Lilly Taulelei The Way Youth Develop In the 21st Century May have Influence for Future Generations How Health Impacts Equal Opportunities
Introduction Have you ever thought about how many children in New Zealand are obese? Well I can tell you, too many. I have investigated obesity and how it impacts on youth opportunities. I have been able to interview Dr Leuthart, and from the Child Commission, Awhina Buchanan Both were very helpful, especially Dr Leuthart. Obesity is a serious issue, with significant and negative impacts on young people. I hope this report assists in understanding the challenges. What is Obesity? Obesity is a serious medical condition that can be caused by genetics or lifestyle factors. It can effect both children and adults and it occurs when people are well above their average weight, age, and height. Child obesity is very challenging because it can lead to other diseases, loss of self-‐ confidence and even depression. What are the Health Consequences of Obesity? The health consequences of obesity include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and sleep disorders. High Blood Pressure Through my research I discovered that high blood pressure is when your heart beats too fast. The fat tissue in your body needs oxygen and nutrition to stay alive, which requires the blood vessels to circulate blood to the fat tissue. Having more fat tissue, as obese people do, means that the heart will need to pump even faster to get all that blood to circulate. This creates high blood pressure which is dangerous because it puts the heart under stress. High Cholesterol Cholesterol is a type of fat found in your blood that makes it harder for the blood to flow smoothly. When you are obese, you are more likely to have high cholesterol. Often this is because of eating fatty foods. But if you have genetic problems it is less likely that you will have high cholesterol as a result of obesity. Heart Disease Heart disease is any type of disorder that affects the heart. An extra-‐large body needs an extra-‐large heart and when you become obese your heart needs to pump faster, which leads to high blood pressure, a major cause of heart disease.
Diabetes Obesity can lead to diabetes, “a disease that affects how our bodies deal with the sugar that is carried in our blood from the foods we eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps to move sugar out of the bloodstream and into our organs. In obese people, insulin doesn't work so well, because the large fat stores prevent it from working effectively. So more sugar remains in the bloodstream and the blood vessels get damaged” said Dr Leuthart. Asthma Asthma is also a major health consequence of obesity. It is a condition that is caused by spasm attacks in the lungs where it makes it hard to breathe. When children or adults become too overweight it is more likely they will suffer from asthma, however having asthma does not mean you are overweight. Sleep Disorders Finally, one of the hardest things to experience if you are obese are sleep disorders. This happens when the soft tissue at the back of your throat collapses and blocks the airway. Sometimes when obese children go to sleep they stop breathing 3-‐4 times an hour. From my perspective I think that we don’t need all of these health issues in our world. We could have healthier lives by changing our lifestyles and the types food that we eat. We could avoid these health issues by, for example, reducing the way fast food is cooked and the ingredients they contain. In particular, we could look at how much sugar we have in our diet. What Part Does Sugar Play in our Diets? A study in 2014 showed that in New Zealand, around one in nine children were obese and a further one in five children were overweight. As someone of Maori and Samoan heritage, I was interested to read that in this study, 19% of Maori children and 27% of Pacific children were considered obese. Studies show that children living in the most deprived areas are three times likely to be obese compared to children living in the least deprived areas. The obesity rate has increased from 8% in 2006/07 to 11% in 20012/13. In New Zealand some of the most common items in children’s lunch boxes have been found to have very high sugar levels. For example:
1. Artificial dyes 2. Candy 3. Chips 4. Juice boxes 5. Soft drink 6. Sugary fruit snacks 7. Sweetened sports drinks On Monday 24 August Sarina and I went to the Pre-‐school of Queen Margaret College to observe the girls and boys lunches. It was a very good experience to find out what the youth are eating. Yoghurt: 17 g Popcorn: 0.9 g Raisins: 30 g Crackers: 7 g Chips: 0.3 g Chocolate milk: 10 g Cupcakes: 25.75 g I believe one of the main reasons the youth of today are overweight is sugar, which is addictive. And do we know why it's so addictive? Yes, because it's delicious and adds flavour, and this leads to us eating it every day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner all include sugar, so when we have the option between vegetables and ice-‐cream it is most likely that ice-‐cream would be chosen because the taste is better. But, it’s not the best option. The best options for a balanced diet are laid out below: Not all sugar is bad, and we should remember that everything should be eaten in moderation. How Can We Prevent Obesity? The main way we can prevent obesity and help obese children in NZ is through education. We have to help parents and children know more about how to make healthy choices and keep active -‐ and educate them to keep making those choices for life. To do this, we need to teach families about using the sometimes small food budget to buy more wholefoods like vegetables, fruit, oats, grains, lean meat and of course fish. We need to discourage children and families from buying too many cheap sugary foods such as fizzy drinks. My research showed that some health experts believe the NZ Government should put a tax on high sugar, high fat foods to make them more expensive so that community will buy less of them. Some say we should take the GST tax off fruit and vegetables to make them cheaper.
