Nutrition Blog 1

 

(Source: Jonathan Forani, 2019)

Obesity in children worldwide!

Why did this topic interest me the most?

OBESITY in children is a topic which sparked a lot of curiosity in me as I have seen it first hand in my own house. Growing up my kid sister was really obese which was very dangerous as she was at the verge of getting diabetes type 2 before she took control and made changes to her lifestyle and diet.

Today it has become a global problem with every country battling it, I wanted to explore the reasoning behind this crisis. I found that our unhealthy lifestyle specially eating habits and lack of physical activities are the two main cause which have caused obesity which is linked to many chronic diseases for instance diabetes type 1 and 2, Thyroid, High Blood Pressure, Breathing problem etc. 

(Source: Matt Slocum, 2007)

Obesity Facts

• 38 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2019:  Obesity was once considered a rich country problem, however obesity is now on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings for example the number of overweight children under the age of 5 increased by a dramatic 24% in Africa in the last 2 decades.
• Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016: Between 1975 and 2016 overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5-19 has risen by almost four and half times from just 4% in 1975 to 18% in 2016. The rise has occurred similarly among both boys and girls: in 2016 18% of girls and 19% of boys were overweight. 

(Source: WHO/int, 2020)

Causes and Reasons

It is globally accepted that obesity is caused due to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure.

With an increase junk food intake and lack of physical activities has only added fuel to the fire. Recently, there have been more and more evidence linking genetics to the risk of developing obesity. Factors like dietary intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviour are the ecological causes of obesity according to Davison et al., some other factors include parenting style, parent's lifestyle, environmental factors like school etc.

(Source: Davison et al, 2001)

Role of Nutrition in Culinary

With great knowledge available at a click of a button, people around the world have become more aware about the relation between nutrition and health. The popular phrase you are what you eat, is seeing a lot of implications. People now not only want to know what is in their food but also want more sustainable options. More and more people globally want to know what is in their food which has pushed big manufactures to make more details labels. Trendy diets like keto, paleo, vegan, low fat, high protein, low carb etc. are all different ways of people trying to find the best fit for them to be healthy. This has not only caused giant retails but also the culinary world to be more responsible and be updated to keep up with the trend. Globally, more and more salad bars, healthy cafes are in demand and people want more vegan options on menus which is proving to be healthier than fast food. The consumer today is more aware and has tonnes of information available and demands healthier options which the culinary world has to suffice.

(Source:Robin Packer & Claire Veryard, 2019)

With growing demand many restaurants show the number of calories per serving or dish on the menu, this is just a small step in the big change the culinary world has gone through and many more to come. Nutrition and a well balanced diet is the foundation to a healthy well being and the 21st century customer wants to make the revolution and take an informed decision.

Credible Nutrition Websites Vs Not Credible Websites 

Credible Nutrition Website: I have used cdc.gov as my credible source of comparing with the not credible website. The link to the article is https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html

Topic: Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences 

• Details of the organization who runs the website/author: The website is a government run organization which is called Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the article is from the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) which targets to prevent chronic diseases by promoting good nutrition, regular physical activity, and a healthy weight.

• Qualifications of the leadership: The qualifications of all the members of this division is in background of nutrition, health, medicine, physical activity and health etc. Please find below details
• • Ruth Petersen, MD, MPH
    DNPAO Director
  • Ann O’Connor, MPA
    Deputy Director
  • Janelle Gunn, MPH
    Associate Director of Policy, Partnership and Communication
  • Deborah Galuska, PhD
    Associate Director of Science
  • Rafael Flores-Ayala, DrPH
    Chief, Nutrition Branch
  • Ken Rose, MPA
    Acting Chief, Physical Activity and Health Branch
  • Captain Heidi Blanck, PhD
    Chief, Obesity Prevention and Control Branch
  • Terry O’Toole, PhD
    Chief, Program Development and Evaluation Branch
• References: The article has a long list of credible references with many medical journal articles which are listed clearly at the end of the article.

Not credible Nutrition Website: I have used www.quora.com as my not credible source. This is the link of the article for comparison https://www.quora.com/How-can-we-control-obesity-in-children

 Topic: How can we control obesity in children

• Details of the organization who runs the website/author: There are multiple people who have their thoughts on the topic, quora as a website is a platform for a discussions, brainstorm and share knowledge, however all views are welcome there is no specifications if the informative shared comes from a renowned source or not.

• Qualifications of the leadership: There are multiple authors and all have the preference to whether or not they wish to update their qualifications. Most people do not have qualifications of any medicine or nutrition background but are more so parents of kids who may or may not suffer, absolutely anyone can become an author and give their two thoughts on any topic.

• References: Many people have used photos or articles to quote details however most of them have not mentioned the source or referenced the articles in any form. In some answers people have vaguely mentioned data taken from CDC website but no details have been provided. Thus making this source very unreliable.

References 

Forani, F. (2019) retrieved from https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/obesity-in-children-should-be-defined-by-health-issues-not-just-bmi-study-1.4362976

Sllocum, M. (2007) retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/2191254/childhood-obesity-at-record-levels-in-us-and-canada-study/

who.int (2020) Obesity and Overweight retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight

Davison KK, Birch LL Obes Rev. 2001 Aug; 2(3):159-71

Packer, R & Veryard, C. (2019) retrieved from https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-medicine/2019/09/27/world-food-day-2019-encouraging-healthy-diets-for-a-zerohunger-world/

cdc.gov (2020) retrieved from //www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html

quora.com retrieved from https://www.quora.com/How-can-we-control-obesity-in-children