other challenges towards the changing children's behaviors consist of children's assumptions of low degree of caring by their parents, the challenge that children have with the talking to their friends' suggestions over their parents' suggestions of severe decisions. Therefore, the feelings accompanying these challenges were linked with the dissatisfaction of the body, depression, as well as low self-esteem among the children (Karmali et al., 12). Hence, if parents are unwilling to alter the family behaviors, then the family's solutions to enhance positive lifestyle habits are unlikely to be appropriate among the children.

Again, understanding the relationship between the parents and children that promotes parental eating practices is significant in knowing the prevention strategies of obesity among the children (Boutelle et al., 579). The parents' general responsibility, like ensuring the standard connection between the parents and their children, may positively affect the weight condition and some related behaviors in the children. A research study has indicated that more magnificent family functioning is highly linked with healthier eating as well as activity behaviors for the children (Danford et al., 52). This closeness enhances recommended eating and activity behaviors among the children as they feel cared for by their parents and family members around them.

Conclusion

Generally, parents play a critical responsibility at home in controlling obesity among their children, with their changing responsibility at all developmental stages in a child's life. Therefore, by correctly understanding their roles in affecting children's dietary activities, activities, the sedentary habits, and finally monitoring their weight conditions, the guardians can effectively understand how to establish a healthy nutrition environment in their homes to prevent obesity among their children.

Works Cited

Boutelle, Kerri N., Guy Capri, and Scott J. Crow. "Parentonly treatment for childhood obesity: a randomized controlled trial." Obesity 19.3 (2011): 574-580. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2010.238

Danford, Cynthia A., Celeste M. Schultz, and Donna Marvicsin. "Parental roles in the development of obesity in children: Challenges and opportunities." Research and Reports in Biology 6 (2015): 39-53. https://www.dovepress.com/parental-roles-in-the-development-of-obesity-in-children-challenges-an-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-RRB

Golan, Moria, and Abraham Weizman. "Familial approach to the treatment of childhood obesity: a conceptual model." Journal of nutrition education 33.2 (2001): 102-107. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Moria_Golan2/publication/222140029_Familial_Approach_To_The_Treatment_Of_Childhood_Obesity_Conceptual_Model/links/5a635eec0f7e9b6b8fd87342/Familial-Approach-To-The-Treatment-Of-Childhood-Obesity-Conceptual-Model.pdf

Holt, Nicholas L., et al. "Working With Parents to Prevent Childhood Obesity: Protocol for a Primary Care-Based eHealth Study." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4390613/

Karmali, Shazya, et al. "Coaching and education intervention for parents with overweight/obesity and their children: study protocol of a single-center randomized controlled trial." BMC Public Health 19.1 (2019): 1-12. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6640-5

Lindsay, Ana C., et al. "The role of parents in preventing childhood obesity." The Future of children (2006): 169-186. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ795887.pdf

Live Science. Parents Blamed for Childhood Obesity. 9 February 2009. https://www.livescience.com/3293-parents-blamed-childhood-obesity.html

Mehdizadeh, Atieh, et al. "Impact of parent engagement in childhood obesity prevention interventions on anthropometric indices among preschool children: a systematic review." Childhood Obesity 16.1 (2020): 3-19. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/chi.2019.0103

Rhee, Kyung. THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY. 19 February 2008.https://www.aapss.org/news/the-role-of-parents-in-preventing-childhood-obesity/

Sermo. Who is to blame for childhood obesity? Doctors say, parents. 2015 August 2016. https://www.sermo.com/blame-childhood-obesity-doctors-say-parents/