The Incidence of Childhood Obesity among School Age Children Ages 6-12 Years Old in Lynn, Ma and the Role of the School Nurse

Annie Cao

Salem State University

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Epidemiology of Childhood Obesity7

Healthy People 202011

Healthy People 2020: Objectives12

?NWS-2.112

?NWS-413

?NWS-6.313

?NWS-1013

oNWS-10.213

Web of Causality14

Non-Modifiable Risk Factors15

Age15

Gender/ Sex16

Race/Ethnicity16

Family history17

Modifiable Risk Factors18

Formal and Health Education18

Psycho-social Impacts19

Environment19

Income Level20

Media20

Community Assessment20

History20

Location21

Health Resources27

Secondary Prevention Strategies30

Tertiary Prevention Strategies31

Conclusion32

The Incidence of Childhood Obesity among School Age Children Ages 6-12 Years Old in Lynn, Ma and the Role of the School Nurse

Introduction

Globally, environmental, lifestyle and cultural beliefs play vital roles in development of obesity, either childhood, or adult. Childhood obesity has become a serious concern over the period of past few decades, because it has lasting impacts on the life of a person. Childhood obesity is on the rise in the United States (U.S.), along with other developed countries. Obesity is the leading cause of many preventable health issues that are surfacing among healthy young children. Currently, 25% of children in the U.S. are overweight and 11% are obese (Byrne, Nauta, & Wesley, 2009).

The rates of obesity globally have gone into the millions. According to the World Health Organization 43 million children are overweight or obese worldwide. (WHO, 2012) These numbers raise great concern about the outcome of our nation's health and how this epidemic is now affecting the nation's youngest population. The worldwide prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity increased from 4.2% in 1990 to 6.7% to 2010. This trend is expected to reach approximately to 60 million, in 2020. The estimated prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Africa in 2010 was 8% and is expected to reach 12.7% in 2020. The prevalence is lower in Asia than in Africa (4.9% in 2010), but the number of affected children (18 million) is higher in Asia. (WHO, 2012)

In the United States, the incidence of childhood obesity has steadily increased over the past thirty years. In 1974, the rate of obesity in children and adolescents averaged 5%. By 2000, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) reported that fifteen percent of U.S. children were obese. According to the CDC, about 17% children are overweight and obese in the United States.

In the state of Massachusetts (MA), obesity has increased in low-income and preschool-aged children from about fifteen percent in 1998 to about seventeen percent in 2008 (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2011). Due to this increase, MA alone will spend close to six billion dollars annually by 2018 on health care costs related to obesity for all ages (National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality, 2007).

In the city of Lynn, there has been a substantial increase in childhood obesity. The prevalence of cases that have been reported to the Public Health office in Lynn, as of January 2011, indicates that close to 21%of the overall population of children in the town are obese. The data provided by Mass CHIPS indicating Lynn is one of the top ten districts with the highest percentage of overweight and obese students at 39.9%. These numbers have provided ample evidence that ...