Question:

If the increase in childhood obesity across the children of Australia is affected by both their home and school life, which factors require improvement to maintain healthier lifestyles?

Preliminary Research:

ABS

In 2011 – 2013, generally as children’s age went up, their physical activity decreased and screen time increased.

Physical activity is important for maintaining good health.  Low levels of activity are risk factors for a range of health conditions, including a strong contributor to obesity.

High levels of sedentary behaviour have been linked to obesity.

Children and young people

• In 2011-12, toddlers and pre-schoolers (aged 2–4 years) spent an average of around 6 hours per day engaged in physical activity. They also spent almost one and a half hours (83 minutes) in the sedentary activities of watching TV, DVDs or playing electronic games.

• On average, children and young people aged 5–17 years spent one and a half hours (91 minutes) per day on physical activity and over two hours a day (136 minutes) in screen-based activity with physical activity decreasing and screen-based activity increasing as age increased.

• Just under half (44%) of all children and young people (2–17 years) had at least one type of screen-based item (e.g. TV, computer, or game console) in their bedroom. For the 15–17 year olds, three-quarters had some kind of screen-based media in their bedroom and this was associated with them spending an extra two hours per week watching/playing screen-based media compared with those who did not have any such item in their bedroom.
  

Early healthy habits formed can follow into adulthood.

In 2011-12, 25.1% of children aged 2–17 years were overweight or obese, comprised of 18.2% overweight and 6.9% obese. Overweight and obesity rates differed only slightly across children's age groups, ranging from 22.8% for children aged 2 to 4 years, to 26.6% for children aged 12 to 15 years.

The proportion of children aged 5-17 years who were overweight or obese increased between 1995 and 2007-08 (20.9% and 24.7%, respectively) and then remained stable to 2011-12 (25.7%). Proportionally, the number of boys aged 5–17 years who were overweight or obese was not significantly different from the number of girls (25.0% compared with 26.3%).
4338.0 - Profiles of Health, Australia, 2011-13

Reference

Astralian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2013). Australian Health Survey: Physical Activity. (Cat. No. 4364.0.55.004.).  Canberra, ACT.  Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4364.0.55.004Chapter1002011-12

Kids Health

Children who are overweight or obese are also at risk for:

• bone and joint problems
• shortness of breath that makes exercise, sports, or any physical activity more difficult and may make asthma symptoms worse or lead kids to develop the condition
• restless sleep or breathing problems at night, such as obstructive sleep apnea
• a tendency to mature earlier (overweight kids may be taller and more sexually mature than their peers, raising expectations that they should act as old as they look, not as old as they are; overweight girls may have irregular menstrual cycles and fertility problems in adulthood)
• liver and gall bladder disease

Obesity in children may also lead to emotional issues be at risk for substance abuse

Reference

(ids Health.  (2017). Overweight & Obesity Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/overweight-obesity.html?WT.ac=ctg#catweight-eating-problems

Kids Health

The Sedentary Problem

Children are engaging with more sedentary behaviour than previous generations which is contributing to more children becoming overweight or obese.  Children can spend hourse every day in front of a screen looking at a variety of media. One way to combat this issue is to limit the amount of time spent in sedentary activities.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parents:

• Put limits on the time spent using media, which includes TV, social media, and video games. Media should not take the place of getting enough sleep and being active. 
• Limit screen time to 1 hour a day or less for children 2 to 5 years old.
• Discourage any screen time, except video-chatting, for kids younger than 18 months.
• Choose high-quality programming and watch it with your kids to help them understand what they're seeing. 
• Keep TVs, computers, and video games out of children's bedrooms and turn off screens during mealtimes.”

Reference

Kids Health. (2017)  Kids & Exercises.  Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/exercise.html?WT.ac=p-ra#catweight-eating-problems )

Overcoming Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence

Information regarding obesity is not lacking, but rather there is an overload of information available, which often contradicts each other.

Childhood obesity is complex and not yet fully understood. “However, we do know there is a dynamic interaction between our brain and other body control mechanisms located in our muscles, stomach and intestinal tract, and organs such as the pancreas, liver, and even the fat cells. Hormones, enzymes, other body chemicals, and neuro transmitters play roles in trying to keep body fat content at a constant amount. Sometimes this control mechanism gets out of balance, and the body accumulates extra fat. There are both internal and external forces at play when this occurs. One force is our inherited makeup, that is, our body’s potential to turn on our own latent obesity genes. Other components include family dynamics and social and environmental factors.”

Breaking the cycles of obesity requires discipline, focus, and a willingness to change.

Body images found in magazines and media influence children presenting children with confusing and distorted messages that are unhealthy, unrealistic and misrepresentative of a reasonable healthy weight.

Educators can influence students understanding of weight distortion, body image, healthy eating, and exercise resulting in improved self-confidence.
Improvement for children’s health must happen at the personal, communal, and societal levels

Preventing or correcting overweight school aged children can slow down the obesity problem.

Obesity may affect students’ academic performance at school as well as play a factor in behavioural issues.  As well as being a possible factor for discrimination from peers and teachers.

Most students have limited physical activity during school, which in many cases does not meet that minimum national standard.

“Our lives have taken us in a direction almost void of simple physical activity. Our parents and grandparents moved more, walked more, and even played more. While their play may not have been intense, it was regular and consistent. Kids played with other kids as a neighbourhood activity, not waiting for organized leagues. Current social and physical environments have made this less likely to occur for safety, logistical, or family reasons”

It has been argued that physical activity has declined due to a shift towards more sedentary occupations and food intake has increase due to agricultural innovations that have made food cheaper, widely available and 24hour access.  Parent are often making choses based on limited time and available income.  Current social trends and physical environments have also influenced sedentary behaviour as children are less likely to be involved with physical activity because of safety, logistical or family reasons.

The reduction in home time for mothers promotes children being fed less home-cooked meals and more fast food meals high in fats and sugars. Brownell & Horgen, (2004) found that people eating fast food twice a week are 86% more likely to become obese.

Reference

Schumacher, D., & Queen, J. A. (2007). Overcoming Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence : A Guide for School Leaders. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.