Obesity:  A Major Public Health Concern in Today’s Youth

           Obesity has grown to be a major public health problem in developed and developing nations due to reduced physical activity and numbers are seen to rise among adults, adolescents as well as in children. This has resulted in the vicious cycle of increased cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension. Sedentary lifestyle is a primary risk factor for these diseases.

The flip side of coin i.e. increased Physical activity is associated with beneficial health outcomes. The primary determinants for physical activities are school activities, parental and peer influence resulting in increased outdoor activities and opportunity for physical exertion. Though socio-cultural measures also play a role but promoting recreational facilities in today’s time apart from electronic gadgets by uplifting the school physical education programs and community sports activities will have a major impact about fitness and health on today’s youth which will be of benefit them throughout their lifetime. Competence sports are documented to benefit with both short- and long-term psychological and physiological health which gives a feeling of accomplishment to the child and increasing the endurance levels which are important for improving the overall well being of a child. Thus, it’s imperative for each nation to make resources and facilities available for individuals at large so no single individual is denied an opportunity to develop a healthy lifestyle.

 Public Health Measures – Primary Prevention by Parental Awareness

Knowledge and awareness is critical when discussing any disease as without knowledge it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Hence the role of parents comes in the forefront as the parental beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors drastically affect a child’s health attitude. Thus in turn affects the “quality of life””Blog:January 14 2012”. Parents must encourage physical activities along with educational activities as a holistic development of an individual is primarily based on perfect amalgamation n of these two entities.

Sports and Public Health Awareness

 Sports apart from increasing endurance increase mental health, concentration as well as give an opportunity to break away from social media for children which is making individuals both sedentary and dull thus 60 minutes or more of moderate or strenuous physical activity should be encouraged to garner the benefits in the bone health, muscular strength, and fitness and increasing the social interactions between individuals which are healthy for a good mental health development. Thus it is imperative we encourage physical activity in today’s youth who are progressing towards more sedentary and socially isolated lifestyle.

Public Health Courses offered at JLI:

James Lind institute (JLI) offers multiple courses aiming for growth and development of child such as Advanced PG Diploma in Global Maternal and Child Health, Professional Diploma in Public Health Management, Master of Science in Health Management. These self-paced courses are designed by industry experts and customized to meet the demands of the growing healthcare industry which caters to country’s public health needs.
For more information please visit www.jliedu.com