Obesity

             The article I chose to research and write about is titled, “Childhood and Adolescent Obesity: Psychological and Behavioral Issues in Weight Loss Treatments” by David Sarwer and Rebecca Dilks. I chose the topic of obesity because, like eating disorders, it is increasingly becoming a huge problem in adolescents and even adults. According to Sarwer and Dilks, childhood and adolescent obesity has tripled in the past few decades. It’s fairly clear that obesity can affect health tremendously and can even lead to an early death. Adolescents who are overweight can also suffer from social problems from being made fun of and having less confidence in themselves to achieve. It’s possible that this could also lead to depression and other psychological disorders. The authors explain surgical procedures to limit obesity; one to adjust the gastric banding and the other is gastric bypass. Like any surgery, there are risks and side effects. Scientists and doctors have recently been doing these surgeries for teenagers who have just turned eighteen, but there are concerns about whether or not this leads to more side effects. I believe this surgery should be limited to only severe obesity conditions and that enriching children with proper diet and eating habits now can help prevent obesity in the long run. Obesity is a dangerous disease, mostly in the United States, that should be taken seriously for the health of this generation and future generations (Sarwer & Dilks, 98-102).

            Data shows that around 31% of children in America are overweight, which is around five million children. Data also shows that obese children now are more likely to become obese in adulthood. This could cause many serious health problems with the heart, diabetes, liver diseases, and much more (Sarwer & Dilks, 99). Researches have been investigating programs in school that teach students about nutrition, exercise, and the dangers that can occur when you are not cautious of health. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this will stop obesity completely, but hopefully it can help even slightly. Many young adults who lose a significant amount of weight are at a higher risk of gaining much of that weight back. Much of this has to do with proper habits that should have been adapted at a younger age. It should be logical that if adolescents practice healthy living now, they will try to continue those same habits into adulthood.

            Besides from good health habits, medical procedures should also be taken very seriously. There will always be some sort of risk when preforming surgery, but there are benefits. If done right, these specific surgeries can eliminate up to 50% of excess body weight. There can also be behavioral and psychological complications after, like depression, suicide, substance use, and disordered eating (Sarwer & Dilks, 100). Scientists are looking for ways to help and improve the obesity rate in the future, but for now, I believe that children should be learning the right habits and that people should not look to surgery to fix obesity.

Works Cited

Sarwer, David B., and Rebecca J. Dilks. "Childhood and Adolescent Obesity -- Psychological and Behavioral Issues in Weight Loss Treatment." Journal of Youth and Adolescence 41 (2012): 98-104. ERIC. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.