Economic Principles and Indicators
Apart from gene inheritance, a child can build weight that exceeds a body mass index of 95% if the prevailing deity is not well monitored. The issue of childhood obesity affects health sector stakeholders, the general manufacturing fraternity, and the parents at large. Childhood obesity affects these sectors either directly or indirectly. For instance, parents who have obese children must spend a considerable amount of money to take the child through a diet program that aims at reversing the obese (Iguacel, 2021). Being an active stakeholder, the government is likely to spend huge taxpayers money to create awareness on childhood obesity. The future labor market is at stake since the children are the prospective labor suppliers. Hospitals are forced to develop programs that aim at rehabilitating already overweight children.
The issue of obesity in children introduces a parent into a scenario of added cost. There are opportunistic conditions that tend to emerge alongside child obesity. Difficulty in breathing and the inability to react fast are some of these opportunistic conditions. Parents of the affected kids have to purchase medications for developing health conditions. Suppose the condition is acquired as a result of parental negligence due the environmental norms and beliefs. In that case, It will be more challenging to eradicate the obesity conditions among children. Both the parent and the future adulthood of the affected child will be at stake.
Economic Impact
Without close supervision, childhood obesity may persist into adulthood. The future labor market will be faced with the provision of delayed service since obese individuals tend to be slow in reacting. Companies will experience a scenario of an increased number of sick leave, and in this process, the production cost will increase (Iguacel, 2021). As a government directive to shut down companies that produce substandard high caloric products to curb childhood obesity, many employees will lose their jobs. If the government decides to impose high taxes on these companies, the management may cut the employees’ salaries. The employees may react to this step by organizing strikes to resist the action of reducing their wages. The government will have to channel a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money to programs that aid in creating awareness to the most affected social class on childhood obesity and designing related rehabilitation programs. Parents will be left with a huge role in purchasing medical services for their obese kids. The services tend to be expensive, and as a result of struggling to pay for the medical services, they may be unable to pay their bills leading to a low living standard.
Socio-economic Factors
The socio-economic environment in which a child is raised plays a significant part in a kid’s general health. Children born and raised in low-income families are athigherh risk of being obese than those from wealthy families. Research conducted by Vazquez, and Cubbin (2020), indicate that at least 4 out of 10 households that live below the poverty line have kids who are obese. The statistics portray a clear image of economic disparity and how it is associated with childhood obesity. Low-income class society cannot raise enough money for a balanced deity; instead, they rely on cheap but high-caloric foods like snacks. Low-income families also do not have enough facilities to ensure physical fitness compared to wealthy families with indoor gyms responsible for ensuring the burning of calories, which may lead to obesity.
Childhood obesity has been seen to vary from different angles of social settings. Race, ethnicity, and culture play a significant part in the analysis of child obesity. According to Morales et al. (2019), African Americans are more prone to obesity than whites. However, the primary reason for such a discrepancy is due to gene inheritance and deity. Girl gender in the African American society is more affected as compared to the boy gender. Children usually like sugary snacks; however, girls tend to be more addicted to high caloric foods than boys.
Healthcare Organizations Affected
Every stakeholder in the health sector is directly or indirectly affected by the childhood obesity issue. They include the government, private and public hospitals, pharmaceutical industries, medical research institutions, and the corresponding non-governmental organizations that aim to provide healthcare services. According to Vazquez and Cubbin (2020), the primary health stakeholders, including the government and the hospitals, considered child obesity an invisible epidemic that may run out of control if not well monitored. The financial burden the complication instills to these stakeholders is quite alarming.
The US government has spent much of its medical resources to eradicate obesity. The substantial direct medical cost of the child obesity issue is $14 billion annually (NLC, 2021). $4.3 billion are lost annually as a result of sick leaves that are related to obesity. The number is estimated to increase due to the unpromising future of the obese workforce, which tends to provide relatively slow services. The government has adopted parental deity advice programs that aim to educate parents on the importance of giving a child a balanced deity.NGOs related to health services are trying to hold fitness programs to try and help kids that are obese.
References
Iguacel, I., Gasch-Gallen, A., Ayala-Marin, A. M., De Miguel-Etayo, P., & Moreno, L. A. (2021). Social vulnerabilities as risk factor of childhood obesity development and their role in prevention programs.International Journal of Obesity, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 1-11. Web.
Morales Camacho, W. J., Molina DĂaz, J. M., Plata Ortiz, S., Plata Ortiz, J. E., Morales Camacho, M. A., & CalderĂłn, B. P. (2019). Childhood obesity: aetiology, comorbidities, and treatment.Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews, vol. 35 no. 8. Web.
NLC, (2021) Economic Costs of Obesity | Healthy Communities for a Healthy Future. Healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org. Web.
Vazquez, C. E., & Cubbin, C. (2020). Socio-economic status and childhood obesity: a review of literature from the past decade to inform intervention research.Current Obesity Reports, pp. 1-9. Web.