Running head: NEEDS ASSESSMENT



Running head: NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Needs Assessment: Childhood Obesity

Paul Tarabochia

Western Washington University

Childhood obesity has become a dominate issue in the discussion forums today in America. In the following needs assessment I will be providing a description of this problem, any new information that the common person may not be informed about concerning the issue, and some potential solutions.

Childhood obesity has been a concern to social workers and health care physicians for some time now. One of my sources on this issue dates back all the way to the 80’s, so it has been a growing need ever since. The overall concern of most deals with children being overweight as relevant to their age’s norm, and the increasing diabetes rate here in America. Some like to disagree with the body fat chart, and rightfully so. It puts children in groups which are based off of samples and what the normal body weight should be. However it does provide some useful data as where our children should be based on a healthy weight (Zakus, 1982). The effected population is any youth or adolescent under the age of 18, a common milestone recognized as adulthood here in America. The main focus of this issue is elementary aged school children, particularly those who are on the lunch program. This is not to say that kids who bring home from lunch are any healthier, but the bulk of the children who fall under this problem, also tend to be on their local school lunch program (Dixon & Scully, 2007).

According to the American Diabetes Association, the rise of type II diabetes among children is astonishing. Since the 80’s when this issue was first making a campaign, diabetes among our youth has risen about 25%. There are a lot of different theories as to why this increase is so large and what it could possibly mean. Although most have agreed that part of the problem is the nutritional value of not only what our children are being fed, but what is being put into our food.

Since the magnitude of this problem appears to be great, in order to better serve those affected in America, we will start on a local level within the public school systems. Public school children are more likely to receive a lunch through the school program (Reilly, 2007), and therefore we will be examining those schools more closely.

There are many reasons as to why this childhood obesity epidemic has occurred. One theory that has sprung up much popularity is the advertisement industry and how unhealthy foods are advertised more often than not (Dixon & Scully, 2007). Research has shown that the average American is exposed to about 3,000 advertisements each day. Of course this is an estimated and is not true with everyone, and the number is much smaller for kids, however this demonstrates that children do not want to eat healthy. They are shown what is good on the television, and most buy into it. This may be one of the root causes to this epidemic.

Researchers have performed many studies concerning this problem, and another issue is school lunch programs. In our so called modernized world, efficiency of developing just about anything is the sole priority. It is crucial to us to produce as quickly as we can so that it may get out and serve its duties to a human. This has sadly been the case with food in America. The food that is served at schools is merely unwrapped and thrown in the microwave or even. Granted it is still food and provides fuel to those that eat it, but the long term affects are causing more damage. This problem is also mostly prevalent here in America (Reilly, 2007).

Along with the above information, much more will need to be retrieved in order to better assess this situation and see if there is a need locally, here in Bellingham. Gathering information will be performed through tests done at the local public schools. Nutritionist will come in to various schools and will find the nutritional value of an average meal for a couple weeks, and will evaluate their results based off of others school lunch programs. Within these same schools being tested, surveys will be randomly administered to children’s families to find out more about their home lifestyle, and the foods they tend to eat. Personal questions will be asked such as weather or not their child has diabetes, and we will just have to trust the answers we receive.

This information will then be compared to past hospital and doctor reports on how pertinent diabetes was in America years ago. Those numbers will be compared to today, specifically the Bellingham area, and the information will be analyzed and assessed.

Once this crucial information is retrieved, programs and services will be discussed as to how to fix this problem (if it needs to be fixed at all). Research will be performed on how other parts of the country may have conquered this epidemic and how we may integrate some of their methods with out own. The school lunch programs that we are scrutinizing will most likely be encouraged to re-think what they are serving to the kids, and how to better promote healthy eating habits in the classroom.

Other research will be critical to assessing the need of the growing problem. And in those area that prevailed over this epidemic will surely be scrutinized to see weather or not it will work with us. Stated earlier was this problem is most dominant in America. This is true but does not mean it cannot be found in other countries. It was a problem in New Zealand, but diabetes education in New Zealand shows us a link between their diabetes rates and their health of their youth (Ross, Pearce & Howes, 2006). When it was a rising problem for them, they introduced the education of diabetes mixed with healthy eating habits and exercise. Both are common ways to stay healthy and to avoid diabetes. Research like this shows that childhood obesity is also an issue in other countries, and appears to be conquered in other countries. The future is not so bleak for our American children after all.

Now is the time to do something about it. What are some potential solutions? Looking at the education standards found in New Zealand, and how their obesity rates fell, following their plan would be strong campaign. However cultures are different and respond differently to various services and programs. That is why it is crucial to see if there is a need for services, and based on the above there is a need for services. Another possible solution is to change the lunch programs in the schools nearby. By pushing the schools to go more organic, and to really stress healthy eating and exercise there can be a real change here locally. With this push it may encourage others around the country to do the same. Or preceding this victory in Bellingham, we simply move on to the next town and start from the beginning.

The best solution for this need is to start with the food. Before educating the children, similar to the study by Ross, Pearce and Howes, starting at the root of the cause is the most logical decision. Instituting some sort of imitative among the school system, or among the local farmers and food producers will be prominent program to pursue. This will help fix this problem by simply making our kids healthier. Healthier kids make it easier for them to run around and be active. More energy means more exercise and more healthy lifestyles. Eventually this will trickle down and hopefully the epidemic of diabetes among our children will slowly stop rising.

Winona LaDuke is one of America’s most prominent leaders under the age of 40. She has worked to help save local biodiversity and her native peoples wild rice in Wisconsin. She pushes for schools to go more organic, and has succeeded with one of her children’s schools. By pushing the school board and providing hard evidence concerning the food they serve helped them begin to change their ways. This is an approach that has worked in the past, and our approach for all the public schools will be similar.

There is a chance that my theory is limited as to why there is a growing epidemic. It may not be the school lunch programs. In fact, children usually only receive 5 school meals a week. If they are then having 2 meals each day at home during the school week, and 3 meals over the weekend that means they are having 16 meals at home versus the 5 they are having at school. This shows my theory of the school lunch programs needing restoration as limited. If the diabetes rate is climbing in today’s age and it is because of what children are eating, shouldn’t the blame be put on the parents at home who are feeding them about 16 meals a week? This is a good question, and hopefully the research and nutritional facts of what the schools are serving will help answer it.

Overall, there is a need for food programs among our children today. The diabetes rates are climbing and are respectfully linked to obesity rates. With this needs assessment and the data we will retrieve, programs will rise up that can work towards servicing those who need it.

Works Cited

Dixon, Helen G., Scully, Maree L., et al. (2007). The effects of television advertisements for

junk food versus nutritious food on children’s food attitudes and preferences. Social

Science and Medicine, 65(7), 1311-1323.

Eliadis, Elizabeth E. (2006). The Role of Social Work in the Childhood Obesity Epidemic.

Social Work, 51(1), 86-88.

Reilly, John J. (2007). Childhood Obesity: An Overview. Children and Society, 21(5), 390-

396).

Ross, B.J., Pearce, J., & Howes, P. (2006). ‘Help, Educate, Encourage?’: Geographical

Variations in the Provision and Utilization of Diabetes Education in New Zealand. Social

Science and Medicine, 63(5), 1328-1343.

Zakus, Gloria E. (1982). Obesity in Children and Adolescents: Understanding and treating the

problem. Social Work in Health Care, 8(2), 11-29.

American Diabetes Association. Retrieved April 19th, from

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download