Child Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child Obesity - Research Paper Example In 2008, 35% people believed that obesity in children was a huge problem, while in 2009, that number increased to 45%. Childhood Obesity is a medical state that affects young children as well as adolescents. It is such a serious condition that some countries have declared it an epidemic that needs to be dealt with. Obesity in childhood is determined by age, weight and height; it occurs when a child’s weight is way above what is required for his/her height and age (Paxton, 2006). Obesity is a serious medical condition because it is a risk factor to many other conditions that were once only found in adults, For instance, increased blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol and diabetes. Other than these risks, obese children are more likely to have low self esteem that may lead to depression. Childhood obesity is preventable; the most recommended strategies are to improve diet by decreasing the intake of energy-dense foods that have high content of sugars and fat and increasing intake in minerals, vitamins and other micronutrients that are healthy. Obese children are likely to continue with the condition in adulthood and may lead to early death. Preventing obesity in childhood ensures better and quality health even in the future (Paxton, 2006). Obesity is a global problem and has posed a great public health challenge. It affects both the low and high income earners especially in urban settings. The prevalence of obesity is steady and increasing at a rate that has stunned health officials. Global statistics by the World Health Organization indicate that in 2010 over 42 million children below the age of five are overweight. A significant number of these children (about 35 million) live in the developing countries (Holecko, 2011). These statistics are alarming considering the risks associated with obesity. Obesity has been prioritized by many governments because of its risks and the fact that it is preventable. A recent study on childhood obesity found in Arc hives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine finds that 1 in every 5 children in preschool is obese with a BMI of 18 or more. The study also focused on the racial factor. Of the 8000 children included obese children were found in the following percentiles in the study 13% were Asian 16% were white,21 % were black,22% were Hispanic and 31% were American Indians(Holecko,2011). Physiologists have continued to research childhood obesity and have come up with a lot about its pathology. The prenatal stage marks the beginning of life and has an influence on obesity predisposition. If the fetus is exposed to some hormones in the womb, then it becomes predisposed to obesity. For instance, Neuropeptide Y is a hormone that controls gluttony. The diet of a pregnant woman also influences obesity in children. A mother who ate a diet low in saturated fats and rich in protein significantly improves the lipid profile of their baby. A baby whose mother was undernourished in pregnancy is at a risk of ob esity (James et al., 2004). Some children have a sedentary lifestyle, and this directly relates to obesity. Children are using their leisure activities on the computer and watching television. Lack of exercise means that, they cannot maintain the required body weight (Jimerson, 2009). Some curriculums have removed physical education from their programs, thereby denying children their primary source of physical exercise. Children develop habits between the age of

Special education needs in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Special education needs in the UK - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that it is an incontestable reality that students possess different capabilities to learn, diverse emotional behaviors, various social skills, and dissimilar physical endowments. This prompts the necessity to adopt a curriculum and an educational system with programs that care for students who may not cope well in the mainstream education system and programs. The inclusion of students with special needs in a mainstream education system, in the UK, continues to gain dominance with legislation in place to provide special education needs (SEN). Poon-McBrayer and Lian define SEN students as a group that needs special services to achieve and attain their full learning capabilities. The Warnock report initiated the debate of inclusion of mainstream and special education, a move that saw the development of special education assume an all-encompassing approach. It is doubtless that the extent of reforms in sociological viewpoints, about the provisi on of education to students with SENs in the UK, has evolved tremendously since the 1978 Warnock Report and remains highly appreciable. Social transformations have continued to transform special education in the UK. Before the turning point, marked by the Warnock Report, segregation and exclusion of SEN students had been a dominant practice. In the past, the perception of disabled students was undesirable and non-inclusive. Segregation of nondisabled students featured serious cases of abandonment, neglect, and rejection.... Social exclusion among students, as Anabel (2010) identifies, was a complex challenge to tackle as a means of promoting equal opportunities for all learners, disabled and non-disabled. Exclusion did not exist in one form or kind, a challenge that rendered it a great challenge to achieve inclusion. It is noteworthy that there are varied degrees of segregation as McDonald (2008, p.28) identifies. The social processes that define exclusion of the disabled, in most learning environments, are contentious and should attract ardent considerations from educators and policy makers. Exclusion of the disabled, in the education system, involved the denial and limiting of very fundamental rights. The multidimensional character of factors that promote social exclusionism rendered it a demanding endeavor to promote inclusion. Noteworthy is the fact factors that escalate exclusion of SEN students were structural as opposed to circumstantial. That is, exclusion emanated from the set up, and sociologi cal viewpoints held by the very society whose students with SEN experience the exclusion. Social exclusion promotes educational exclusion and the later cannot end when the former still prevails. Such is the complexity entailed in finding an insight into social exclusion in the education system over the past. The UK had experiences of exclusion of SEN students for a long time before the concern led to the formation of the committee that came up with the Warnock Report. Inclusion is necessary to avoid possible exclusion of society members with special needs. Inclusion involves cooperative learning that engages all students from the mainstream schools and