While these might work, lifelong education about these good and not-‐so-‐good foods and about how our bodies work is the key. This education needs to start in kindergarten and we need to help parents at home to keep up what the children learn. Children’s decisions on food are made for them by the parents, which is why it’s important to educate everyone. What is the Role of Schools in Teaching about Nutrition? Schools play a very important part in teaching children about nutrition. I think it would be a great idea to bring back cooking and shopping classes for all school children. One of the programmes I found in my research was Garden to Table. They are an organisation that teaches children how to garden and cook with healthier food options. They place gardens in schools and teach children grow, harvest, and prepare fruit and vegetables. Understanding where food comes from, and what good food looks like will be one of the solutions to preventing obesity. Interviews I interviewed Ashine Buchanan from the Children’s Commission, and Dr Leuthart, who works with child obesity and diabetes. I have included the notes from Dr Leuthart’s interview as they were the most useful. Dr Leuthart “What is the difference between adult obesity and child obesity? Obesity is often due to lifestyle factors such as the type and amount of food we eat and how active we are on an every-‐day bases. Our genetic make-‐up also affects our size and shape, but lifestyle factors are the main issue. Many adults become obese because of the lifestyle choices they make -‐ or have to make. But sadly, many, many children who are obese are that way because of their parent's choices for them. Some families lack the knowledge about healthy lifestyles and good and appropriate foods that will help their children grow fit and healthy and not become obese. Does obesity affect eye sight and if it does why? Yes, obesity can lead to poor or damaged eyesight. This happens indirectly. Many people who become obese develop Diabetes which is a disease that affects how our bodies deal with the sugar that is carried in our blood from the foods we eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps to move sugar out of the bloodstream and into our organs. In obese people, insulin doesn't work so well, because the large fat stores prevent it from working effectively. So more sugar remains in the bloodstream and the blood vessels get damaged.
In the eyes of people with diabetes, the retina-‐the structure at the back of the eye that forms images for our brain is damaged. Also, the lens -‐ at the front of the eye -‐ which focuses images becomes clouded due to high sugar levels. Both problems can cause blindness. Is sugar consumption one of the big causes of obesity? Yes indeed! Sugar is a very big problem. We all like to consume some sweet things, but so many of the processed and manufactured foods available in supermarkets has always been and is still high in sugar and we are exposed to much more sugar in our diets than people were 40-‐50 years ago. Sugar is cheap and it tastes good and food manufacturers take advantage of that and add it to their foods in the hope that we will buy more of them. You know how cheap a can of Coke is, right? Much cheaper than milk! Often cheaper than the same volume of bottled water. So sugar drinks are affordable and easily accessed by children and adults and they are a VERY BIG PROBLEM. They are a major factor in people consuming too much sugar and becoming obese. Sugar is an energy food. If we don't burn up all the sugar we consume with our energetic activity in the day, the body stores the excess sugar/energy as fat. Fat is a storage form of energy that WE MUST HAVE. Our brain especially needs it. But if we store up to much fat we get bigger. And if we don't move and exercise regularly, we don't use up those fat stores. Is it most likely that people in most deprived areas are unhealthy? Yes. This is often the case. When people have limited resources and less money, less education and less access to good health care, they are often more unhealthy. Also as I mentioned before the foods that are cheap and easy to get hold of are usually the processed foods that are often high in sugar. Many families spend their limited food budget on cheaper foods -‐ white budget bread, cheaper meat with more fat, processed, pre-‐made foods, cheap biscuits, and sugary drinks -‐ things that fill their hungry kids up when there is not so much money to spend on food. These children very often become obese, especially if parents do not understand about the right food portions to give them. These kids also often develop bad teeth! In New Zealand is obesity a bigger problem compared to other countries? Yes. NZ ranks up near the top for obesity -‐ we are among some of the biggest people in the world. We come third after the USA and Mexico. We know that some people are genetically more likely to become obese if they are exposed to the wrong foods, too much of them and do too little exercise. Some Pacific peoples have this higher genetic risk of becoming obese, so NZ as a pacific nation is right up there. Does obesity always lead to another health consequence? Yes. Obesity leads to other health consequences. Doctors are very interested in this and part of Doctors general practice in work each day is to help people understand these health consequences of being in an obese body. Diseases that affect the heart and blood vessel system are often a consequence of Obesity. These are called cardiovascular diseases. High blood pressure, heart attacks
