Childhood Obesity Prevention essay 
Researchers have come to define obesity as having an excess amount of adipose tissues or body fat with respect to the body mass. Consequently, people who have a Body Mass Index of above thirty are considered obese since the BMI is the universal measure for expressing the link of height-to-weight. This paper will discuss two research methodologies that will be based on social issues that affect children. The first academic research paper to be discussed is Re-entering Obesity Impediment: An Empirical-qualitative Analysis in the Subjective Aetiology of Excessive Obese Adolescents. The second academic paper is Childhood Obesity: Intervention and Prevention. The first academic paper was published in September 2014 during the second document 2010. Both papers have discussed issued that have affected the mental and social stability in adolescents. Matthias Braun, Manfred Muller, Wolfgang Siegfried, and Johanna Schell prepared the first research paper. Carrie Lossing Beth while undergoing an undergraduate degree in Bachelors of Science did the second document.
The globe has an estimated 1.2 billion adolescents, which means one out of every five people is alive. Additionally, this shows that twenty percent of the world’s total population is made up of adolescents. They will be adult later on in life, and their health is a significant factor to achieve a healthy society. The rapid increase in obesity in the globe has made the (WHO) World Health Organization to declare a global epidemic. As a result, both researchers decided to focus on the carrying out research that in Germany and the Unites States of America. They investigated the “global epidemic” to understand the reason and the effect the adolescent children. The two research papers were intended for the public and the government in German and the United States of America.
The research method in the first research paper is qualitative since they used interviews to gather their data. On the contrary, the researcher in the second used data from peer review journal to carry out the qualitative research methods. Carrie Lossing Beth has used secondary sources of information in the research compared to Braun et al. The researchers have tried to focus on the main reason for obesity among adolescents while at the same time showing the effects in the society. The focus group in the essay was adolescent children, and they expressed their views through interviews carried out by Braun et al.
The first research is fundamental in social care since it analyzes the factors that influence and prevent obesity among the adolescents. The interviews that were carried out did not reveal a clear understanding on how the participants begun increasing in weight. However, the interviews helped to unveil the reason behind being obese. The researcher found out that social issues by the parents such as illness and parents resulted in their obesity. The reasons previously mentioned were a catalyst to weight gain among the adolescents. Therefore, as a measure to cope with distress, the participants increased their body weight rapidly but not continuously. The study further showed that obesity is a primary issue that begins in the family and not the environment. In summary, the researcher found out that parents could help address this issue and prevent it.
The second research showed the consequences of obesity with respect to social care. Here, the researcher listed the medical, academic results, and social-emotional consequences of obesity in children. The researcher discovered that the quality of children with obesity to be identical to those undergoing chemotherapy. Obesity in children begins because of family, socio-cultural, activity level, fast food consumption, genetics, and sugary beverages factors.
I will compare the two paper based on the methodology used and findings in the end. I will discuss the reason each researcher chose his or her research methodology. The two research papers as earlier stated are Re-entering Obesity Impediment: An Empirical-qualitative Analysis in the Subjective Aetiology of Excessive Obese Adolescents and Childhood Obesity: Intervention and Prevention. I will further discuss the findings in the paper and the influence of each research paper. I came up with the notion of carrying out a topic that affect people my age. Later, I used my computer to investigate the different topics that have been well researched. I then studied the methodologies and findings to help bring out the awareness of obesity.
Compare and Contrast
Braun et al. used qualitative methods of research in compiling the data on the opinions and views of adolescents who were suffering from childhood obesity. More importantly, the researchers utilized primary sources of research because interviews were conducted on 20 patients in the obesity rehabilitation centre INSULA in Germany. Qualitative methods of research were chosen to help in understanding the traits, characteristics, and qualities of the subjects of inquiry. The researcher wanted to understand the perceptions of the obese patients in this intervention setting. Hence, the qualitative approach was deemed appropriate because it was an opportunity for the researcher to analyze the situation based on the answers produced by the interviewees. Moreover, this approach allowed for responses from participants that were interpretative in nature. Besides, qualitative techniques deal with understanding the social issue being investigated
Qualitative approach is subjective, inductive, cannot be generalized, and uses words. For the purpose of the study, it was important for the research to get a subjective opinion of each participant, hence found it necessary to use this approach. In the study, the goal was to understand the perceptions obese adolescents have on the causes and prevention of or intervention of childhood obesity. Hence, the qualitative approach would give the researcher an opportunity to understand the situation fully, analyze the collected information and make necessary inferences and recommendations.
The researcher ensured participation in the study was voluntary and unpaid. The participants had an informed consent and were clear on the fact that they were allowed to leave the study at any time if they deemed it necessary. Hence, the participants did not feel coerced to take part in the study, which helped in gaining authentic and reliable answers from them. Further, the researchers went on to advertise the study throughout the facility on notice boards to notify willing participants on the requirements, purpose, and the different ways they could participate. The researchers held a special program that explained to the potential participants on the scope of the study and its importance. It was an opportunity for the participants to ask any questions about the study and participation. The ethics committee at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg had authorized the study.
