Childhood Obesity Policies: Understanding The Causes In Australian Urban Areas

Childhood Obesity in Australian Urban Areas

Discuss About The Childhood Obesity Policies Mighty Concerns.

Obesity can be defined as a state of being overweight in relation to one’s body height. According to the National institute of Health (NIH) when one’s body mass Index (BMI) is 30 and above then the person can be termed considered to be suffering from obesity. This has been a common problem among children in different parts of the world but for this protocol, Australia’s urban areas have had increase in the children obesity cases reported in different health centers within the county. Statistically over the past few years the number of cases has been increasing at an alarming rate. Research from (Cole, T.J., 2016) shows that one out of every four children in Australia’s urban areas is suffering from obese and the same report also shows that the representation of this data keeps changing with time and the rate at which these changes are happening are alarming for the public health sector. Child obesity is becoming one of the most health problem affecting the children. As seen from different research bodies, children obesity cases in Australia have not been well documented hence this shows the need for the particular study to be carried out (Gurnani, M., Birken, C. and Hamilton, J., 2015). WHO has also compile a report on the comparison of obese cases between children in the rural areas and those brought up in the urban areas of Australia. The report shows that urban children report at least 4 children out of 10 suffer from obese while for the rural areas only one out of ten children suffers from obese. There have been other health bodies that have conducted this similar research and the findings have been the same in all the cases (Hayes, A., et al., 2016). Study by the Australian Bureau of statistics – Australian health survey shows that the child brought up in an urban setup is 70 percent more likely to be come obese that a child who is brought up in the rural setup.

After going through all this statistical data gathered from reliable sources in Australia in relation to child obesity and the different areas in the country, I was motivated to dig deeper and find out the main cause behind the pattern of the health problem. Obesity also being a global health issue made me realize the need to learn more of the causes of the high spread of the problem. Through this one would generate a well-researched solution to try and curb the problem especially in the affected areas in the country and in this case, the urban areas within the country. The gathered health records from different health care centers clearly shows that the urban areas are he most affected by the problem. With this established, finding out the main cause behind it became my goal hence the need for the project.

Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to find out the main causes behind the increase in cases of child obesity in Australian urban areas, this will help in the formulation of a solution plan of the problem. With the causes behind the rise of child obesity cases it will be possible to curb the problem since the problems root cause is already established. Hence eliminating the problem cannot posse a huge challenge. It is important to mention that the study objective will generate a comprehensive report on the causes of child obesity in the Australian urban areas which can be used in different health avenues for the better understanding of the public health facing the country.

This comes in when interacting with other people through out the study. It is evident that the study will involve interacting with individuals both physically or via the interacting with other individual private work. The application of ethical principals of research will be necessary so as to ensure the study does not violate any ethical implications of conducting researches. One of the most important ethical research principal is the utilization of other peoples work. The respect for intellectual property is on of the basic ethic principal to observe. The study is to honor patents, copyrights as well as other forms of intellectual properties. Throughout the study, confidentiality is another principle that is going to be honored. This involves the different communications that are to take place during the study and the involved participants confidentiality is to be honored as per their request. The research is also expected to uphold social responsibility and strive to promote social good by preventing or mitigating any social harm which may arise through the research process. Also, the legality bit of the research will be upheld through the understanding of the relevant laws to adhere to in relation to institutions involved in the study as well as the governmental policies hat may be involved during the study. In respect to the above ethical obligations the research is good to start and constant check up to ensure no ethical principal is violated is to be carried out.

Sahoo, K. et al., (2015) has conducted and extensive study on childhood obesity and covered different relevant points in the research that has greatly impacted the known and shared knowledge in relation to the area of study. The study by Sahoo, K. et al., (2015) embraces the fact that childhood obesity has grown into an epidemic level in developed countries has started also affecting the developing countries. Assessing the journal, it is evident that some of the essential parts of the research have been critically analyzed, for instant Sahoo, K. et al., (2015) have answered the who analysis of the research by addressing the children as the unique population as well as where which has clearly been identified as the developed countries but a slight challenge comes in since the research does not specifically narrowed down on where. The why and how of the research has also explicitly been covered. We get to understand the main causes of the childhood obesity epidemic as well as the consequences of the epidemic. The work by Sahoo, K. et al., (2015) is of great use in this study since it helps identify the main causes of childhood obesity. The causes are unique despite the area of study since the epidemic affects the children in a similar manner.

