population

Serena Hulsey

“Describe the specific health problem and population you have selected."

            The prevalence of childhood and teenage obesity in the United States is a major public health issue. Although more common in boys, it affects both sexes. Researchers Sanyaolu et al. (2019) and Wang et al. (2020) found that the rates of overweight, obesity and central obesity have all risen steadily in the United States during the past few decades. Overweight children and adolescents are at a greater risk than their normal-weight counterparts for serious health problems.

“What data did you find to support your decision? Refine and clarify the problem and population.”

            Research on childhood and teenage obesity in the United States can illuminate this subject. Sanyaolu et al. (2019)'s first study indicated that the rate of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States has been rising for decades, with a rate of 18.5% among adolescents aged 12-19. Wang et al. (2020) discovered that the rate at which Americans become overweight or obese stabilized between 2009–2010 and 2015–2016. More research into the effects of obesity on diverse subpopulations of children and adolescents in the United States, such as by gender, race, and age, can help refine and define the problem and population. The long-term effects of childhood and teenage obesity on health and the measures that can be taken to curb its prevalence are equally worthy of investigation.

“What useful health data and public health websites did you locate to support your position?”

            After conducting a literature review, I was able to locate pertinent health data and public health websites to support my position on the issue of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States. Statistics on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in American children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 were also retrieved from the “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)” database. To learn more about the epidemic of kid and adolescent obesity that happened between the years 2000 and 2015, I also consulted the “World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Database” on “Child Growth and Malnutrition.” Finally, I visited the website of the “National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases” in search of data on the prevalence of childhood obesity from 1999 to 2019. These websites give excellent health data and public health resources to support my thesis that childhood and teenage obesity is a public health concern in the United States.

“What other evidence did you find?”

            The course readings revealed more information about the prevalence of obesity in children and teenagers. There is a higher-than-average risk of obesity, for example, among children of certain ethnicities, children of low-income households, and children living in rural areas. According to studies, many children are overweight because they don't exercise or eat healthily. Finally, research has identified several social and environmental factors that may contribute to kid obesity, such as ready access to unhealthy meals, a scarcity of healthy food options, and a lack of safe physical activity places.

 

 

References

Sanyaolu, A., Okorie, C., Qi, X., Locke, J., & Rehman, S. (2019). Childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States: a public health concern. Global pediatric health, 6,             2333794X19891305.

Wang, Y., Beydoun, M. A., Min, J., Xue, H., Kaminsky, L. A., & Cheskin, L. J. (2020). Has the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and central obesity leveled off in the United States?             Trends, patterns, disparities, and future projections for the obesity epidemic. International journal of epidemiology, 49(3), 810-823.