Annotated Bibliography Assignment
Childhood obesity between New Zealand and China
Zhang, J., Wang, H., Wang, Y., Xue, H., Wang, Z., Du, W., … Zhang, B. (2015). Dietary patterns and their associations with childhood obesity in China. British Journal of Nutrition, 113(12), 1978-1984. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114515001154
The authors divide this article into three main sections: methods, results and discussion, which help the reader locate information clearly and provide a cohesive overall structure. In the beginning, they clarify that their purpose is to determine the typical dietary patterns of Chinese children as well as their relationship to childhood obesity. Secondly, specific survey methodology such as standard method and odds ratio calculation are provided as evidence in support of the correlation between obesity and diet. Finally, the results indicate that high intakes of energy and low nutrient-density are major contributing factors leading to childhood obesity. This book is dependable as the part of data is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which is one of the most influential medical research centers in the world. Nonetheless, one possible shortcoming of this article which is mentioned by the authors is that different cultural and geographical conditions affecting child obesity in northern and southern China have contributed to the difficulties of obtaining accurate survey results.
This book investigates whether Chinese dietary patterns including modern pattern, traditional north pattern and traditional south pattern, can cause childhood obesity. The research findings demonstrate that traditional north pattern and modern pattern contribute to a higher rate of obesity than traditional south pattern; the probability of the obese in the northern part and modern pattern are 1.21 and 1.98 respectively, while that in the southern part is 0.93. This means that modern and traditional northern patterns are positively correlated with increased obesity risk, which can be used as evidence to verify that dietary patterns are associated with childhood obesity. Furthermore, by analyzing the diet custom of children in northern China, the authors conclude that these foodstuffs made from wheat flour are a major cause of obesity in Chinese children, which reinforces the argument of the research essay that this energy-dense diet is a crucial contributor to childhood obesity.
Kelly, S., & Swinburn, B. (2015). Childhood obesity in New Zealand. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 128(1417), 6-7. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
This article was written by a surgeon and a university professor who is an expertise of population nutrition and global health fields, which represents academic style and professionalism. Initially, they introduce the background of severe obesity of children in New Zealand where the proportion of overweight and obese is the third largest in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED). Moreover, the overconsumption of unhealthy food is considered by the authors to be a crucial factor which has contributed to childhood obesity. Finally, the authors propose numerous effective strategies for the government to combat childhood obesity including policies and regulations. This article is supported to be reliable as the authors provide authoritative sources such as the New Zealand government to demonstrate the feasibility of its solutions. Nevertheless, the lack of statistical data to support the notion that unhealthy food can cause childhood obesity is a weakness.
This article mainly focuses on analyzing the causes of childhood obesity and formulate some approaches. In addition, the authors mention that more than 30% of New Zealand children are overweight while 11 percent are obese, which can be used in the research essay to illustrate that childhood obesity has become a widespread phenomenon in New Zealand. Furthermore, they identify several solutions including prohibiting retailers from marketing unhealthy food to children, as well as imposing additional taxes on sugary drinks. These strategies can be regarded as a specific example for the government should issue policies to alleviate the excessive ingestion of unhealthy food among children.
New Zealand Medical Association. (2014). Tackling Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/31609/NZMA-Policy-Briefing-2014_Tackling- Obesity.pdf
The authors begin by providing an assessment of the state of childhood and adult obesity in New Zealand and discussing the negative effects of obesity on the public. For instance, obesity is implicated in certain forms of cancer such as kidney and gallbladder. They then evaluate strategies such as enhancing the awareness of preventing obesity and restricting the advertising of unhealthy foods. This article is reliable as it was from the New Zealand Medical Association which is a reputable governmental source and included a detailed reference list with credible medical sources. The strength of this article is to not only discusses the means of managing and reducing the existing obesity crisis, but also to identify and evaluate precautionary measures. However, a distinct weakness of this article is that the subjects in the research are mainly Maori and Pacific children, while ignoring all the children from different background in New Zealand such as Asian and European. Thus, the accuracy of survey results may be doubtful.
This article discusses both the dietary and lifestyle cause childhood obesity in New Zealand and has suggested multifaceted policy recommendations. The article explains that Project Energize, a nutrition and fitness initiative, has reduced the obesity rates of younger and older Waikato children by 31 and 15 percent between 2006 and 2011 by providing nutritional and physical fitness advice. Thus, these data can be used as an example to prove that physical activity is a practical approach to address the childhood obesity issue. Moreover, the author contends that encouraging public service centers to promote food and nutrition guideline, as well as providing nutrition as the compulsory subject in school to tackle obesity. This point can directly support that taking action against childhood obesity is the obligation of the whole society including schools and the public.