Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Introduction
Assessing nutrition in children enables nurse practitioners and other healthcare workers to monitor growth and development to ensure the prevention of health issues of malnutrition. This early assessment ensures that early interventions are taken to prevent nutritional deficiencies and other health issues like obesity (Kesari & Noel, 2023). As such, regular assessment of nutrition in children ensures that they get the required proper nutrition for healthy growth and development globally. This paper focuses on the assessment of nutritional status in an overweight child and the approaches to their management. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity
The patient is an 8-year-old male brought in by his foster parents. The parents are concerned about him being overweight and seek medical advice concerning his condition. They report that his biological parents are also overweight. Some of the risk factors for overweight children include physical inactivity whereby children, especially those living in urban areas mostly play video games indoors while eating junk foods and other unhealthy processed foods (Shaban Mohamed et al., 2022). Genetics and environmental factors like child maltreatment and depression also contribute greatly to overweight in children. Being overweight predisposes to childhood obesity, which has several health issues and risks. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
One of the health risks of childhood overweight and obesity is type II diabetes mellitus. Obese children are at an increased risk of developing insulin resistance and thus type II diabetes. This is due to excess body weight, which causes an alteration in the body’s metabolism of insulin causing resistance (Wondmkun, 2020). Other health issues associated with overweight and obesity include cardiovascular diseases due to hypercholesterolemia, respiratory issues like asthma and obstructive apnea, joint and musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and the development of early puberty. Overweight children also experience psychological problems like bullying and body shaming, which may lead to psychiatric illnesses like depression and low self-esteem. This can also affect their interactions with peers and at school, leading to poor school performance. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Further Information to Aid in Understanding the Child’s Health
During further assessment of the child to understand their health, it would be important to start by questioning the parents about the child’s eating habits and level of physical activity. This would help in finding out the likely risk factors for their weight issue and deciding on their management plan (Kesari & Noel, 2023). Other things to elicit on the history include family history of weight issues and other chronic illnesses like diabetes, psychological events in the child’s life like stressful situations, and other factors such as sleep patterns that could affect their metabolism leading to weight problems. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
The assessment also entails examination of the child, which includes BMI calculation, blood sugar measurements, taking their vitals including blood pressure, and physical examination of the musculoskeletal system for any joint deformities (Kesari & Noel, 2023). This will help in ruling out the possible complications of being overweight like diabetes.
Other Risks for the Child and Sensitive Information Gathering
One of the greatest risk factors for a child’s weight problem is genetic predisposition. Children born to obese or overweight children are more likely to be overweight. For this case, the child’s biological parents are overweight hence making it more likely to be a genetic issue (Shaban Mohamed et al., 2022). Other risks include unhealthy diets like sugary foods, lack of physical activity like an excessive amount of time spent watching television or playing video games, poor socioeconomic status making it difficult to access healthy foods, psychological issues like stress that leads to overeating, and the use of certain medications like antidepressants that cause weight gain (Kesari & Noel, 2023). Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Weight-related topics are usually sensitive because people find it hard to discuss being obese owing to the social stigma and fear of judgment associated with it. Therefore, when discussing this issue with the parents, it is important to use a language that is empathetic to avoid a feeling of judgment. The advanced practice nurse should ensure that the parents and the child feel comfortable and supported to help them feel free to discuss their issues (Uy et al., 2018). The nurse should also ensure that they pass on the full information regarding the child’s health risks and the importance of adopting changes to lose weight and avoid the health complications of obesity. In addition, they should also avoid the use of certain demeaning terminologies such as calling the child fat to avoid lowering their self-esteem and body image. This might cause demotivation, which affects the treatment’s success.
Specific Questions about the Child
Some specific questions to ask concerning the child’s health may include; What does his daily routine in terms of dietary habits and physical activity entail? How does he feel about his body and weight? Has the child been under any stressful situations lately? These questions will help assess his risk factors and possible modifications that can be made to improve his health (Kesari & Noel, 2023). Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Strategies to Encourage the Caregivers to be Proactive in the Child’s HealthProper communication and supportive environment- This will make the child and parents feel understood and respected making them feel safe. This makes them understand and appreciate the necessary interventions for weight reduction (Straughan & Xu, 2023). Another strategy includes caregiver education on shared activities within the house that may help in weight reduction such as dieting together with the child and participating in fun physical activities such as hiking and jogging. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
For this Assignment, you will consider examples of children with various weight issues. You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children’s health and weight.
When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools. Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Not only do these diagnostic tests affect adults, body measurements can provide a general picture of whether a child is receiving adequate nutrition or is at risk for health issues. These data, however, are just one aspect to be considered. Lifestyle, family history, and culture—among other factors—are also relevant. That said, gathering and communicating this information can be a delicate process.
For this Assignment, you will consider examples of children with various weight issues. You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children’s health and weight. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Each week, look at your RESOURCE LIST AND WEEK TAB for items that can assist you with your assignment. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
TO PREPARE
Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You also will review examples of pediatric patients and their families as it relates to BMI.
Based on the risks you might identify consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child’s health.
THE ASSIGNMENT
Assignment (3–4 pages, not including title and reference pages): Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Assignment: Child Health Case:
Include the following:
An explanation of the health issues and risks that are relevant to the child you were assigned.
Describe additional information you would need in order to further assess his or her weight-related health. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Identify and describe any risks and consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
Taking into account the parents’ and caregivers’ potential sensitivities, list at least three specific questions you would ask about the child to gather more information.
Provide at least two strategies you could employ to encourage the parents or caregivers to be proactive about their child’s health and weight.
Case Study:
8 year old overweight male foster child with normal weight foster parents and overweight biological parents.
**** Please see the attached instructions and resources
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2023). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Chapter 3, “Examination Techniques and Equipmentâ€
This chapter explains the physical examination techniques of inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. This chapter a lso explores special issues and equipment relevant to the physical exam process. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Chapter 8, “Growth and Nutritionâ€
In this chapter, the authors explain examinations for growth, gestational age, and pubertal development. The authors also differentiate growth among the organ systems. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Student checklist: Health history guide Download Student checklist: Health history guide. In Seidel’s guide to physical examination (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Credit Line: Seidel’s Guide to Physical Examination, 9th Edition by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. Copyright 2019 by Elsevier Health Sciences. Reprinted by permission of Elsevier Health Sciences via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, April 9). Childhood overweight & obesity links to an external site.. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/
This website provides information about overweight and obese children. Additionally, the website provides basic facts about obesity and strategies to counteracting obesity.
Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2019). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Credit Line: Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care, 6th Edition by Dains, J.E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. Copyright 2019 by Mosby. Reprinted by permission of Mosby via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Chapter 1, “Clinical Reasoning, Evidence-Based Practice, and Symptom Analysisâ€
This chapter introduces the diagnostic process, which includes performing an analysis of the symptoms and then formulating and testing a hypothesis. The authors discuss how becoming an expert clinician takes time and practice in developing clinical judgment.
Nyante, S. J., Benefield, T. S., Kuzmiak, C. M., Earnhardt, K., Pritchard, M., & Henderson, L. M. (2021). Populationâ€level impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on breast cancer screening and diagnostic proceduresLinks to an external site.. Cancer, 127(12), 2111–2121. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33460
Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). History subjective data checklist. In Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Credit Line: Mosby’s Guide to Physical Examination, 7th Edition by Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. Copyright 2011 by Elsevier. Reprinted by permission of Elsevier via the Copyright Clearance Center. Health Issues and Risks in Childhood Obesity Discussion
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