Contributors to Childhood Obesity: Environmental, Psychological, and Biological Factors, Study notes of Literature

Download Contributors to Childhood Obesity: Environmental, Psychological, and Biological Factors and more Study notes Literature in PDF only on Docsity! Running head: Childhood Obesity 1 Childhood Obesity: Turning a Risk Factor into a Solution by Rebecca Jordan Author’s Note This paper was prepared for the 2014 APA TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students Childhood Obesity 2 Abstract Obesity is a chronic health condition that is increasing at alarming rates in the United States, particularly among low-income children. This literature review examines several of the factors that place low-income children at risk for developing obesity: environmental (i.e., lack of access to healthy affordable food and media exposure to commercials for junk food); psychological (i.e., parental stress and comfort eating); and biological (i.e., low activity levels and insufficient sleep). This examination points out that none of these factors operate in isolation but are intricately inter-connected, as suggested by the biopsychosocial model of disease provided by Psychology. A model for an intervention to improve health is proposed that utilizes a television commercial to motivate typically sedentary children to exercise. Childhood Obesity 5 2013). Screens are not the only culprits; children are exposed to marketing by ads on school buses, in gyms, on book covers, and in bathroom stalls. This marketing is exploitative, as children under the age of eight do not understand the persuasive intent of ads, and those under the age of six cannot even distinguish between programming and commercials (APA, 2004). Simply viewing an ad once can create a preference for a child, impacting what the child will ask his parents to purchase (Harris, Bargh, Brownell, 2009). Therefore, the media’s suggestion of unhealthy habits easily infiltrates the home. Psychological Risk Factors Psychological factors also play a significant role in increasing the risk for childhood obesity by influencing dietary choices as well as the amount a person eats before he or she feels satisfied. Because children are dependent on their parents for providing meals, their parents’ choices primarily determine their diets. One of the factors that influences a parent’s meal related choices for his or her family is the level of chronic stress she or he is experiencing. Low-income parents are particularly at risk for high levels of chronic stress, due to the financial and emotional pressures of food insecurity, low-wage work, lack of access to health care, inadequate and long-distance transportation, poor housing, and neighborhood violence (Wadsworth, & Rienks, 2012). When parents feel stressed, they may buy more fast food for their children in order to save time or decrease the demands of meal arrangement (Parks, et al., 2012). In addition, people who are stressed and/or depressed are more likely to seek the quick pick-me-up derived from tasty food that is highly pleasurable and rewarding (Sinha, 2008). The New York Times investigated how scientists employed by fast food companies strategically “design food for irresistibility,” utilizing fats, sugars, salt, and flavor additives as part of their business plans (Parker-Pope, 2009). It is Childhood Obesity 6 these engineered foods that stressed parents are most likely to reach for to feed themselves and their families. In addition, children whose parents are experiencing high levels of stress or depressed mood are more likely to develop behavioral ways of coping that include comfort behaviors. Food often provides a primary source of comfort, allowing over-eating to become a habitual maladaptive coping mechanism. Eating highly palatable foods can provide an immediate positive affective response that reduces the experience of stress and temporarily elevates mood. However, this positive emotion is short lived and the person will feel an urge to continue to eat in order to maintain the better feeling (Greeno, & Wing, 1994; Nguyen-Michel, Unger, & Spruijt-Metz, 2007). This pattern of “emotional-eating,” which significantly increases a child’s fat and calorie intake, is a clear risk factor for developing obesity. Biological Risk Factors Biological factors, such as activity and sleep levels, also play a role in maintaining health. Physical activity regulates weight by stimulating the metabolic, endocrine, and hormone processes of the body. Unfortunately, children have become increasingly sedentary over recent years. And, children who live in low-income urban neighborhoods have even fewer opportunities to safely exercise partly due to the fewer parks, green spaces, bike paths, and recreational facilities than are found in high-income communities, making it difficult to lead a physically active lifestyle (referenced in FRAC, 2011). This lack of physical activity is demonstrated by the fact that fewer than 20% of ethnic minority youth participate in intramural sports (Delva, Johnston, & O’Malley, 2007). In addition, crime, traffic, and unsafe playground equipment are common barriers to physical activity in Childhood Obesity 7 low-income communities (FRAC, 2011). Because of these and other safety concerns, children and adults, alike, are more likely to stay indoors and engage in sedentary activities, such as watching television or playing video games. Cultural trends have also followed a path towards the sedentary lifestyle. It has been suggested that the increase in availability of air conditioning in the summer has led to inactivity during times of the year when children typically were outside playing and getting exercise (Keith, et al., 2006). The American car culture of the Twenty First Century has also led to the replacement of active walking with driving. Twenty five percent of all US trips are less than one mile, yet seventy five percent of these trips are by car (Frumkin, 2002). As people become more accustomed to driving, they walk to locations—even those close by— less and less. Another biological risk factor for obesity is the quality and quantity of a person’s sleep. Research has shown that disrupted sleep interferes with the body’s ability to effectively process fat and calories by altering hormone production (Myers, 2011). As sleep decreases, there is an increase in ghrelin in the stomach, which builds appetite and creates the “I’m hungry” feeling. Also, the protein, leptin, which creates a feeling of being full, is decreased; and, the stress-related hormone, cortisol, which leads to fat storage, is increased. A person who does not sleep well will also obviously feel tired and have less energy to exercise and accomplish his daily tasks. The negative impact of sleep deprivation on mood and stress levels is well documented in literature (see APA, n.d.-b, for a review). A vicious cycle is thereby set into motion whereby depression and stress, themselves, become causal in the disruption of sleep patterns (Meerlo, Sgoifo, & Suchecki, 2008). For example, sleep disruption serves as a risk factor for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Youssef, Ege, Childhood Obesity 10 strategically targets children’s depressive mood and inactivity, both risk factors that can lead to obesity. Before launching this public service announcement nationwide, field experiments would be conducted to validate the hypothesis that children aged eight through twelve years would increase their activity levels in response to the “I Like to Move It” commercial. In addition, the study would investigate whether the song is equally appealing to children of all geographical locations and of both sexes, and thus would determine the most beneficial time and television network for broadcast. Weekly surveys could be conducted at a series of local public schools. These surveys would determine if the commercials were having an impact by determining how many students saw the commercials and by asking students for their reactions and finally to demonstrate the dance. One positive intervention can cause a chain reaction. Many of the nation’s children have gotten stuck in a vicious biological, psychological, and social cycle that is steering them towards a continued future with obesity. However, psychology allows us to recognize that due to the interwoven nature of the factors causing obesity, this cycle also contains a solution. Childhood Obesity 11 REFERENCES American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). Psychology Topics: The impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx?item=1 American Psychological Association. (n.d.-b). Psychology Topics: Why sleep is important and what happens when you don’t get enough. Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx American Psychological Association. (2004). Report of the APA task force on advertising and children. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/advertising-children.pdf Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (n.d.-a). Overweight and obesity. Atlanta, GA: Author. 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