Determinants Of Wasting And Obesity Among School Aged Children Using Anthropometric Measurement
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Determinants Of Wasting And Obesity Among School Aged Children Using Anthropometric Measurement
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background of the study.
Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the point where it may have a negative impact on health, resulting in a shorter life expectancy and more health problems.
It is typically caused by a combination of excessive food intake, a lack of physical activity, an endocrine disorder, genetic susceptibility, medication, or psychiatric illness. (Gilbert, Harness, Optiz. 2007)
Obesity is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (2009) as an abnormal or excessive fat buildup that may damage health. They also stated that the primary cause of obesity is an imbalance in energy absorbed and energy release.
This means that some people consume more calories per day than their bodies can burn, which can lead to excessive fat accumulation and storage in the body. Not every fat individual or person is obese because an obese person or individual can only be determined using an instrument known as body mass index (B.M.I).
When a person’s weight is divided by the square of his or her height, and the result is greater than 30kg/m2, such individual is considered obese.
According to Sweeting (2007), the consequences of obesity include an increased lifetime for numerous diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and respiratory difficulties, and it is regarded as one of the most important public health challenges of the twenty-first century.
As a result, obesity can occur at any stage of life, from childhood to maturity. Obesity is becoming increasingly widespread among children. It typically begins between the ages of five and six, or older.
Childhood obesity has become a major health concern in many countries throughout the world. According to recent statistics, 16% of children aged 6 to 11 are overweight, with an additional 14.3% at high risk of becoming overweight.
The incidence of overweight continues to rise over the school and adolescence stages (Mosha and Fungo 2010). Childhood obesity is a severe medical disease that affects both children and adolescents. It occurs when a youngster is significantly overweight for his or her age and height.
Childhood obesity is especially concerning since excess weight frequently puts youngsters at risk for health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, which were previously thought to be adult diseases. (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).
Childhood obesity has substantial and dramatic effects on people’s health, including cardiomyopathy, pancreatitis, orthopaedic issues, and respiratory illnesses (NIH 2007).
Obesity produces short-term psychological impacts on children, such as social isolation and low self-esteem, which lead to overwhelming emotions of hopelessness and melancholy.
Many obese children perform poorly in academic activities due to stress and anxiety, which interfere with their learning and create a vicious cycle in which excessive worry exacerbates falling academic performance.
(lobstein 2010) Excessive weight gain is a prelude to a wide range of physiological abnormalities, which eventually predispose the individual to morbidity and mortality later in life.
According to research, many adult chronic and noncommunicable diseases have their roots in infancy. (UNICEF, 2011). Furthermore, wasting is the inverse of obesity, which indicates a significant decrease of body weight, resulting in one becoming thin and feeble.
According to UNICEF (2007), wastage is a major predictor of mortality among school-age children aged five and up. It is typically the result of a severe food shortage or sickness.
Wasting, which affects around 10% of all children in low-income nations, is caused by a lack of calories, poor food quality, unclean water, and a terrible environment.
Wasted children weigh significantly less than their peers in the same age range. Wasting can be treated with a range of additional meals, both with and without animal protein. However, the quality of food influences the rate of recuperation, which, if not maintained, is likely to occur. In extreme situations, wasted youngsters suffered from severe acute malnutrition, which might be fatal.
Srivastava (2012) also stated that wasting in children is an indication of acute malnutrition, which is typically caused by low food intake and a high incidence of infectious infections, particularly diarrhoea.
Wasting decreases immune system function, increasing the intensity and duration of vulnerability to infectious infections, as well as the chance of death.(Bose 2007).
Statement of the Problem
Obesity and wasting are severe challenges affecting the entire world, and Nigeria is no exception. As a result, it is critical to understand how to prevent obesity and wasting in our current culture.
According to a UNICEF estimate from 2013, 42 million children under the age of five are overweight or obese. Furthermore, 44% were diabetes, 23% had heart disease, and 41% were overweight or obese.
Wasting, which is a serious problem among school-aged children, could be caused by a lack of enough nutritional meals, drinking hazardous water, or living in a poor environment.
Wasting and obesity in children inflict direct anatomical damage to the brain and affect the immune system, making them more susceptible to practically all infectious diseases and less engaged in their surroundings.
The combination of infectious diseases and poor environmental cleanliness is likely to have an impact on children’s health and nutritional status, decreasing their learning possibilities.
Furthermore, wasted children are more likely to experience stunted growth in adulthood, have low educational achievement and economic standing, and give birth to smaller infants. Girls in this category may develop a tiny pelvis, which can make childbirth difficult.
It is vital to remember that well-nourished youngsters raised in a healthy and supportive environment grow stronger, taller, and mature into more productive individuals capable of maintaining high levels of functionality and producing healthy offspring in the future.
In a more severe case, obesity in children is associated with some health challenges. Obese children are at a higher risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnoea, and some of the health challenges those children may face include being absent from school
while some of the social and psychological problems they may face include stigmatisation, low self-esteem, susceptibility to depression, anxiety, etc. That is why the researcher dim it necessary to explore wasting and obesity among school-aged youngsters in the Abakaliki city.
Objectives of the Study
The primary goal of this study is to identify the causes of wasting and obesity among school-aged children in Abakaliki metropolis using anthropometric measurements.
Specifically, the research tends to
1. To assess the nutritional condition of school-aged children.
2. Determine the difficulties related with waste.
3. Determine problems associated with obesity.
4. Determine a viable solution to reduce wasting and obesity.
Significance of the Study
The study’s findings will benefit school-aged children, parents, nutritionists, health practitioners, and the government. The study will benefit school-aged children by educating them on the ideal foods to eat. When this is done, the children will grow healthy and develop properly in all aspects–academically, socially, and otherwise.
This study will also aid parents by providing them with a thorough understanding of the healthful foods that their children require. Economically, part of the money spent by parents on junk food and other food items with little or no nutritional value will be saved for other family needs.
To the nutritionist: If the government adopts this study, it may create job opportunities for nutritionists. For example, the issue of primary school lunch is currently being addressed in some states in the country; if the government wants to achieve this goal, they should hire only qualified nutritionists to provide advice on food intake and other vital information concerning children’s health.
Health practitioners will also benefit because it will educate them on the causes of wasting and obesity, as well as how to advise obese and wasted patients.
The study’s findings will be extremely beneficial to the government since they would save money that would otherwise be spent on treating wasted and obese youngsters. This is because the study will educate the children on the proper foods to eat.
Scope of the Study
The purpose of this study was to determine the causes of wasting and obesity among school-aged children in the Abakaliki metropolitan using anthropometric measurements.
The study’s goals were to investigate the health concerns associated with wasting and obesity, to analyse the nutritional quality of school-aged children, and to identify potential solutions to relieve wasting and obesity among school-aged children. The respondents will be instructors and school-aged youngsters.
Research Questions
The following research questions were developed to guide the investigation.
1. What is the nutritional status of school-aged children.
2. Describe the challenges related with wasting.
3. Describe the problems linked with obesity.
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