Chapter 16. Acknowledging the Contributions of Others

Introduction

In this activity, you will look at the problem of childhood obesity and explore some of its possible causes as well as some of its remedies. During the activity, you also will view videos in which children who have struggled with obesity describe themselves and their experiences of being overweight.

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16.1 Overweight Children: A Health Issue “Bigger Than All of Us”

Sharron Dalton (2004), a professor specializing in food choice behavior and weight management, likes to quote a nurse’s provocative phrase. At a conference on childhood obesity, the nurse said, “It is bigger than all of us.” Sad but true, the problem of childhood obesity has been growing—not only in the United States but also around the world. Looking at U.S. statistics, Robert Cornette notes (2011) that 4% of baby boomers were overweight children, as compared to approximately one third of today’s youth who will be overweight before adulthood.

Prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents, by age group—United States, 1963–2008

Graph retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6002a2.htm?s_cid=mm6002a2_w

16.2 Obesity: From a Child's Point of View

Childhood obesity poses life-long health threats for those who remain obese. Osteoarthritis and diabetes are just two health concerns noted by pediatricians, Allison Collis and Rebecka Peeble

Obese children are more susceptible to health problems throughout their lives if they remain obese. Unfortunately, issues related to long-term health, such as liver disease and cardiovascular problems, are often too far in the future for children to grasp. For a child of 10, getting a driver’s license feels like a lifetime away. What might matter most to an overweight child of 10 is being part of a particular group, feeling welcomed by peers at school, or getting invited to a birthday party. Once at a birthday party, an obese 10-year-old might wonder what it would be like to play with the other children who are crawling through the tubes in The Fun Zone. He/she might worry that other children in the tubes will comment on his/her “big bottom.” The obese child might then prefer to stay out of the tubes altogether. The fear of being teased can actually prevent obese children from enjoying their peers.

Relationship aggression (insults or social rejection) is directed at many overweight children. NBC Today Show star, Al Roker, felt self-doubt and emotional pain because of the taunts he suffered as a “husky” boy (Rimm & Rimm, 2004). Roker notes that movies and television shows ridicule those who are overweight, just to get a laugh. You might think that since there are more obese children today that the stigma toward obesity has diminished from the baby boomer days when fewer children were obese. Unfortunately, the emotional toll has grown worse for this century’s kids (Cornette, 2011).

16.3 Beyond Hunger: Humans in a Land of Plenty

Source: The Big Hurt by CWK Network/Connect with Kids (www.connectwithkids.com)]

It would be great to have a signal system that changed our taste preferences. A possible interior monologue would go something like this:

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Foods that are no longer beneficial are still appealing.

Play the video to listen to some older children and their parents discuss food choices and some problems that overweight children face.

16.4 Check Your Understanding

16.5 Activity Completed!

REFERENCES:

[Center for Disease Control] CDC Grand Rounds: Childhood Obesity in the United States. URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6002a2.htm?s_cid=mm6002a2_w Retrieved 3/31/11

Collins, A. & Peebles, R. (2011). Pediatric obesity: A pediatrician’s viewpoint. In Debasis Bagchi (Editor) Global Perspectives on Childhood Obesity: Current Status, Consequences and Prevention. Pages 257-264.