Introduction

Life without the convenience of modern-day advancements in the food industry is challenging. The fast food sector has grown significantly, thanks to its ability to offer infinite delicacies within a short time and at friendly prices. Furthermore, grocery stores appear to understand our needs, so they have packaged food that can be prepared quickly. The cost of this convenience is increased incidences of overweight and obesity. Whereas most people are affected, children are at higher risk due to their preferences for fast foods and declining probability of engaging in exercise. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022) explain that childhood obesity is a serious health concern in the US, affecting about 19.7% of children aged between 2 and 19 years from 2017 to 2020. Principally, focusing on managing obesity in children is essential because it can significantly affect their health, leading to other severe conditions such as stroke or diabetes. Moreover, if unmanaged, it can lead to psychological issues such as low self-esteem, resulting in withdrawn behaviors that can hinder proper development. Therefore, it is vital to address the concerns of overweight and obesity in children by developing effective community-specific interventions.

Relationship To Target Population

Obesity is the excessive fat accumulation within the body, presenting a health risk. One is considered obese if the body mass index exceeds 30, while a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight (Henriksson et al., 2020). Principally, obesity emerges due to frequently consuming food that is high in calories and lack of physical activity. In the United States, obesity is a challenge as it affects almost all population groups. However, children are at a higher risk due to lifestyle changes that increase the risk of being overweight at a young age. For instance, they consume fast food at home and school, have limited nutritional knowledge, and carry out limited physical activity due to engaging in passive games such as video games. The significance of obesity among children is depicted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022), which explains that about 14.7 million children below the age of 19 are affected. Similarly, Sanyaolu et al. (2019) explain that childhood obesity in the US has reached epidemic levels and that it presents a 50% chance for children aged 6 to 9 and an 80% possibility for those aged 10 to 14 to remain obese as they transition to adulthood.

Obesity in children relates to the Healthy People topic area, which is focused on reducing overweight and obesity by helping people eat healthy and engage in physical activity (U.S Department of Human and Health Services, n.d.). In this regard, there is also a focus on childhood obesity, where the Healthy People 20230 considers having cultural policies and programs that help people and children eat healthy by eating nutritious food and considering the ideal calorific value of food before eating it. Moreover, Healthy People 2030 considers public intervention programs that help children remain active by engaging in physical activity. The focus on childhood obesity aligns with the primary focus of Healthy 2030, which is to reduce health disparities. This is because one of the causes of obesity in children is the inability to access quality and nutritious foods for some children. This is caused by social determinants of health, such as variations in income levels. Therefore, developing solutions that ensure access to quality and nutritious food by all children will eliminate disparities in health outcomes among children. Principally, these outcomes can be achieved by utilizing effective health promotion concepts, especially in the US, such as developing healthy public policies, strengthening community action, especially in encouraging physical activity among children and creating supporting environments for those who are obese to try and lose some weight.

Summary of Articles

The increasing concern regarding obesity in children has led to several evaluations by researchers. Some of these studies focus on the possible interventions, while others explain the issue, focusing on the prevalence data. One of the studies on childhood obesity is the article by Henriksson et al. (2020), which focuses on i