COURSE OVERVIEW:
Throughout history people have held varying ideas about whether or not obesity is a disease and about whether or not it is desirable. Historians believe that the ancient Egyptians, for example, probably thought obesity was a disease because they placed statues of obese people alongside statues of people with other illnesses.
In ancient Greece the renowned physician Hippocrates wrote about the fact that fat people were more prone to sudden death than were lean ones, and he recommended a combination of diet and exercise to help obese people lose weight. In the mid-1770s in England, many people regarded obesity with interest and awe. Daniel Lambert, who weighed over 318 kg, made a living by charging curious townspeople money to look at him.
Childhood obesity is a condition in which a child or teenager has excessive body fat. Some people view obesity as a weakness of character or a lack of willpower that allows an individual to eat so much that they gain tremendous amounts of weight, but experts are increasingly defining obesity as an actual disease.
Obesity happen when the energy children get from food and drinks is greater than the energy they use through physical activity, growing and other body processes. This extra energy gets stored as fat.
An estimated 28% of children and adolescents in Australia are overweight or obese. In certain groups such Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the number of children with obesity appears to be even higher.
Obesity presents numerous problems for children and teenagers. It takes a toll on both physical and mental health. As obese children also tend to be obese in later life, it is important for parents to set the right example for their children from an early age.
Obese children are at risk of developing a variety of psychological and medical disorders, and experts agree that both sorts of problems can be dangerous to their well-being. Among the serious health conditions, they may face are metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.
Also, being obese and remaining so increases the chance of developing a range of medical conditions. Other problems occurring at a higher rate in obese children include sleep apnoea, heat intolerance, breathlessness on exertion, tiredness and flat feet. Childhood obesity can also make a child more vulnerable to decreased self-esteem and eating unhealthily to attempt to control weight.
This course provides detailed information on childhood obesity. The first part explains what childhood obesity is. Then explores the health risks of childhood obesity. Also, the causes of childhood obesity are examined. The second part discusses the different treatments of childhood obesity. Then explains the medical and mental consequences of living with childhood obesity.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:
· The challenges to childhood obesity prevention efforts
· Why obesity prevention is preferable to treatment?
· What is childhood obesity?
· What does too much fat mean?
· The types of body fat
· The historical views of obesity
· How obesity is diagnosed?
· How fats are precisely measured?
· The body mass index (BMI)
· The BMI-for-age growth charts
· The skin folds tests
· The waist circumference measurements
· The nonimaging techniques to measure body fats
· The increased health risks of childhood obesity including: metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, types 1 and 2 diabetes and cancer
· How blood pressure is measured?
· The complications of diabetes
· How diabetes is diagnosed?
· The long-term consequences of childhood obesity
· The risks associated with childhood obesity
· The many causes of childhood obesity
· How to treat obesity with behaviour modification?
· Treating obesity by improving the diet and increasing physical activity
· The importance of family involvement in treating obesity
· The calorie restriction method treatment
· The jaw wiring treatment method for obesity
· The bariatric surgery as an obesity treatment
· The adjustable gastric banding for treating obesity
· Treating obesity with the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
· Drug treatments for obesity
· The medical consequences of living with childhood obesity
· The psychosocial consequences of living with childhood obesity
· How to address psychosocial factors?
COURSE DURATION:
The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.
COURSE DELIVERY:
Purchase and download course content.
ASSESSMENT:
A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.
CERTIFICATION:
Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.