As the 5-year-old African American boy is already overweight and spends their time after schools with their grandmother, which means they are not that much physically active, they risk developing different health complications and risks. This includes accumulating high cholesterol rates and high blood pressures which are significant risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and developing breathing problems such as sleep apnea and asthma (Gibbs & Chapman-Novakofski, 2012). The overweight African American boy is also at a high risk of developing impaired glucose resistance which may lead to type 2 diabetes, fatty liver diseases, musculoskeletal discomfort and joint problems, gastro-esophageal reflux and gallstones, among many health risks (Gibbs & Chapman-Novakofski, 2012).
Additional Information on the 5- Year Old Overweight African American Boy
To assess the weight-related health of the African American boy, one of the primary additional information I would need is information related to the nutrition the boy receives. This would include the food the family consumes based on the five food groups, the availability of food, whether the meals are healthy, snacks consumed, the method of preparation of food and the mealtime environment (Gibbs & Chapman-Novakofski, 2012).
Identification of Risks to the Childs Health
By asking about the types of food, the child is feed and also their social behaviors such, and if they play more often friends, I would be able to discern the health risks which may be facing the boy. For example, by taking a high amount of fast foods and processed foods such as snacks and not participating in physical activities, the boy could be more susceptible to obesity and accompanying health risks.
Such sensitive information would be gathered from parents. By explaining the goal of the study and the benefits it can have on the health of their children, such parents would agree to cooperate. Promising confidentiality of the information provided to the parents would also help encourage the parents to cooperate fully in the assessment of their child (Ball, Dains, Flynn, Solomon, & Stewart, 2019).
Specific Question Relating to the Child
Strategies to help Parents Control Child’s Weight and Health
One of the strategies that the African American boy’s parents would adopt to be proactive about their child’s health and weight would be encouraging the child to be involved in physical activities, for example, taking walks, cycling, and swimming. The parents would need to create time to perform such activities with their children. The next strategy would be to provide the parents with a food pyramid which they would use to determine the healthy foods and the right food combination to give their children to ensure a healthy weight. Such tools would guide the parents’ decision in preparing meals and would help the child and the parents to lose weight gradually.
References
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to
physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
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