Childhood Obesity

childhood obesity

I have always been overweight, even as a child. From personal experience I know what is like to live outside the social norms and understand what the health implications are from being overweight. As a child I loved basketball; I would watch UK play and dream of one day playing at Rupp. I played ball for hours and quickly learned how to shoot, but being the fat kid in school made things difficult. During recess and P.E I was usually one of the last kids picked for teams. I was a good shot; I could hit the goal from long distances and from the inside, but no one wanted to play with the slower and fat kids. Kids are cruel; I was laughed at and made fun of all through out my elementary school years. My dream in middle school was to play on the basketball team, so I worked hard, and done the best that I could possibly do. In the end I did not make the cut. I asked the coach why and was informed that I was too big and slow to play ball.

I began to develop health problems during my adolescents. By my senior year, I was already having trouble with my blood pressure and blood sugar levels. By the time I was twenty-one I was taking medicine for my blood pressure; soon after I began taking medicine for high cholesterol. I was constantly tired and always felt bad. I know realize the impact of child hood obesity and how it leads to numerous health and physiological problems. These problems often stay with people the rest of their lives.

In the past year the issue of childhood obesity has being mentioned on numerous occasions; the White House even named childhood obesity as a national epidemic. Many people do not understand the risk of obesity, especially in children. Most people believe that it's just a phase that kids go through. Most people thank that kids well just grow out of and they fail to take any preventive measures. In the Journal of School Health, Neal Hooker publishes a study concerning childhood obesity. He states, "Recent decades have seen an increasing prevalence of childhood obesity, in the United States, childhood obesity is on the rise; the percentage of obese children ages 6-11 more than doubled in the past two decades, increasing from 6.5% in 1980 to 17% in 2006. The percentage of obese adolescents aged 12 to 19 more than tripled, going from 5% to 17.6%." (Hooker 96-103). The author continues by stating that childhood obesity is more than a problem in children; it is linked to adult obesity and is accompanied by adverse health status. Obese and overweight children are increasingly diagnosed with type two diabetes and heart disease. (Hooker 96-103). Many people should understand that childhood obesity is dangerous. It can have health effects that carry over well into the adult years if not all their lives.

I was 28 years old when I began having problems with my heart. Years of poor health due to obesity had finally caught up with me. I began having chest pain late one evening and went to the ER. My blood pressure was terribly high, and I had an abnormal cardiac rhythm. I was sent to St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington. I was taken to the cardiac Cath Lab, and after all was said and done I was told that there were no blockages found in my heart. The doctor advised me I had an electrolyte imbalance, and my weight probably was causing my problems. They changed my medicine and sent me home. Four years later, at the age of 32, I had a heart attack. They found a small blockage and placed a stent in my left circumflex artery. I now take insulin, blood pressure medicine, and high cholesterol meds. Obesity does in fact lead to many problems and not just old people, but in the young and middle aged as well.

The effects of childhood obesity are discussed in a journal titled Practice Nurse by author Dulcie McBride. She writes in an extensive article that childhood obesity leads to high risk of hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), hypertension, insulin resistance and abnormal glucose tolerance are expected from children and adolescents who are obese. Some studies have shown that children from 3-8 years old already have vascular lesions, tears in the vessels and arteries (McBride 40-45). High cholesterol comes from too much plaque build- up in the arteries, which brings about some dangerous health risks. The first of these risks is that too much build up in the arteries of the heart may cause a heart attack, which may possibly be debilitating or fatal. The plaque can also build up and form a clot, which can dislodge and go to the heart or lungs in the form of a fatty embolus. These can be and often are fatal. Many people suffer from strokes due to high cholesterol. A stroke more than likely will leave a person partially paralyzed or unable to speak.

High blood pressure is also a very dangerous condition. Over time high blood pressure causes hardening of the arteries, which then causes a loss in the plasticity of the arteries. Eventually the heart will wear out. High blood pressure also affects all of the arteries and vessels in the body. A ruptured artery or vessel in the brain may cause a hemorrhagic strike that is commonly fatal. Diabetes is a dangerous disease that affects virtually every organ of the body. This condition can cause blindness, heart disease, and renal failure. It can drastically decrease a person's life expectancy, and lead to a measurable death. Diabetes can be controlled by diet and exercise.

Childhood