The Obese Obesity Essay
The Obese Obesity Essay
The Obese Obesity Essay
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Charlotte Riceman
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Contents page
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“Inactivity and obesity: Are Kiwi kids
becoming fat and lazy? What does this
mean for New Zealand society?”
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Section A:
“Obesity”
It is associated with heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood
pressure and some cancers, however it is not surprising that this one
English noun causes much confusion, worry and concern amongst
society; our definition for the word is unable to be determined by our
means of identifying it. The New Zealand Ministry of health defines
obesity as “an excessively high amount of body fat (adipose tissue) in
relation to lean body mass.” To contradict, however slightly, we
identify this health problem by the use of a “Body mass index” (BMI)
which does not calculate “an excessively high amount of body fat in
relation to lean body mass”, but measures weight adjusted for height
and is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres
squared (kg/m2). For children and teens, BMI is age and sex-specific
and is often referred to as BMI-for-age. The BMI number is plotted on
the CDC BMI-for-age growth charts (for either girls or boys) to attain a
percentile ranking. Below are the BMI-for-age weight status categories
and the matching percentiles:
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If you are not one of these people, then let me ask you this. How
many of you have watched an obese person chowing down on a
double hamburger with double fries and a triple cola and thought
"Why don't you get it?" How many of you have stood in a newsagent
watching an overweight person forcing their overweight hands into a
family-sized bag of Doritos and thought "You shouldn't be eating
that."
This article does not regard New Zealanders, nor is it about children;
however, it does give insight into westernized societies’ views on
obesity. Dr Meldrum’s statement comes across as harsh and offensive
even; so why is it outrageous to suggest that energy in exceeding
energy out is the cause of obesity? It is simple math yet deeply rooted
in our society and human nature is the desire to place blame on
everyone and everything except ourselves. Our society is constantly
creating more illnesses and diagnosing more people with disorders
that we deem responsible for our obesity. There is however, those of
us like Dr Meldrum who think suck it up, stop over eating and stop
blaming everyone else for your problems. There is a noticeable
“weight debate” amongst New Zealand society, thus perhaps obesity
is becoming more prominent within children amongst those of us who
disregard obesity to be a health issue and take a more “PC” approach,
seeing it as a bit of extra “puppy fat” or blaming genetics.
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18
16
14
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Percentage
10 Boys
8 Girls
0
least 2 3 4 most
deprived deprived
Level of deprivation
This data supports the assumption that “The fattest of us are also the
poorest”- an observation made by an article in the Listener,
November 2003. This is most likely due to takeaway and highly
processed foods often being cheaper than fruit and vegetables, meat
and dairy foods.
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“How is it that today the people with the least amount of money to
spend on food are the ones most likely to be overweight?” -An article
from the New York Times proves partially why exactly the above
statement is so. Drewnowski went on a mission- to purchase as many
calories as he could. “He discovered that he could buy the most
calories per dollar in the middle aisles of the supermarket, among the
towering canyons of processed food and soft drink. Drewnowski found
that a dollar could buy 1,200 calories of cookies or potato chips but
only 250 calories of carrots. Looking for something to wash down
those chips, he discovered that his dollar bought 875 calories of soda
but only 170 calories of orange juice.”
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"The data suggest that children begin to assimilate and mimic their
parents' food choices at a very young age, even before they are able
to fully appreciate the implications of these choices," writes the
researchers, led by Dr. Lisa A. Sutherland of Dartmouth Medical
School in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Thus, parents may be creating an
obesogenic environment without realizing, purely based on their own
lifestyles and preferences.
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www.dreamstime.com/junk-food
Section B:
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Section C:
Obesity Inactivity
A surplus of
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kilojoules
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Recent New Zealand research indicates that at the same BMI value,
female children (aged 5–14 years) of Pacific Island and Maori decent
have a lower percent fat mass compared to their New Zealand
European peers [2]. In another study using a larger sample size,
however, no clinically significant difference in the relationship
between BMI and body composition was found between young
children (5–10.9 years) of Maori, Pacific Island, or European descent.
Thus, further research clarifying the relationship between BMI and
percentage of body fat percentage according to ethnicity among the
New Zealand youth population is necessary. [3]
Behaviour
Environment – unfixed Habits
Biology – Fixed
Food availability Attitudes
Ethnicity
Advertising Determines Self perception
Gender
Economics – availability Expectations
Age
of money Personal morals
Genetics
Surrounding Cultural and views
Family
views and morals Priorities
Personality?
