Introduction to child obesity in America

Childhood obesity has long been recognized in the United States as a severe health issue and a barrier to children's motivation. Since the 1970s, the proportion of kids who are obese has more than tripled. Children in the United States who are significantly obese—about 15% of them—are at danger of developing serious health issues. In addition to health issues, they deal with social and psychological effects like sadness and low self-esteem. Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep issues, and high cholesterol are among health dangers that diabetic youngsters are prone to. Obese children experience emotional issues that endure throughout adulthood. Emotional problems develop in obese children because of constant teasing or bullying by other kids. When their esteemed is lowered, it leads to depression which can lead to some of these obese children being suicidal. Environmental factors, cultural environment, and lifestyle preferences have contributed to the increase in obesity cases in children. Regardless of age, gender or race obesity is a terrible stigmatizing condition.



Ideally, childhood obesity is the state of being above the average weight expected of a child at a particular age in time. Potentially, the state can cause harm to the entire system of operation in the body of the child. Thus, the experts in public health consider this is a serious concern in the development of children and adolescents in the communities. Globally, the problem presents serial threats among the poor and developing nations. Nonetheless, the American childhood obesity reports indicate that obesity among children increased in the 21st century. Compared to the early 1990s, where the percentage of obese children was below 10%, the recent reports indicate that the number has doubled to more than 20% of the total population of children between two to nineteen years (Centre for Disease Control, 2013). This way, childhood obesity is a major concern in the public health sector of the economy. Nutrition factors form the major attribute to the development of these cases. The poor in the society experiences a higher chance of suffering the burden of obesity in most of the American communities. Also, sedentary lifestyles among families effectively contribute to the excessive level of unhealthy living in these cases.

As children develop, they will start to construct a concept and an identity of themselves. They will become aware of the negative social stigma that is associated with being obese at an early age. An individual who is considered to be overweight is associated with various negative characteristics (Paxton 2013). Fat people, most of the times are viewed as being unattractive, aesthetically displeasing, emotionally & morally impaired, and being discontent with who they are. Fat people usually devalue their identity socially. When children who are obese become aware of other people’s negative views on obesity, it diminishes their self-esteem. Since others devalue obese children, they usually end up devaluing themselves. These kids may also devalue themselves because they have fallen short of the internalized social standards for the weight and appearance that is acceptable. Furthermore, obese people usually have the expectancy that they will be judged based on their weight which often results in their behavior being affected leading to the production of negative social interactions.



The methodology of Childhood obesity and self-esteem

The relationship between obesity and self-esteem has not yet received the experimental evaluations by use of the research methodology. Ideally, it is not clear if there is a connection between obesity and self-esteem. It is also not clear whether the relationship is specific or global about physical appearance or demographic variables such as gender, age or race. Also, there is no explicit elaboration whether they are related through moderates of self-esteem such as weight loss treatments. Through empirical studies of over 35 studies that investigate the correlation of self-esteem and obesity, only 25 studies proved the relation of childhood obesity and self-esteem. About five to six cross-sectional results from the studies have concluded that self-esteem is lowered through obese compared to a child who has an average body weight. The same results also proved that high self-esteem results from low body weight. Ideally, prevention of childhood obesity can lower the rate of low self-esteem.

From a sample that was collected from the boys showed that those who were obese had a lower score than those who were having the healthy weight. Most of those who had the standard weight appeared to be either the global self-worth, competence or had a good physical appearance. Also, the overweight boys seemed to have lower score particularly on the physical appearance and the global self-worth. Ideally only the obese or the physically perceived boys were seen to have a score which was below the norm. On girls, the impact on self-competency on overweight girls was seen to be more profound. They mostly differed from the boys through athletic competence, global self-worth, physical appearance and social acceptance. With gender, the weight category through interactions perceived lower competency than that of males. The social acceptance, global self-esteem, and physical appearance were also seen to have a lower score in girls than in boys. Indeed overweight girls are seen to have intermediate significances and perceived competency as compared peers who had normal body weight who and high global self –worth, athletic competence, and good physical appearance.