The participants of the study included patients who were suffering from extreme cases of obesity with an average BMI range of 42.33kg/m2. In addition, all of them had been subjected to different intervention programs but had turned out to be unsuccessful. The participants had allocated a lot of time and effort to reducing weight and dealing with the obesity problem, hence, they had a lot of knowledge and information on the topic, which was covered during the interview process. The interviews captured events in the participants’ lives that could have been linked to their current conditions as contributory factors. In addition, the researchers sought to understand the experiences that they had in other environments such as the family setting, school, work, and even the health care systems.
Further, the interviews examined the areas of stigmatization based on the answers from the section on personalized experiences. The interviewers used the approach of a Weight Stigma Scale that allowed the participant to choose from a range of 12 descriptions of the perception of obesity. This approach was preferred because of the numerous consequences and effects that stigma and discrimination have on the obese individuals. The qualitative approach and primary source of data chosen allowed the participants to expound and explain further after choosing the statement that they felt best described their experiences. As a result, the researchers had a better understanding of the reasons for the perceptions and the choice from the 12 statements on the scale.
The interviews were recorded electronically, which ensured they were retrievable with minimal chances of error because the researchers could always refer to the recordings. First, the data was coded and two themes highlighted for the purpose of analysis. The main concerns were the association of the weight gain with certain life experiences and the interpretation of the experiences as described by the participants.
In Lossing (2010), the researchers used qualitative approach but relied on secondary sources of data to make the relevant inferences and recommendations. The goal of the study was to create a resource for parents with children suffering from childhood obesity to access information on obesity, learnt preventive measures, and available interventions. Hence, the choice to use secondary sources of data was the most appropriate because different findings from various peer-reviewed journals could be integrated in the web resource. Primarily, the researcher focused on understanding the current information related to childhood obesity. A review of this information helped to determine the information that would be included in the literature review section, and hence, the parts that would be included in the website that would be created for the parents to access when the need arose.
In addition, the researcher was keen to find information from reliable databases with approved peer-reviewed articles. It was important to come up with data sources that were reliable and hence make the inferences drawn reliable as well. In reference to this, the researcher used JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and journals published and posted in organizational websites such as the American Diabetes Association and the American Sleep Apnea Association. The choice of the databases and organizational websites was specifically chosen to include reliable sources. For examples, the American Diabetes Association has up to date data on the issue of childhood obesity because studies are carried out regularly on the topic to help them association help Americans in dealing with the issue. Besides, the Obama administration, though the leadership of the First Lady, has been at the forefront of dealing with the issues of childhood obesity. Hence, the American Diabetes Association has all the recent data on the prevention and interventions of childhood obesity.
Compiling the data from the wide range of information in the organizational websites and peer-reviewed articles was not an easy task. Hence, the researcher chose to narrow down to various sub topics that would help in identifying the chunks of information to be included in the study, and finally the web resource. The topics chosen were the consequences of obesity on the child and the preventive measures that parents can implement to prevent raising overweight children. Hence, the discussion focused on both the prevention and intervention that can be enabled at the family level. Hence, the web resource included a section on the role of communities in fighting childhood obesity and the steps that they can follow.
Finally, the researcher created a website with information on childhood obesity, the role of parents, and the things they can do to prevent their children from becoming overweight. The decision to include a section on the effects of obesity on children was significant because it would serve as a wakeup call for parents to realize that it was not only a serious lifestyle problem, but also a serious health problem that they should address.
Both studies had opted to use a qualitative approach of research because they wanted to understand the issues of childhood obesity, its prevention, and intervention. This approach was appropriate because of the range of information that the researchers managed to gather especially the subjectivity of the study. However, the studies did not use similar sources. In fact, Braun et al. (2014) focuses on the primary sources of data through carrying out the interviews while Lossing (2010) focused on getting information from secondary sources of data. In the same way, the scope of questions raised during the research process was different. Braun et al. had control of the research and the findings of the study because they were making inferences based on their experiences in the field with the participants. Unfortunately, Lossing had no control over the information but had to rely on information collected by other researchers and recorded in the articles.
A review of the findings of both studies indicates the differences that could be associated with the methods of research used. In Lossing, the result of the study was the website that had been created with a range of information from different researchers as a compilation of their inferences and final review. The information was presented in a manner that would be helpful to parents who were raising children with obesity and those who needed information on the topic to prevent their children from suffering from the same. In Braun et al., the interviewees could single handedly point on a starting point of their overweight problems. However, they indicated certain life-events had altered their eating habits and accelerated their overweight problems. These life events included divorce and illnesses of their parents. Most of the participants noted childhood obesity was mainly associated with their family issues as opposed to the societal factors. Hence, the family was identified as the most important stakeholder when issuing preventive measures related to childhood obesity.
Therefore, both studies reviewed the same social care issue but using different approaches of the qualitative methods. It was interesting to note that both researches had the same inferences. In both cases, the determining factor was the family and the recommendations were to deal with the problem of childhood obesity from the family point of view. In fact, Lossing initiated the same through the creation of the website that was accessible to any parent who needed information on the issue of childhood obesity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the two studies are fundamental in social care research related to childhood obesity. It is an opportunity for people interested in the information on the topic to be enlightened based on gathered literature from previous studies and the primary study carried out. The methods of research used in both studies are educative and informative to future researchers. It is an important aspect for researchers to learn the effects of using the same approach but different sources.