Upbringing Emotions
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Section D:
Just under half (47.0%) of children aged 5-14 years usually use
active transport to get to and from school (walking, biking,
skating or using other forms of physical activity). Common
reasons given by parents for what stops their children walking,
biking or skating to school – live too far from school, busy
traffic/main road, too dangerous for reasons other than traffic,
takes too long.
Of children aged 2 to 14 years:
One in twelve were obese (8.3%)
One in five were overweight (20.9%).
Adjusted for age, Pacific boys and girls were at least 2.5 times
more likely to be obese than boys and girls in the total
population.
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Maori boys and girls were 1.5 times more likely to be obese
than boys and girls in the total population.
There has been no change in the average (mean) BMI for
children aged 5-14 years since 2002.
There has been a decrease in average BMI for Maori children.
Is this an Epidemic?
The above statistics show that yes, obesity does exist amongst New
Zealand children. However, the final two statistics are particularly
intriguing as they indicate that childhood obesity in New Zealand is
not the “epidemic” it has been made out to be – obesity has not been
“spreading rapidly”. Though to confound the situation even more,
between 1989 and 1997 obesity levels rose from 3% to 12.6% in
males, and from 2% to 5.3% in females who were aged between 15
and 18 years [1]. Therefore, over an 8-year period, obesity levels
increased by 300% for males, and a 160% increase for females, thus
an “epidemic”. It is even thought that this comparison may under
represent the true increase in obesity because the 1989 Survey used
a lower BMI cut-off value (30 kg/m2) to define obesity among
individuals of Maori and Pacific Island descent in comparison to 1997 –
(32 kg/m2). [2]Although the latter information may be less reliable as
it is untimely, a huge contrast between the two sets of data exists.
This is possibly due to the differences in ages, and for that reason
much older children are the likely cause for the label “epidemic”.
Additionally, the statistic suggesting that just over 20% of children are
overweight is particularly alarming because if current trends continue,
in time these children are likely to progress to an obese stage later in
life. All in all, epidemic is a matter of opinion; no specific guidelines or
figures exist which can detect whether something has reached
epidemic rates. However, the health of New Zealand children remains
a concern, especially considering the dire consequences that can
result, if not now then later in life.
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In the future, when today’s children enter the workforce, New Zealand
may experience a greater loss in productivity than present if obesity
and inactivity continues to rise. Presenteeism is the loss of
productivity that occurs when employees come to work, but are not
fully performing to the standard expected due to an illness or injury. It
is potentially a bigger problem than absenteeism, which may also
stand to be a future problem. Lost productivity and absenteeism has a
direct impact on a business’s bottom line, depleting New Zealand’s
rate of growth and potential competitiveness with the rest of the
world. US research has found the cost of presenteeism corresponds to
approximately 3% of a company’s gross payroll. [6] Another study, this
time Australian, showed that workers with a high HWB (health and
well being) score worked approximately 143 effective hours compared
to 49 effective hours worked per month for a worker with a low HWB
score. [7] The table below shows how the unhealthier someone is the
greater liability they are to a business.
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[6]
Living with obesity at a young age can affect the well-being of a child,
decreasing their quality of life and not only through physical factors.
Generally, obese children tend to have a poor body image, partially
caused by the bullying culture often seen in schools and amid
children. Bullying can be incredibly worrying for children and lead to
psychological problems such as Stress and anxiety, Depression, and
behavioural learning problems, social exclusion and an overall
decrease in happiness.
Studies have shown that physically fit students are more content and
perform better academically. [4] Physical activity builds character,
pride, self-esteem, teamwork, leadership, concentration, dedication,
fair play, mutual respect, social skills, and healthier bodies; help keep
children in school; help develop academic skills to do better in school
and in life; and increase access to higher education. This long list of
benefits is all things that New Zealand children will not be receiving to
the extent that they should be, due to childhood obesity and
inactivity. Additionally, increase in rates of childhood inactivity may
contribute to the negative culture within New Zealand such as gangs,
as children who do not experience the benefits highlighted above look
for alternative ways to gain social interaction, acceptance or
appreciated in some way. Arguably, childhood obesity and inactivity
may be partially responsible for many seemingly unrelated issues to
New Zealand society today. Studies have shown that teenagers who
participated in team sports are less likely to have unhealthy eating
habits, smoke, have premarital sex, use drugs, or carry weapons. [5]
It all comes down to the well-being of a person, particularly one’s
emotional and mental state. Exercise releases endorphins into your
body that reduce stress, and is highly recommended as both a
prevention strategy and cure for depression and emotional difficulties.