Ethical Principles in Conducting the Research

Sabin, M.A., et al., (2015) have also conducted a research on childhood obesity but taken a different approach on the matter as compared to the previous work by Sahoo, K., et al., (2015). Sabin, M.A. and the other researchers took a step back and analyzed the changes and the increase in the cases of childhood obesity and to address this came up with the identification of the misleading myths among other irrelevant information the entire paper has effectively addressed the research question that guide the study. They have clearly identified the who as the child as well and the other such as what being obesity and when being the timeline of the changes in the spread of the childhood obesity. The research has slightly failed to clearly capture the where which specifically narrows down the area for the study being conducted. The research is very important for the study being curried out since it helps in singling out the irrelevant information that has been crowding the areas of study also helps point out the outcomes associated with childhood obesity which is very important and lastly the work by Sabin, M.A., et al., (2015) helps in the understanding of the environmental factors, individual genetics among other reasons behind the growth of childhood obesity epidemic.

Vallgårda, S., 2018 caries out a very important research and tries to establish the clear definition of childhood obesity as well as the different proposed policies in the fight against the global epidemic. The research tries to establish whether the fight against the epidemic has a hand in the continuous growth of the epidemic. It is such a consistent research that opens up the eyes of the reader in a different view of the problem. Not only does Vallgårda, S., 2018 concentrate on the causes of childhood obesity but looks at the whole problem in a different light. Maybe we the policy makers are making weak moves in fighting the problem hence leading to its uncontrolled state at the moment. The research clearly covers all the research questions not leaving out any important aspect of the study. It clearly paints out the who being the policy makers fighting childhood obesity, what being the continued growth in spread of childhood obesity, where being specified in some of the developed countries, among other research questions. Clearly the study is very important for my project since it gives one a different insight of the whole reason behind the growth of the epidemic.

Related Research Studies

This will help us in understanding how the entire study will be conducted. The children being the population under study, conducting some of the study strategies will be slightly impossible hence the involvement of the parents and the guardians will be important. The study will be carried out in different environments that the children normally interact with a lot. These incudes their homes and the schools. For the urban settings most children school near there homes so as to easily access their hommes after school. This makes it possible for the study to be conducted. The study will entail a number of participant who will be the children and their mothers. The selectin of the study subject will involve sampling and which will be based on a few steps. Since the study is understanding the children’s life style and relating to the probable causes of obesity participants will need to meet specific requirement so as to help get effective responses for the project. For the child to perfectly fit for the study;

• The parents or guardians needs to be present or available for the study.
• The children for the study should be attending a learning institution that is accessible.
• The child feeding patterns should be normal and not interfered with due to the research being conducted
• The normal activities of the child should be independent free of any interference by the parents.
• The parents or the guardians should have a normal Urban setup life inclusive of a job or other activities portraying normal family setup

There are two instruments that will be used for this study, namely observation and questionnaire. Observation will involve the observation of the study subjects in their natural environment and the recording of all the relevant data in relation the participants health. All these are to be reordered and taken in as data for the study. Some of the things to observe include the activities the children are involved in, he feeding patterns they are used to, the relationships they form with the other children, the environment they associate with or the environment they interact with, their parents and their lifestyle among other observations (Ott, R.L. and Longnecker, M.T., 2015).

The questionnaire is the other most important tool for gathering the needed in formation. There will be several types of questionnaires that will be used for the project which will be differentiated depending on who will respond to it. There will be a questionnaire based on the environment the child interacts with and it will be directed to the adult in charge of the environment. There will be a school-based questionnaire for the teachers (Ek, A., et al., 2016.). The questionnaire will be based on the child’s school life style. There will be another questionnaire for the parents or the guardians. This is for the home environment that the child interacts with and the parent or the guardian is in charge.

