Gender Inequity in Sports Has Led to Obesity Among Adolescent Girls in Saudi Arabia
Gender Inequality in sports has led to Obesity among Adolescent Girls in Saudi Arabia
Obesity is one of the most rapidly escalating phenomena in the entire world. It is influencing the lifestyle and lifestyle choices of both adults and teenagers specifically young females across all ethnicities and races as well as social statures (World Health Organization [WHO], 2006). Obese individuals are mostly the ones who are anticipated to have shorter life spans than usual primarily because of the offset health and dietary structure that they sustain (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2003). Even though, a large extent of research has focused on and been devoted to obesity as it relates to young females, there have nevertheless been limited efforts made from the domain of teenage girls in Saudi Arabia and in helping them overcome their obesity problems as well as sustain a healthy lifestyle through engaging in sports activities through their academic years. This paper will hence conduct a risk assessment of teenage girls in Saudi Arabia suffering from issues of obesity across generations and assessments will be done on the patterns of nutrition and sports activities in order to break the habit of unhealthy lifestyle choices (Yujin & Dong Sik, 2007). The proposed study has been tailored to support proper nutrition and exercise in the chosen gender with the ultimate goal of preventing obesity reversions.
Introduction
The current generation, more than before is tackling the dangers of obesity. It is a fact that there are many parts of the world, especially in the African and Asian countries where people literally die of starvation, malnutrition and under-weight issues, yet it is a fact as well that the world is growing more and more obese currently than it has been at any other time in history.
Putting it simply, obesity can be described as the excessive accumulation of fats in the body. These are fats that the body does not need or cannot digest and utilize in fulfillment of physical activities. From a medical perspective, when the body mass index (BMI) goes beyond the limit 30 from where it should be, only then is one considered obese. The BMI is calculated by dividing the weight of an individual by the Square of the Height in Meters (WHO, 2011).
There are two major causes of obesity; the ingestion of fat rich foods and energy dense foods, which are also rich in sugar and salt. These foods are also noted to be low in essential minerals, vitamins and the essential micronutrients. The other cause of obesity that WHO (2011) places much emphasis upon is the sedentary lifestyle that one lives. This lifestyle can be occasioned by urbanization and the reduced active life that urbanization comes with, the docile employment environments that many are exposed to of late as well as the evolving means of transport that leaves little space for daily exercise. Some of the factors caused by increasing urbanization revolve around preferring fast food over home-made meals, overeating, preferring food that is high in calorie, fat and sugar while low in fiber and calcium and increased consumption of soft drinks. This behavior is further enhanced by a surrounding where high-fat foods are easily available, can be bought easily and can be readily eaten without much preparation (Raj and Kumar, 2010).
Background
A number of research studies have been carried out to measure the extent, scope, magnitude and implications of teenage obesity. For instance, According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics for 2005, at least 20 million children around the world are overweight (WHO, 2006). In the United States alone, 11% of the preschool population has been diagnosed as over weight (Johnson, Clark, Goree, O'Conner, & Zimmer, 2008). Teenage obesity is currently viewed as a worldwide epidemic that exists among all ethnic groups, social categories, and economic classes (Lee, 2007). The rising prevalence of both overweight and obese young females has evolved into an indisputable public health concern and is placing a tremendous burden on the country's health care system (Wake, Hardy, Canterford, Sawyer, & Carlin, 2007).
Similarly, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Obese young females have a 70% chance of becoming obese adults, with resulting higher risks for diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and several types of cancer. Obese young females have a greater risk of social and psychological problems such as depression, discrimination, and poor self- esteem. Obesity leads to heart disease caused by high cholesterol and/or high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnoea, and/or social discrimination (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2008a and 2008b).
Time Plan
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Expand and synthesise the literature review
Literature Review (Chapter 2) completed
During the study a number of factors were considered for the evaluation of the fact that females unlike males in Saudi Arabia constitute a larger proportion. Themes Lifestyle and dietary Adolescent boys and girls were studied for at least two weeks on their feeding habits, for this period, females were observed to consume more snacks than male in that males could only consume snacks once a fortnight unlike their female counterparts who
There are remedies (albeit not easy ones for the individuals involved), as suggested by the research. However, and this is very important, the current public health approaches that the Saudi government has taken, as Mabrey et al. (2010) note, have focused fairly narrowly on medical approaches. This focus includes research that has been conducted on metabolic syndrome (which is caused primarily by being overweight). This is caused by clear-cut factors
In order to get various information for comparative analysis, several online databases will be explored so that the scientific data and social factors that will be unearthed are factual enough and relevant to the study of obesity among teenagers. The publication year was used from 2000 to present. This is because the researcher can be access to the best data. Also, this period has showed the fast economic development that
Indeed, obesity among children and adolescents is even associated with an increase in economic costs. It is estimated that the hospital costs for obesity-related disease among children and adolescents increased from $35 million in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 1997-1999, which represents more than three times the costs of 20 years ago (Wang & Dietz, 2002). Numerous obesity-related health complications such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type II diabetes
Obesity, overweight and underweight all have impacts that are negative on self-esteem of many children and adolescents that if not checked can have long-term effects on the success in lives of these children and their general happiness in the future (Moran, 1999). The persistence of chronic diseases in more in the developing than in the developed countries. The World Health Organization posits that by 2020, a quarter of deaths in
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