and strokes are some of these consequences of the body changing and becoming more unwell due to high fat and sugar. Diabetes is a complicated blood vessel 'metabolic' disease. It is a massive problem in NZ and is going to be even more of a problem with massive cost. Diabetes affects the heart, eyes, brain, kidneys, small nerves -‐ it's scary if it is not managed and treated. Careful diet and exercise can be used to manage it early on. Obesity also affects other organs like the skin. The bigger we get, the harder our skin has to work as a specialised bag to keep us all together. For example, obese people are more likely to develop skin infections and skin ulcers. Obesity has a big impact on joints like our knee and hip joints. Many of my obese patients develop damaged arthritic knee joints because their knees are having to carry the much bigger load of a large body. They need knee joint replacements, but if they are too big -‐ say 130-‐150kgs -‐ then they often can't get an operation because the surgeon and anaesthetist will say there is too much risk. They are told that they need to lose weight before they can have their operation. To do that they would need to eat less and EXERCISE but they can't because their knees are too sore! It becomes what we call a vicious cycle that the obese person struggles to get out of. Obesity also can lead to big mental health problems like depression and anxiety. People often struggle with being big and they feel their lives are not as good as they could be.” How Does Obesity Affect Youth Opportunities? This question is the main theme of my research. After interviews and study, my conclusion is that obesity effects opportunities for youth in many ways. Mainly, in sports, social activities, education, and when they get older, employment. All of these are related. Sport is especially hard for obese people because if they try to do something that includes moving fast or that involves lots of running they have to carry extra weight with them, making it difficult and sometimes impossible. As they cannot participate, they miss out on learning new skills, meeting new people, the chance to get fit, and to learn about things like teamwork and confidence. Social activities can also be intimidating for youth suffering from obesity. It can be hard when you’re different to everyone to fit in. Obese children feel judged because of their size and this is how some bullying can start. If obese children are not comfortable at school, or socially, or they are not well enough to come to school, it could be that their education can suffer. This means that later in life their opportunities are reduced.
And so, children suffering from obesity can be effected in many different ways, which is why it is so important to work together to solve the problem. Conclusion In conclusion I strongly believe that obesity is a big problem in New Zealand, we have the third highest rate of obesity in the world after Mexico and USA. We need to work together to create a solution because the consequences for our youth will be disastrous if we don’t. Obesity leads to health issues, impacts on self-‐esteem and is a cycle that will only stop if we want it to, and we all have to work together for it to end. Schools have a role to play in nutritional education, parents may also need budgeting advice in order to provide healthy foods for their children. I believe will be a matter of teamwork to address the challenges of youth obesity. Bibliography http://www.stopchildhoodobesity.com/
The Most Important Information on Childhood Obesity Facts, causes, treatment options and articles all about Childhood Obesity. Everything you need to know, you will find right here. Read more...
http://www.nutritionfoundation.org.nz/nutrition-facts/maintaining-a-healthybodyweight/children http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/childhood-obesity/basics/definition/con20027428
Dr Leuthart http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11505902 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262978.php
How Can we prevent obesity-book NZ Listener-Magazine Obesity http://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/obesity-data-and-stats