Obesity literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Obesity - Literature review Example The following databases were searched for literature for this review: Pubmed, Cochrane library, Wiley, Cinhal Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), Ovid, NHS Evidence, World Health Organisation Website and Medline. Keywords searched were obesity, obese, risks, co-morbidities, surgery, bariatric, anaesthesia, perioperative, prevention and airway. Obesity Measurement and Definition Obesity can be measured using total body weight, body mass index, body fat composition, fat mass index, and fat free mass index, and is specifically defined as having a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2(Zhang & Wang, n.p.; Hjartaker, Langseth & Weiderpass, p 72). Risk for co-morbidities seems to be better indicated by measures of fat distribution, such as height-weight comparison or waist circumference, than by total weight (Zhang & Wang, n.p.; Hadaegh et al., p 310). Body mass index is not as accurate at determining true levels of overweight and obese nor at estimating risk factors, but it is a faster meth od at screening a larger population (Zhang et al., p 244). Overweight and obese adolescents tend to have poorer overall health than their normal weight peers, but they do not report more health issues requiring medical care. Those that do have other health issues tend to be overweight or obese currently, rather than having a history of weight problems. Weight loss can therefore help reduce many of the of the health risks associated with childhood obesity (Wake et al., p 162). However, those adolescents who have co-morbid type II diabetes and obesity are also more likely to have higher arterial stiffness than their peers (Urbina et al., p 1692). This is a concern due to the fact that paediatric type II diabetes is quickly becoming a public health crisis (Dea, p 42). Also, obese children with asthma have a much higher rate of nighttime desaturation, or lack of oxygen. They were also more prone to snoring and other respiratory issues that could lead to hypoxia (Ross et al., p 877). The presence of overweight and obesity in young children seems to be primarily a result of their home environment, and is especially related to the parental attitude toward food and exercise (Weker, p 3). We can extrapolate that a patient's attitude toward food and health in childhood will have a profound effect on their weight as an adult. Many children with congenital or acquired heart disease become overweight or obese as a result of restrictions imposed on their activity level. Healthy levels of exercise and healthy life style choices are often forgotten in patient education, as the focus is often solely on preventing the worsening of the existing heart condition and fail to protect the young patient's overall health (Pinto et al., p 1157). The best method for preventing obesity is to change the eating habits of children before they become overweight or obese. This can be done by increasing the attractiveness of healthy lifestyle choices and healthy foods, especially in schools, wh ere most children spend the majority of their time away from home. Schools should offer and encourage sports and other after-school activities, and offer remedial physical education courses for any student in poor physical shape (Della Torre, Akre, & Suris, p 233). Co-morbidities Eighteen major co-morbidities have been identified that show statistically significant connections with obesity or overweight. The conditions and diseases