Possibly, obesity and inactivity are contributing causes to the growing
rate of mental illnesses in New Zealand, which we are now told affects
one in five New Zealanders, undoubtedly a large proportion of society.
Additionally, depletion in physical activity may contribute to a culture
of unhappiness amongst society, which may sound asinine and
slightly ridiculous, but it is nevertheless, a negative impact.
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Decrease in:
Overall well- Decrease in
Leads society’s well-
Childhood to a being – Causing
Emotional state being as a
Obesity and
Happiness whole
inactivity
Value on life Increase of
Value on negative
yourself culture. I.e.
Gangs,
passive
leisure culture
[1] Ministry
[2] United states department
of Health. of health– and
Health Eatingy human
Healthy services.
Action Oranga kai –
Oranga Pumau: A
Background. Wellington: Ministry of Health; 2003.
[3] Ministry of Health. DHB Toolkit: Physical Activity. To increase
physical activity. Wellington: Ministry of Health; 2001.
[4] Ca. Dep't of Education, Press Release, Dec. 10, 2002.
[5] Russell R. Pate et al., “Sports Participation and Health-Related
Behaviors Among US Youth,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine
[6] Goetzel R.Z., Long S.R., Ozminkowski R.J., Hawkins K., Wang S.
and W. Lunch (2004), Health, absence, disability and presenteeism.
Journal of Occupational and Environment Medicine
[7] Source: The health of Australia’s workforce, November 2005,
Medibank Private
Section E:
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There are many means available to educate parents that will appeal
to each individual differently. Generally, there are ways to
communicate with all kinds of parents. One form of education is
through community-based seminars and newsletters / periodic
magazines, where those who are knowledgeable about parenting and
health related issues can give practical advice to parents.
Additionally, this could be subsidized by the Government, making
these educational resources free or of an optional donation, giving
parents an even greater incentive to show interest. Community
“gathering” type events can also create a highly positive atmosphere
where parents exchange advice and share their own personal
experiences. Situations like these also create accountability among
persons – inter-personal strategies. Another alternative is more
subtle, through means of television advertisements – a great way to
reach those who are more passive when it comes to finding out
information. Well recognized organizations such as plunket could put
their name to advertisements, providing parents with facts and ways
to eat healthily and encourage children to participate in less
sedentary activities. Television advertisements may only be 30
seconds long but they have managed to assist selling burgers and
fries in the past, so it is surely an effective way to influence a person’s
viewpoint.
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Many societal strategies can be put in place to solve the current levels
of inactivity and obesity among children. The Government holds a
great deal of power, thus impacting New Zealanders directly and
indirectly when it comes to decisions they make which then influence
levels of obesity and inactivity (Diagram 1 section 3). Government
policies often influence the level of individuals’ disposable incomes
and as it has been established that low levels of income is a cause of
childhood obesity and inactivity it is vital that Government policies
ensure families have the monetary means to live relatively healthy
lifestyles – income and price must be in equilibrium.
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vouchers for fresh food instead of solely money. This would have to
be done with great caution and sensitivity because otherwise society
may get the impression that bureaucracies are “taking over” and
limiting individuals own ability to make decisions. A way of doing that
would be to not eliminate financial handouts drastically but decrease
the quantity slightly, and bring in food vouchers to compensate. The
quantitative amount of the vouchers should be in proportion to
number of people living in a household, the household income and
their expenses. Whether these families appreciate the change or not
they are still, to some degree, highly likely to eat healthier foods
because they simply do not have the monetary means to buy what
they like. This may lead to healthier eating among beneficiaries, as
over time they are habituated with healthy eating and learn to
appreciate such foods to some extent. In the future, this could lead to
lifestyle changes and priority changes, leading to happier healthier
children (see diagram page 26). Although this analysis may be overly
optimistic and “wishful thinking”, it is definitely an idea worth giving a
go, if done properly with careful planning, positive implications are
likely to follow.
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Overall
increase in
well-being
Individuals
receiving
improved health
Cyclical
Decrease
care effect in health
problems
Enhanced
doctor to
patient
ratios
Section F:
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“Influence”
The online dictionary definition states that an influence is the
“capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or
produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others.” As
a verb an influence is “to move or impel (a person) to some action.”
