Ethical Issues in Treating Childhood Obesity Paper Example

Introduction

Obesity is a medical condition whereby a person's body fat is very high and has a high potential of causing negative effects to the body. Today, there are many cases of childhood obesity caused by two main factors, they include bad eating habits (eating extremely fatty foods) and lack of physical activity (Wickins-Drazilova, D., & Williams, 2011 p. 10). However, the chance of having a potentially obese child increases when one or both parents are obese as well. Currently, there are few treatment options like pharmacotherapy, bariatric surgery, and family-based treatment, which are considered effective for childhood obesity treatment (Perryman, 2011, p. 8). On the other hand, children are young, fragile and cannot make decisions on their own (legally) especially decisions concerning their health which, therefore, makes childhood obesity life-threatening for children. Therefore, it is important for doctors to keenly consider any ethical issue when treating a child with obesity.

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According to Holm et al (2014, p. 275-280), there are different issues that affect children with obesity at a young age. First, childhood obesity can cause childhood medical problems e.g. type 2 diabetes, eating problems like anorexia, bone, and joint problems and asthma. It can also cause psychological, mental and emotional harm and difficulties like a high risk of depression and stress, prone to bullying, low self-esteem, poorer social skills and the possibility of bullying others. Third, it increases the chances of weight increase with increase in age which causes more health problems in the child's future, e.g. problems like stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease, and liver disease etc. when treating obesity, there are two different potential outcomes after treatment which will solely depend on the treatment choice and commitment of the patient, i.e. positive or negative results (Kolotourou et al, 2015, p. 329). On the hand, the sole duty of a doctor is to save lives by offering advice and disease treatments to all patients. This means that the primary responsibility of the doctors is to do as the patient wants (guided by their advice).

The doctors and any other person involved in the treatment of childhood obesity ought to identify, analyze and evaluate every ethical issue that may be involved in the treatment. This is simply because they hold the whole life of the child in their hands. Also, as mentioned earlier, children are fragile as well as innocent, therefore, the decisions to be made about their health should be best suited for positive results.

Back Ground Information

Ethical issues in the healthcare sector are the most important components of achieving effective treatment for any diagnosis. Therefore, in the treatment of childhood obesity, various ethical issues must be considered as well. As mentioned earlier, in most cases, children are not able to make decisions on their own because of their age or situation whereas they want to receive the best treatment option for the disease. Additionally, children have the desire to mitigate the difficulties and harm that they are experiencing e.g. physical, emotional, psychological and mental problems by being healthy and resembling their peers. Therefore, ethical issues become an effective tool to use during such conditions to ensure that the treatment being given is for the best interest of the child's health (Mandy & Kara, 2015, p. 20-21). The ethical issues may touch both the doctors and the child but in most cases, the issues involving treatment of childhood obesity must always be a priority.

Support claim

Consideration of ethical issues can cause adherence to ethical policies and standards set

Treatment of childhood obesity can be very challenging because of the many problems associated with the treatment processes, follow-ups and the treatment options available. There are few treatment options available for general obesity treatment which can be highly threatening to a child's life if implemented or chosen. In addition to that, the issues that are child related when it comes to any treatment are numerous in number than when dealing with an adult. Ethical issues that relate to treatment of childhood obesity include:

• The issue of potential negative outcome after treatment
• Issues in choosing the best treatment that can be effective for the child's health
• High chances of disagreements between the child's opinion and that of the parent/guardian concerning the treatment
• Issues when the child is adamant in choosing a specific treatment option which may be life-threatening (e.g. choosing not to eat for days which means unhealthy eating or undergoing bariatric surgery etc.)

All of these reasons are ethical issues that may hinder effective treatment of childhood obesity. Furthermore, they are directly linked to various ethical standards that are set to guide the doctors as well as protect the children seeking obesity treatment. These ethical standards are certainly meant to ensure and encourage best treatment services and practices by the healthcare sectors when treating children with obesity (Holm et al, 2014, p. 276). Some of the ethical standards are: fairness and justice, patient confidentiality, patient autonomy, non-maleficence, informed decision guidance, patient responsibility among others. Every ethical policy listed above focuses on ensuring the mitigation of a certain ethical issue when treating childhood obesity. For instance, patient confidentiality prohibits doctors from sharing a child's information (name, diagnosis, treatment process/options, risks involved etc.) at all times. According to Brownell et al (2010, p. 383), the ethical policy on a patient is the doctor's responsibility forces the doctor to take full responsibility of the child's life and health. However, because children cannot make decisions on their own, the parents/guardians must ensure that the steps to be taken will provide effective treatment for the child (Wickins-Drazilova, D., & Williams, 2011, p. 9-12). Therefore, the ethical issues often become a guiding tool for the doctors to follow most ethical guidelines.

