Childhood Obesity in a Psychosocial Perspective. The Role of Nutrition Education
Childhood Obesity in a Psychosocial Perspective. The Role of Nutrition Education

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to draw the readers’ attention to psychosocial aspects of excessive weight gain in children, with a special emphasis on the importance of nutrition education. The article indicates the appropriateness of extending educational programs by adding the knowledge of psychosocial mechanisms that affect obese children and implementing proper interventions. This text is of a theoretical and informative nature, and it constitutes a kind of introduction and invitation to further deliberations on this subject. The first part of the article presents current data related to obesity among children, terminological explanations and obesity classification used in clinical practice. Then, the author describes the phenomenon of emotional eating with an explanation of the main theories concerning the occurrence of this mechanism and emotional conditions affecting childhood obesity. The further part of the study describes psychosocial consequences of obesity in the form of negative attitudes towards obese children in the school environment. The importance of nutrition education in the prevention of obesity is explained, and the appropriateness of extending it to psychosocial interventions is presented. In the summary, reference is made to the advantages of educational programs designed by interdisciplinary teams for the physical and mental health of children, including the important role of psychologists and teachers.

• Details
• Contents