Childhood Obesity in Latino Children

Becoming increasingly more active is vital to combating and reducing obesity in children. Healthful, fitness habits, then, must be jumpstarted at institutions where all American children spend mandatory time, such as in a child’s school; evidently, “normal weight children get 16 more minutes of

outcome of obesity in this community, there needs to be a sufficient understand of Hispanic

Currently, the definition of obesity, determined by the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale, considers a child over the 95th percentile to be obese. Childhood obesity affects 17% of the children in the United States, and according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, 12.7 million American children will have the prevalence of obesity. Roberto Ferdman argues in his article in The Washington Post that “American kids are still far more likely to be overweight than kids in most other countries.” Some children are more likely to become obese based on their race or gender. “The prevalence of obesity among non-Hispanic Asian youth (8.6%) was lower than among non-Hispanic white (14.7%), non-Hispanic black (19.5%), and Hispanic

There are various pressing factors that contribute to overweight Latino children. Latino adolescents find few options for physical activity out of class. Some areas have limited access to parks, playgrounds, and other recreational areas, making it difficult for them to be active and maintain a healthy weight. Schools are also contributing to the issue. A majority of today’s Schools sell high-fat, high-sugar snack foods and beverages in vending machines and school stores. These malicious foods are easier to come by and cheaper, appealing more to the developing minds of students. Schools have been known to lack access of healthy foods, such as fresh produce, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products (Latino Childhood Obesity). Marketers are also a huge contribution to the rise in obesity among the Latino youth. About 74 percent of kid-targeted food and drinks ads on television promote foods in the lowest nutritional category (Ramirez). Young children are affected more by food advertisements, especially fast foods. Fast food commercials advertise toys with the purchase of a kid’s meal that appeals to young kids. Also, restaurants use cartoon advertisement, like Ronald McDonald, to encourage children to want to go there, increasing their intake of high calorie and Tran’s fat food. Giant playgrounds, along with the cartoons and toys, grasp the attention of

South Carolina has one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation and, proportionately, more Latino children aged 2–5 years are obese compared to black and white children in the state (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). In fact, the proportion of obesity among South Carolina Latino children between the ages of 2 and 5 years in 2009 was 37.3% compared to 27.3% and 26.4% for black and white children, respectively (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). Moreover, in 2011, about half of all middle-school children were not active, and approximately 30% of high school students were considered overweight or obese (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). These high numbers of overweight and obese children are startling because overweight

The medical conditions associated with Latinos include diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Diabetes is a large problem for Latino communities: it affects them almost double the amount that it does non-Hispanic whites (Rodriguez, 2013). Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be treated and controlled. A large problem with this is that 25% of Latina women do not believe there is a problem with their weight and see being overweight as “normal” while only 15% of non-Latino white women (Rodriguez, 2013). This creates an idea that since there is no problem, there is nothing to fix; Latinos believe they do not have to visit a healthcare professional to either test for diabetes or to treat it if they are aware they have the condition.

This study was designed to investigate the problem of childhood obesity among African-American and Hispanic-American families in a rural school district in southeast Texas.

Adolescents that belong to minority ethnic groups such as African American, American Indian and Hispanic/Latino have the greatest risk factor of being obese. Also children, who do not get adequate physical activity, have unhealthy eating habits, low socioeconomic status, sometimes genetics or a combination of all these factors. Obesity threatens the health and welfare of millions of children and adolescents, particularly the estimated 4%-7% of youth who are considered severely obese (Inge et al, 2013).

Parents should be educated about healthy choices, and healthier foods should be available wherever kids are present. There should also be programs that support physical activities, and entertainment should be in moderation. The obesity epidemics will continue to escalate if our leaders in every level do not step up. With the increase of technology, the more our children will continue sitting rather than moving or walking. They are exposed to more computers, video games, movies, and television shows than ever. The result is gain of weight because of the overall time spent expending daily calories. The habits of health lifestyle start from childhood with a strong family involvement. It is proven that lack of physical activity associates with the ongoing surge in obesity. On the other hand, involving our kids in physical activities along with extracurricular sport is associated with increased academic success which also leads to physical wellbeing. Community leaders, along with parents need to work towards a healthy future that includes exercise as part of a daily routine.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that “obesity is highest among Blacks then Hispanics” (2015). Similarly, the numbers are highest among the poor class of people, especially those who have no food security. There are Hispanics living in the community but are outnumbered by Blacks. Therefore, the information is relevant to the population and would seek to address most of the problems.

Prevalence of obesity in the children introduced in Elementary School is an article published by Journal of Nursing discussing childhood obesity in elementary schools. Obesity is defined as excessive accumulation of body fat (deWit & O’Neill, 2014). The article is based on studies performed in Brazilian communities. Topics of the different studies consisted of private school setting, lower income families in different locations, different child age groups and socioeconomic differences.

After the assessment, the prevalence of obesity was unobserved among boys and girls, compared to what was discovered between race and age difference. According to the data that was gathered, non-Hispanic Asians have the lowest prevalence of pediatric obesity with 8.6% compared to non-Hispanic White (14.1%), non-Hispanic Black (20.2%), and Hispanics (22.4%). In addition, based on the assessment, no disparity was observed in the prevalence of obesity between non-Hispanic Black and Hispanics. More than 8% of toddlers who were obese, 17.7% of children in middle childhood, and 20.5% of adolescents. Lastly, there is no wide difference between ages 6-11 years old vs. 12-19 years old regarding child obesity rates (Ogden et. al., 2014).

Its estimated that more than 2 in 5 black and Hispanic youth (more than 41 percent) are considered to be overweight or obese.*

These ethnic differences were further studied in Anderson and Whitaker’s 2009 study that found racial disparities evident in obese 4-year-old children in the United States. In their study, the highest prevalence was among American Indian/Native Alaskan children, followed by Hispanic and non-Hispanic black, and the lowest prevalence among non-Hispanic white and Asian children. While each study shows slight differences in highest to lowest prevalence of overweight among each race, both studies identify disproportionate high-risk populations.

Obesity is a disease that affects many Americans, including Latino children and adolescents. Obesity is a gateway medical