The contexts of self-esteem

For over one hundred years, a vast amount of research and theories have been devoted so as to manifest and construct the relationship between childhood obesity and self-esteem. To reach the argument of the correlation, was a challenging task due to several theoretical perspectives. At some point, some research showed that it was connected to psychodynamic process while others directed the connection to the cognitive-behaviourist. Self-esteem among obese children is also seen to develop different formats of attitudes while others have been focused on the humanistic psychologist. As a result, childhood obesity causes the child to have both sociological and psychological dimension of self-esteem (Leary, 2012).

Nevertheless, psychologists and theorists have concluded that obesity and self-esteem agree in mental adjustments such as affection, cognitive and behavioral elements. In cognitive, the child who is considered fat usually has a self-centred thinking where they just focus on one’s self with the mindset of how they would prefer to look like. They also perceive themselves on how they would want to see themselves in a certain set period. This affection of feelings is usually referred to as emotions since the child only has discrepancies in their thoughts. The behavioral aspect of these kids can be manifested on attributed such as resilience, assertiveness, being decisive and showing respect to others in which is mostly trying to define the type of self-esteem they are experiencing (Haupt & Schreindorfer, 2010).

Self-esteem, therefore, describes the abilities to believe in personal qualities and attributes. It also involves respecting one’s capacity to perform within means. Thus, it is the core element of development among the school-going children in any society. It helps the children to develop effective cognitive abilities and exploit their potentials at the early stages of life within the communities. Thus, any factor that limits self-esteem in the society will, negatively, affect the wholesome development of that child within the community.

How child obesity affects the child’s self-esteem.

In the social adjustment, self-esteem is seen to be a crucial function in the behavior and health of the developing child. A child’s development like activity engagement, self-confidence, the presence of anxiety and goal direction should be influenced because it defines the self-esteem of that child. Furthermore, when a child has low self-esteem, there are high chances that they may get a depression that can even lead to suicidal cases. Low self-esteem has also shown a variety of personal problems and psychological difficulties such as substance abuse, criminal behavior, and teenage pregnancy.

High self-esteem on this other side, displays characters like the feeling of optimism, high energy and also having moods of happy moments. Therefore the low self-esteemed kids have attributes of behavioral problems in that they fail to understand how she may fit in the world and how the world works. These children are usually very selective with how they receive the feedback from others and also choose who they are going to give the feedback. At times self-esteem in obese kids is lowered due to criticism, failure, and rejection because the implications relate to low evaluation. Mere possibilities of rejecting these children can also cause low self-esteem to the obese. The nature of people’s self-esteem is characterized by the degree of value from the societies.

Evidently, the majority of obese children suffer a lot of psychological torture from their peers in the learning environments. These include teasing sessions related to weight factors as well name-calling. They tend to feel bullied by their peers. In sporting activities, for instance, most of their peers neglect them. As a result, there is a sense of abandonment, social segregation, and loneliness among these children (Van Grouw & Volpe, 2013). As victims of morphological difference in the conventional setup, these children will tend to develop lower self-esteem as compared to their slimmer peers. Consequently, they become vulnerable to calamities such as sadness and depression in their early lives within the society. This way, their emotional health and psychological connection with their peers diminish with time.



Secondly, the psychosocial attached to obesity in childhood may trickle down into the future of the child and present potential danger of limited social functionality. Hence, they find it hard to adjust to the environmental demands in their lifetime. Further, it becomes tough for these children to develop into productive adults in future. This way, they associated with self-destructive ideologies such as those related to suicides and self-harm within their communities. Periodically, psychologists identify depression as the most burdening situation in any society. Children growing with anxiety and depression may fail to set personal goals and may lack direction in their life in their future. Self-esteem that brings psychological effects especially in schools can also make the child depressed. For instance, With all the bullying that is going on in an overweight child’s life, they might end up feeling as if they do not belong or fit anywhere and feel as if they are different and an outcast. Children who are obese often drift away from others they become lonely, and this becomes part of their lives, and with time they become sad and clinically depressed. When the pain of being bullied and being lonely becomes too much, most overweight children seek emotional comfort in food and most of the time these are high-calorie foods.



