Main causes of UK childhood obesity and what can be done to prevent Essay

Main causes of UK childhood obesity and what can be done to prevent childhood obesity - Essay Example This essay "Main causes of UK childhood obesity and what can be done to prevent childhood obesity" outlines the reasons for obesity and its impact on the health of the person. In 2011, it was noted that 31% of boys and 28% of girls aged between 2 and 15 were either overweight or obese, with increase in waist circumference outstripping BMI measurement increases (Ahima 320). Statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre indicate moderate decrease in the proportion of overweight and obese children, the proportion having declined from 22.6% in 2011/12 Reception Year to 22.2% in 2012/13. Despite these improvements, the current 1 in every 5 Reception Year children (aged 4 to 5) and a third of Academic Year 6 children (aged 10 to 11) being obese has been noted to be among the worst cases in Europe (National Obesity Forum 8). Obesity is thus a critical public health issue in the UK that calls for understanding of the underlying problems in order to develop effective preventiv e strategies. Generally, childhood obesity results from eating too much and being involved less in physical activities. More specifically, the NHS observes that it results from a consumption of diets rich in energy, particularly from sugars and fats, with no burning of the energy through physical activity or exercise. As a result, surplus energy would be stored in the body as fat. To gain deeper understanding of these causes of obesity, the social model of health provided by Dahlgren and Whitehead would be useful (91).