Facts and Figures

Here are some facts that are connected to childhood obesity and childhood type II diabetes.

“Since 1980, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012a).

Of the fifty states in the United States only 21 have laws that mandate that prohibit sugar sweetened beverages in school vending machines, only 11 states require physical education for every grade level and only 10 states mandate body mass index screenings with school children (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted from 2005-2008 noted 17.4% of children 6-11 years old are obese in the United States (Health Indicators Warehouse, n.d.).

The health promotion initiative named Healthy People 2020 now has a section specifically aimed at early and middle childhood to address childhood obesity and childhood type II diabetes (Healthy People 2020, 2012). 

The Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System discovered that in Texas 16% of children who are five years old or younger are obese (Polhamus et al., 2011). -------- I included this statistic because this is my current target population of interest.

Childhood obesity can lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, low glucose tolerance, musculoskeletal problems, and asthma which could ultimately lead to other health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and fatty liver disease. If  a child is obese then s/he would be more likely to obese as an adult and have other health complications such as heart disease and diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012b).

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2011).Childhood obesity prevention, 2011, state legislation report. Retrieved from http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/state-advocacy/Documents/2011_State_Legislation_Report.pdf, (p. 38).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012a). Data and statistics: Obesity rates among all children in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012b). Basics about childhood obesity. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html

Health Indicators Warehouse, (n.d.). Obesity in children aged 6-11 years (percent). Retrieved from http://www.healthindicators.gov/Indicators/Obesity-in-children-aged-6-11-years-percent_1214/National_0/Profile/Data

Healthy People 2020. (2012a). HealthyPeople.gov: 2020 topics & objectives: early and middle childhood: overview. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=10

Polhamus, B., Dalenius, K., Mackintosh, H., Smith, B., Grummer-Strawn, L. (2011). Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance 2009 Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.