Introduction
Childhood obesity is a major health problem in the entire nation with one in four children being overweight or obese. Obesity in early life does not only cause health and social problems in the short term, but can also increase the risk of chronic disease later in life. One of the most affected regions of New South Wales is South Western Sydney including its seven rural and semi-rural areas.
To understand why childhood obesity is more prevalent in these areas, we need to have a look at the many influences and risk factors that can contribute to obesity in children and adolescents. The consequences of childhood obesity are also discussed.
Background
One in four (27.4%) children in Australia aged 5-17 years are overweight or obese. Childhood overweight and obesity are the result of excessive energy intake from food and drinks relative to what is being burned up through physical activity and other metabolic processes. The additional energy i stored as fat in adipose tissue. Childhood overweight or obesity is defined by having a body mass index (BMI) value above the growth standards set by the WHO guidelines. Obesity can develop at any time during childhood but the prevalence appears to be greater during the first year of life and at adolescence, when the periods of most …show more content…
A national survey showed that the number of overweight or obese children in Australia more than doubled over a ten-year period, from 1985 to 1995, and tripled in all age groups for both boys and girls. In 2010, NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS), published a study that surveyed over 8,000 students in years K, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Similar to the findings in the national survey, the results from SPANS showed that the number of overweight or obese children in NSW had risen from around one in ten in 1985 to one in four in
Childhood obesity is a major health problem in the entire nation with one in four children being overweight or obese. Obesity in early life does not only cause health and social problems in the short term, but can also increase the risk of chronic disease later in life. One of the most affected regions of New South Wales is South Western Sydney including its seven rural and semi-rural areas.
To understand why childhood obesity is more prevalent in these areas, we need to have a look at the many influences and risk factors that can contribute to obesity in children and adolescents. The consequences of childhood obesity are also discussed.
Background
One in four (27.4%) children in Australia aged 5-17 years are overweight or obese. Childhood overweight and obesity are the result of excessive energy intake from food and drinks relative to what is being burned up through physical activity and other metabolic processes. The additional energy i stored as fat in adipose tissue. Childhood overweight or obesity is defined by having a body mass index (BMI) value above the growth standards set by the WHO guidelines. Obesity can develop at any time during childhood but the prevalence appears to be greater during the first year of life and at adolescence, when the periods of most …show more content…
A national survey showed that the number of overweight or obese children in Australia more than doubled over a ten-year period, from 1985 to 1995, and tripled in all age groups for both boys and girls. In 2010, NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS), published a study that surveyed over 8,000 students in years K, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Similar to the findings in the national survey, the results from SPANS showed that the number of overweight or obese children in NSW had risen from around one in ten in 1985 to one in four in