From this, we can recognize that influences are often powerful; a
“force” of some sort which manipulates and persuades. Everyone is
constantly under the influence of something – to what extent though
will depend on their personality and viewpoints, how easily someone
is persuaded and what persuades them. The diagram below shows in
a simplistic way, how influences work, though in reality it is often far
more complex. It demonstrates cyclical effects and the way in which
we form our own ideas and beliefs.
Societ
y
Internal External
influences – influences –
Ideas formed Ideas created in the
within one’s self outside world &
through other people
Personal
viewpoints
The Ideology
we base our
lives own
Societal beliefs
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Enablers
Currently, there are projects, ideas and plans set in place that are
likely to help the solutions suggested in section E to work. Many of
these influences were originated from central Government.
Recently the Government launched a $67 million four-year campaign
aimed at raising physical activity and reducing New Zealand's growing
obesity rates, targeting schools in particular. The campaign titled
"Mission-On" was aimed at schools in particular and involves the
Health Ministry working with the food industry and advertisers in
order to reduce the advertising of unhealthy food to children. This
initiative acts as a positive external influence toward obesity
prevention as it has created an environment that condemns
advertising of unhealthy foods. This “atmosphere” is influencing
society indirectly and affecting individual ideas and beliefs, ultimately
presenting people with a more concerned approach towards the
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Barriers
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Enablers or barriers
Initiating new ideas often means using money that was previously
being used elsewhere. This can cause controversy, as people will
prioritise the various possible uses for money differently. For example,
if the Government were to subsidise sports clubs and funnel money
directly through to providing sports equipment then this money would
either have to come from one of two places. Firstly, taken out of
another area of spending or secondly, taxes and forms of Government
revenue would need to increase to accommodate for the increase in
Government spending. There are people who would agree with the
idea, as they either intrinsically or extrinsically feel that children’s
sport needs to be given more attention and improvements should be
made. This viewpoint – depending on the strength, will act as an
enabler, influencing the wider society that it is of importance.
However, others who will be opposed to the idea, their viewpoints
disagree with the solution and they too will influence wider society
shaping others’ views in a way that hinders the likelihood of the
solution working. Whether viewpoints act as an enabler or barrier is
often dependant on the status and power held in each group. Well-
recognized influential individuals, such as celebrities and people who
have political power hold a greater influence over controlling society’s
views than the average person. Therefore, the views of such
individuals will ultimately determine whether opinions act as an
enabler or barrier.
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eating too many burgers then regulation and taxation is not going to
reduce consumption.” This opinion no doubt influenced the public’s
views on the health tax idea to some extent. Although Scott does
make a fair point when she says, “It is people's choice what they eat
without Government interference” overall, her comment is irrational
and untrue. To suggest that “if you eat any food in too high a
quantity, you will put on weight” is absurd, as eating mass amounts of
a food item relatively low in kilojoules will not result in the gain of
weight. The consumption of 20 bananas equates to well under the
recommended daily intake of energy, however, people who take
Scott’s comment at it’s face value may now also believe that the
“Government has gone tax mad.” Hence, this situation would hinder
the possible effectiveness of solutions to reducing childhood obesity
and inactivity.
Conclusion:
“Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1
billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese
- and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease
and disability.” – (The world health organization) and unfortunately we
as New Zealanders, are contributors to these statistics. Contributors
sure, but are Kiwi kids becoming fat and lazy? Yes, I believe they are.
We may not rank alongside the Americans or the English, when it
comes to our children’s weight, but that does not make us healthy.
Being “better” than others, does not automatically mean “good”, we
can compare ourselves all we like, but the fact remains that
proportionally speaking, our children are getting fat.
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Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other
time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that
we seek. - Barak Obama
Bibliography:
Books:
Websites:
www.sparc.org.nz/admin/ClientFiles/f8119e6f-65ee-4492-8c6a-
7bbe8041cf35.pdf
http://herbalremedies.freeblog.co.nz/2008/12/12/child-obesity-
effects-causes-and-solutions/
www.walktoschool.org.uk/
www.csmonitor.com/2004/1014/p11s02-ussc.html
www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html?
fta=y
www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/obesity
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www.nzma.org.nz/journal
www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/Fighting-Obesity-While-
Sticking-to-Fast-Food-is-It-Possible-43078-1.htm
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/size-matters-the-
great-british-weight-debate-462748.html
www.stats.govt.nz/
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news
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