Consideration of ethical issues as a tool for effective treatment

As mentioned earlier, there are very few treatment options that can be used to treat childhood obesity. However, some of these treatments can be extremely dangerous to the health and life of many children. The treatments vary in their effectiveness based on the child's commitment and degree of their obesity. This means that if the child chooses to undergo bariatric surgery, then they must be ready to undergo the post-surgery check-ups and follow the strict rules that relate to eating habits, rest and physical activity. If the child opts to undergo the family-based treatment, then they must also follow the expectations of that process which are always strict and difficult (Brownell et al, 385-386). According to Holm et al, (2014, p. 277), each of these treatments is accompanied by different challenges that make it difficult to achieve positive results and therefore, causing issues in the life of the child. On that note, the doctors are able to identify and address these potential ethical issues that may be related to any treatment and mitigate them early enough by proposing and providing the best treatment and care possible. By addressing the issues, both parties are able to come up with a better option which can be more effective without much trouble or pressure.

Ethical issues as a tool to prevent and control childhood obesity

Ethical issues in treating children mainly involve endangering the life of the child in different ways. Whether in terms of causing more medical problems the child (asthma, depression, heart disease stress etc.) or physically, emotionally, mentally or psychologically harming the child (bullying, stress, low self-esteem, depression, starvation etc.). These ethical issues, therefore, offer the doctor and individuals involved a choice to whether change the life of the child positively or negatively for a short-term or long-term (Kolotourou, et al, 2015, p. 327). The ethical issues can be used to encourage the children to eat healthily and participate in physical activities (this is mostly for children whose parent are obese i.e. have a genetic factor for being obese) to avoid being obese.

Have et al, (2012, p. 301) argue that it is important because children are always growing; therefore, if they are eating unhealthy and not doing physical activities, then their chances of being obese increases. To parents/guardians and doctors, addressing ethical issues in treating childhood obesity gives them a chance to ensure that the children are living a healthy life and eating healthy which means childhood obesity prevention and control (Govea, 2011). Addressing these issues educates both the children and any other party involved in a child's life. In other words, no individual would want to lose a young life or their child's life to be in danger just because of poor eating habits and lack of physical activity. This kind of prevention and control will certainly lead to and promote good health behaviors and practices especially for children hence saving the future generation (Kolotourou, et al, 2015, p. 328).

Ethical issues as a means for governmental interference

The government's ruling is required to pass any law in a country. Thus, intense programs and campaigns to educate and inform the public on healthy living in schools should be conducted frequently (Govea, 2011). They should be able to pressurize the government and other people with authority to pass laws that encourage healthy eating in schools which means that no education institution will be able to pass out on the law (Wickins-Drazilova, D., & Williams, 2011, p. 13.). This may involve:

• Ensuring that the food and drinks served in schools adhere to dietary guidelines for the country
• Increasing the physical activity time period in schools to be substantial
• Increasing access to healthy foods and drinks in all places
• Decreasing and increasing the pricing of healthy and unhealthy foods respectively.
• Reducing the exposure of children to advertisements of unhealthy foods.

Through government interference, the public and the children are likely to take the issues more seriously. This will also encourage them to participate in educative programs and campaigns that promote healthy eating and involvement of physical activities for the children (Govea, 2011).

Addressing the ethical issues involved in treating childhood obesity is very crucial to ensuring a healthy and productive future generation. The ethical issues may not only involve the children and doctors but also the families, society/public and the government. Thus, the benefit of keenly identifying, addressing and educating about these ethical issues will be to all parties (Have et al, 2012, p. 303-304).

Counter argument

The support for effective consideration of the ethical issues in treating childhood obesity can be argued differently by different people (especially the children, parent, and the public). With the obesity rates rising in America by large margins today, the affected individuals want the fastest treatment for themselves, children and loved ones. The following are some of the arguments that can oppose this statement:

Effective consideration of the ethical issues does not lead to better treatment

The treatment method of every disease is laced on the shoulders of the parent when the patient is a child. When treating childhood obesity, the parent will choose the best method for their child and that which they can also afford. Therefore, even if the doctors effectively scrutinize the ethical issues that relate to the chosen option, it will not affect the choice,...