Childhood Obesity in London Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Childhood Obesity in London - Essay Example This essay "Childhood Obesity in London" describes the problem of the increasing number of the obese children in London. There is no globally accepted definition for child obesity and hence researchers and healthcare professionals try to assess child obesity in terms of published guidelines of body mass index. As Ferry (n.d) points out, some professionals consider child obesity as a condition where a child’s body weight is 20% more than actually needed height according to BMI criteria, or body fat percentage is 25% above in boys and 32% above in girls. The condition of child obesity is defined as â€Å"the presence of excessive accumulations of adipose tissue that interfere with child health and well-being† (Simonton, 2007, p. 62). Medical journals and other healthcare surveys have repeatedly mentioned child obesity as one of the most life threatening disorders in the United Kingdom and other economically developed countries. According to a recent national survey report (as cited in Kellow, n.d), nearly 25 percent boys and 33 percent girls in UK are obese or overweight. It is predicted that these figures would be doubled over the next decade unless the UK healthcare authorities took some strong and thoughtful initiatives to curb the issue. As obese children are more likely to become obese adults, this eating disorder has a profound effect on a child’s health. Surveys indicate that majority of the parents do not give proper care on their child’s diet habits and this situation deteriorates the issue.