Role of Parents in Childhood Obesity in the United Kingdom (C3 & C4) Literature review

Role of Parents in Childhood Obesity in the United Kingdom (C3 & C4) - Literature review Example Data was collected from six online databases using the Boolean approach to extract a total of 25 articles relevant to address the research objectives in keeping with the study topic of childhood obesity. Findings of the study revealed that food and poor eating habit increases childhood obesity and lack of parental concern aggravates the impacts childhood obesity in the UK. In addition, the findings ascertained that family lifestyle and socio-economic status influence the occurrence of childhood obesity. With these in mind, the study recommended that the prevention and management of childhood obesity should be centred on parental modelling and health seeking behaviour. Obesity is the foremost contributor to deaths associated with CHDs in both adults and children (Adler & Stewart 2009). While the condition is perfectly preventable, the trend of childhood obesity is increasingly becoming a major health concern in most developed countries. It is vital to note that more than 75% of incidences occur without significant concern from parents (Canoy & Buchan 2007; Falaschetti et al. 2010). Thus, the thesis statement for this study is to examine the role of parents in childhood obesity in the UK. The prevalence of childhood obesity in the UK has been on the rise since 1995 and the trend seems to worsen by day (Reilly & Dorosty 1999; Kellow 2012). According to the BHF (2012), at least 33% of girls and 25% of boys aged 2-19 years in the UK are obese. That notwithstanding, it is projected that the prevalence of childhood obesity will be around 10.7% or higher by the years 2015 (BHF 2012). In a study conducted by the National Child Measurement Programme in 2012, it was ascertained that an estimated 33.9% of all children between 10 and 11 years of age in England are overweight (BHF 2012). When parents find it less important to define what their children should eat or what they should not, it becomes a