Paper on Childhood Obesity: Local, State, and Regional Quantitative Sociodemographic, Morbidity, and Mortality Data

Introduction

For this study, I will examine the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama. The most recent obesity prevalence data show that the prevalence of obesity among 2 to 5-year-old children across all income groups is 12.1% (Knol et al., 2019). It was further reported that obesity prevalence varies across children from different ethnic groups. Specifically, it was established that the highest prevalence of obesity is found among the minority groups. Specifically, 18.2% of 2 to 5-year-old children from non-Hispanic Blacks were reported to have diabetes (Knol et al., 2019). Similarly, Hispanic children were found to have the second highest prevalence of obesity at 16.2% (Knol et al., 2019).

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The prevalence of childhood obesity was also reported to be high in children from low-income families. Specifically, it was reported that obesity among low-income, pre-school children in Alabama varied from between 13.8% to 14.4% from 2008 to 2011(Knol et al., 2019). Moreover, obesity rates were reported to vary across children from different age groups. Overall, the prevalence of obesity was reported to increase with age in US children. Specifically, obesity rates of 2 to 4-year-old kindergarteners was found to be 14.1% while their counterparts aged 6-11 years had obesity prevalence rates of 18.6% (Knol et al., 2019).

Another sociodemographic factor that was found to affect obesity prevalence is gender. Among the kindergarteners, the prevalence of obesity was found to be higher among girls than boys. Specifically, 15.3% of kindergarten girls were reported to be obese in 2011 compared to 14.9% of the boys (Knol et al., 2019). Similarly, 14.7% of kindergarten girls were reported to be overweight compared to 13.8% of kindergarten boys (Knol et al., 2019). Apart from the kindergarteners, gender differences in the prevalence of obesity and overweight were also found among the 3rd graders. Specifically, 22.0% of 3rd-grade girls were reported to be obese in 2011 compared to 21.4% of the boys (Knol et al., 2019). On the other hand, 17.0% of 3rd-grade girls were reported to be overweight compared to 16.2% of the kindergarten boys (Knol et al., 2019).

Children from White, Black, and Hispanic ethnic groups were also reported to show differences in the prevalence of obesity (Knol et al., 2019). The highest prevalence of obesity among kindergarten children is found in the Hispanic group (25.0%), followed closely by the Black group at 17.1% (Knol et al., 2019). However, kindergarten children from White ethnic group had the lowest prevalence of obesity (12.9%) (Knol et al., 2019). Similarly, among the 3rd-grade children, Hispanic children had the highest prevalence of obesity (28.8%), followed by Black children at 24.7% while children from White ethnic group had the lowest obesity rates at 19.0% (Knol et al., 2019).

Recent National or International Quantitative Sociodemographic, Morbidity, and Mortality Data

The prevalence of mortality has been reported to be high among the obese. In one the most recent studies, Pepper, Sun, Suffredini, and Kadri (2017) reported that the overweight had 1.11-fold higher likelihood of increased mortality than their counterparts in the normal body mass index (BMI) group. Similarly, Pepper et al. (2017) established that the obese had 1.44-fold higher likelihood of increased mortality than the normal BMI group.

Similarly, unlike their non-obese counterparts, obese people have higher rates of obesity-related morbidity (Yeh et al., 2019). Pi-Sunyer (2002) reported that obesity is linked to many medical conditions that are associated with increased morbidity and mortality among the obese. The most common conditions associated with higher morbidity and mortality among the obese compared to the non-obese include the increased prevalence of some cancers, sleep apnea and other respiratory dysfunction, gallstones and cholecystitis, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and insulin resistance (Al-Mulhim, Al-Hussaini, Al-Jalal, Al-Moagal, & Al-Najjar, 2014; Klimek, Kautzky-Willer, Chmiel, Schiller-Fruhwirth, & Thurner, 2015; Kyrou, Randeva, Tsigos, Kaltsas, & Weickert, 2018).

Recent Local, State, and Regional Quantitative Data Related to One Factor Contributing to the Identified Problem

One of the factors associated with obesity across local, state, and regions is physical inactivity or lack of enough physical activity or exercise. The Alabama population has been reported to be sedentary and to participate in limited physical activity (Alabama Public Health, 2019). Recent data shows that only 15% of the Alabamians met the physical activity recommendations (Alabama Public Health, 2019). Conversely, 85.0% of the Alabamians did not meet the required physical activity guidelines (Alabama Public Health, 2019).

At the local level, Crawford County has the highest prevalence of physical inactivity at 33% (North Central Health District, 2016). This means that 33% of the population does not participate in any physical activity in Crawford County. Lastly, at the national level, less than 5% of the population participate in the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity per day while 33% of the population participate in the recommended amount of weekly physical activity (President's Council on Fitness & Nutrition Sports, 2017).

Relevancy of These Findings to Childhood Obesity

The findings show that childhood obesity is highly prevalent at the local, state, and national levels of government. Consequently, efforts should be made to decrease obesity prevalence rates. I also established that childhood obesity could be linked to physical inactivity. Therefore, obesity rates can be reduced by ensuring that children engage in the recommended amount of physical exercise. By ensuring that children meet the recommended amount of physical activity, obesity-related morbidity and mortality can be decreased.

References

Alabama Public Health. (2019). Nutrition and Physical Activity. Retrieved from https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/healthrankings/nutrition.html

Al-Mulhim, A. S., Al-Hussaini, H. A., Al-Jalal, B. A., Al-Moagal, R. O., & Al-Najjar, S. A. (2014). Obesity disease and surgery. International Journal of Chronic Diseases, 2014, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/652341

Fruh, S. M. (2017). Obesity: Risk factors, complications, and strategies for sustainable long-term weight management. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 29(Suppl 1), S3-S14. https://doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12510

Klimek, P., Kautzky-Willer, A., Chmiel, A., Schiller-Fruhwirth, I., & Thurner, S. (2015). Quantification of diabetes comorbidity risks across life using nation-wide big claims data. PLOS Computational Biology, 11(4), e1004125. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004125

Knol, L. L., Sinsky, R., Goode, S., Lee, K., Gaines, M., & Shepherd, C. (2019). Obesity Rates among Kindergarteners and 3rd Grade Children in Alabama, 2011-2012. Retrieved from https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/obesity/assets/RevisedObesityRates_Kindergarteners3rdGraders.pdf

Kyrou, I., Randeva, H. S., Tsigos, C., Kaltsas, G., & Weickert, M. O. (2018). Clinical problems caused by obesity. In K. R. Feingold, B. Anawalt, A. Boyce, G. Chrousos, K. Dungan, A. Grossman, ... D. P. Wilson (Eds.), Endotext. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278973/

North Central Health Distric. (2016). County Health Rankings Baldwin County 2016. Retrieved from http://northcentralhealthdistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2016-County-Rankings-Graphics-Baldwin.pptx.pdf

Pepper, D. J., Sun, J., Suffredini, A. F., & Kadri, S. (2017). Body-mass index and all-cause mortality. The Lancet, 389(10086), 2284. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31436-8

Pi-Sunyer, F. X. (2002). The medical risks of obesity. Obesity Surgery, 12(1), S6-S11. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03342140

President's Council on Fitness & Nutrition Sports. (2017). Facts & statistics [Text]. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html

Yeh, T.-L., Chen, H.-H., Chiu, H.-H., Chiu, Y.-H., Hwang, L.-C., & Wu, S.-L. (2019). Morbidity associated with overweight and obesity in health personnel: A 10-year retrospective of a hospital-based cohort study in Taiwan. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 12, 267-274. https://doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S193434