Research Methodology

All the gathered data has to be analyzed so as to get important information from the collected information. The analysis of this data will need a well thought of approach so as to ensure all the gathered information is in-line with the projects requirements (Wildemuth, B.M. ed., 2016). For this particular project the best analytical data process will be the use which will involve the identification of similarities in the gathered data so as to figure at a common pattern present in the information. With these patterns it becomes easy for one to match the study area with the patters so as to help one identify the possible causes of the increased cases of childhood obesity.

The best presentation of this data will be in tables and graphs, charts carrying the analyzed information will be used so as to ensure effective communication of the covered information.

The project will lead to the production of a well-researched health journal for the presentation to the health care board within the government so as to show them the magnitude of the childhood obesity in Australian urban areas (Sun, Yet al., 2017). Also, the presentation of this is to be done on every public health campaign in relation to public health issues affecting our country.

This section carries some of the most important information required for the effective implementation of the project below is a prepared Gantt chart for the project.

The chart presents a distribution of all the activities that are to be carried out throughout the entire project and the different duration for each activity.

Also, a budget for the project is also required so as to show the financial implications of the project.

Activities	Total Expense
Project Preparation	Expense ($)
Team Selection	3,000
Participant sampling	4,000
Data Collection	7,000
Data analysis	10,000
Project finalization	4,000
	28,000
Extra
Questionnaires	2,000
Transport	3,000
	5,000
		33,0000

This clearly gives an image of the a rough budget for the project but is t be adjustable before the projects completely kicks off as other expense are analyzed.

Reference

Cole, T.J., 2016. Early Causes of Childhood Obesity and Implications for Prevention. Retrieved December 2015.

Ek, A., Sorjonen, K., Eli, K., Lindberg, L., Nyman, J., Marcus, C. and Nowicka, P., 2016. Associations between parental concerns about preschoolers’ weight and eating and parental feeding practices: results from analyses of the child eating behavior questionnaire, the Child Feeding Questionnaire, and the lifestyle behavior checklist. PloS one, 11(1), p.e0147257.

Gurnani, M., Birken, C. and Hamilton, J., 2015. Childhood obesity: causes, consequences, and management. Pediatric Clinics, 62(4), pp.821-840.

Hayes, A., Chevalier, A., D’Souza, M., Baur, L., Wen, L.M. and Simpson, J., 2016. Early childhood obesity: Association with healthcare expenditure in Australia. Obesity, 24(8),           pp.1752-1758.

Lobstein, T., Jackson-Leach, R., Moodie, M.L., Hall, K.D., Gortmaker, S.L., Swinburn, B.A.,James, W.P.T., Wang, Y. and McPherson, K., 2015. Child and adolescent obesity: part of             a bigger picture. The Lancet, 385(9986), pp.2510-2520.

Ott, R.L. and Longnecker, M.T., 2015. An introduction to statistical methods and data analysis. Nelson Education.

Sabin, M.A., Kao, K.T., Juonala, M., Baur, L.A. and Wake, M., 2015. Viewpoint article: Childhood obesity–looking back over 50 years to begin to look forward. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 51(1), pp.82-86.

Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A.K., Sofi, N.Y., Kumar, R. and Bhadoria, A.S., 2015. Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 4(2), p.187.

Sun, Y., Mensah, F.K., Azzopardi, P., Patton, G.C. and Wake, M., 2017. Childhood social disadvantage and pubertal timing: a national birth cohort from Australia. Pediatrics, p.e20164099.

Vallgårda, S., 2018. Childhood obesity policies–mighty concerns, meek reactions. Obesity Reviews, 19(3), pp.295-301.

Wildemuth, B.M. ed., 2016. Applications of social research methods to questions in information and library science. ABC-CLIO.