Economically, low self-esteem among the obese children presents a significant burden on the parents. This is because such children will tend to have destructive emotions and may cause harm to their health. The most prominent aspect of low self-esteem manifests in poor academic performances among most of the obese children. This further heightens the level of psychological destruction since most of the children will tend to apply various techniques to help them manage the stress (Karnik & Kanekar, 2015). The current growth of obese children implies that there will be future direct costs given that these kids may become obese adults. Obesity also has a relation to absenteeism from school and work because of health issues. Because of this absenteeism from school, many of the obese children will end up recording poor academic performances. Apart from medical spending, obesity may affect transportation costs as overweight people keep increasing in America, potentially larger vehicles and more fuel, and are needed to transport the same number of commuters and travelers each year. Chronically, overweight people are 50 percent more likely to be unemployed and single. This could be as a result of discrimination when they were children who ended up killing their self-esteem together with their aspirations (Warren, 2013)



Psychological impacts of obesity on the self-esteem of children range from cultural performances to own confidence among the children. In most cases, children with obesity and overweight develop low self-esteem and suffer a lot of psychological trauma in their learning and social environment. They are, usually, called names as well as teased over about their sizes and appearances. Thus, their cognitive development processes diminish with their endless suffering at early ages in the communities. Psychologists identify self-worth as the foundation of confidence and self-esteem in the society. The major cultural dimensions of child’s self-esteem in the learning involve linking the victim to greed and uncontrolled appetite. Consequently, the children tend to blame themselves for obesity and deprive themselves of the vital connections in humanity as they develop in the societies.





Discussion

Childhood obesity is a serial public health issue that requires close attention. It affects both the psychological development of the child as well as the emotional health of the child. It can hinder efficient development among the victims. Nonetheless, this menace is preventable through several methods. The families need to monitor their food content and the living styles to help manage similar cases within the society. At the same time, we can supplement the low-income families with sufficient dietary food to avoid the burdens of these situations in the community. Obese children are more likely to have depression, digestive diseases and cardiovascular. It is, therefore, advisable to involve the children in physical activities as well as checking their diet. As seen from the methodology, exercises tend to lower the child’s self-esteem. Therefore these kids should be involved in such activities including cycling, walking and by use of the public transport (Koplan, 2012)

Conclusion

Childhood obesity and self-esteem are seen to have a parallel line that reacts to each other. It is natural for children to have low-self moods especially when they see their physical appearance does not look similar to that of their peers. As a result, these kids tend to react due to the physics of their body. The self-esteem of this same kid will also go lower due to how the peers see them. This is because, they are, usually, called names as well as teased over about their sizes and appearances. Thus, their cognitive development processes diminish with their endless suffering at early ages in the communities. Also, when the pain of being bullied and being lonely becomes too much, most overweight children seek emotional comfort in food and most of the time these are high-calorie foods.

The reason why they are seen to do this is that, since they cannot trust anyone around, their low self-esteemed character directs them to comfort themselves through food which as a result still increases their body due to high calories. We should, therefore, encourage and support the obese children because their self-esteem comes from what they hear and see. We should also try and engage them to exercise because besides them losing weight, they also get emotionally motivated.

































References

Van Grouw, J. M., & Volpe, S. L. (2013). Childhood obesity in America. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity, 20(5), 396-400.

Karnik, S., & Kanekar, A. (2015). Childhood obesity: a global public health crisis. Int J Prev Med, 2012. 3 (1), 1-7.

Center for Disease Control. (2013). Make a difference at your school. 228-334

Paxton, H. L. (2013). The Effects of Childhood Obesity on Self-esteem. Marshall University Libraries

Dawes, L. (20 Koplan, J. (2012). Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. National Academies Press. 1102-1510

Dawes, L. (2014). Childhood Obesity in America. Harvard University Press.