Changing Behavior in Dieting for Children at Risk of Obesity

Changing Behavior in Dieting for Children at Risk of Obesity

Changing Behavior in Dieting for Children at Risk of Obesity

Changing Behavior in Dieting and Physical Activity for Children at Risk of Obesity

Background of the problemChanging Behavior in Dieting and Physical Activity for Children at Risk of Obesity

The problem of child obesity is fast becoming a pandemic in the United States, putting both children and adolescents at risk of diabetes and generally poor health. The prevalence rates of obesity among children in the developed world remain high (Karik & Kanekar, 2012). According to statistics posted by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, for children between the ages of 2 and 19, in the period between 2017 and 2021, the obesity rate was 19.7% and affected over 14.7 million adolescents and children. In children between 2 and 5 years, the obesity rate was 12.7%, while the same was 20.7% in the children aged between 6 and 11. In children between 12 and 19 years, the obesity prevalence was 22.2%. The CDC study was also broken down into ethnic groups where obesity rates among children were found to vary between races. For instance, the prevalence rate among white children was 16.6%, 26.2% among Hispanic children, 24.8% among Black non-Hispanic children, and 9% among Asian children who are not Hispanic (CDC, n.d).

The conditions related to obesity include high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, and other problems such as joint problems. This is why the problem of childhood obesity needs to be tackled (Ogden et al., 2014). The above-highlighted statistics further demonstrate that there is a need to lower the childhood obesity rates both in the short and long run.

Dieting changes behavior as an intervention

Changing Behavior in Dieting and Physical Activity for Children at Risk of Obesity

Obesity is caused by poor nutrition; therefore, the solution to tackling child obesity is a change in nutrition (Han et al., 2019). The rates of childhood obesity are high in the United States because foods consumed in US households are high in calories and carbs. Consumption of foods rich in processed sugars such as cakes, candy, fast food, and soft drinks is the number one cause of high obesity rates in the developed world. According to De Miguel-Etayo (2013), various strategies that can be used to treat childhood obesity typically range from lifestyle changes, surgical interventions, and pharmacotherapy. Among these three methods, the most effective method is dietary changes because it is the cheapest and the easiest to implement. De Miguel-Etayo et al. (2013) state that the aim of dietary treatment of childhood obesity should be to enhance the proper growth of children and development by reducing the accumulation of excessive fat and avoiding the loss of lean body mass, improving self-self-esteem and well-being and preventing the regain of excessive weight in future.

Dietary change is a change behavior intervention because an unhealthy diet is a habit. To effectively modify this behavior, management protocols need to be put in place. These management protocols include elements such as family support, modifications of behavior, and change of lifestyle, which may require multi-disciplinary team involvement. Additionally, other studies support the use of dietary interventions in conjunction with other strategies such as increasing physical activity and using psychological interventions to support behavior change.

Brown et al. (2019) conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of a broad range of interventions, including dietary and physical activities. The researchers conducted an RCT of 153 studies that were mostly derived from either the US or Europe. 13 studies were based on upper to middle-income countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, and the US-Mexico border. The majority of the results, that is, 16 RCTs, showed that dietary change combined with physical activity reduced the BMI. The results also showed that when dietary or physical activities were used alone, there was no significant reduction in BMI among children with obesity. The above two studies prove that diary change is an effective intervention in reducing childhood obesity.

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