Natural Disasters - Hurricaine Katrina

Living in Mississippi, The hurricane had a great impact on me.  Residing and working in northern Mississippi I became a vessel for some of the people escaping the storm.  I also became interested in the effects of the storm on the children that were entering the school where I was employed.

Several studies have been done in an attempt to describe Hurricane Katrina. Studies have found that the hurricane resulted in many people being separated from their children, friends, neighbors, and relatives. Many people had their homes destroyed or were displaced from their homes for long periods of time. People were also exposed to increased crime and violence as a result of the hurricane.

Given these experiences, it is not surprising that many people developed Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Depression following Hurricane Katrina, including having upsetting memories and thoughts about the hurricane, feeling upset when being reminded of the hurricane, trying to avoid thoughts and feelings about the hurricane, having worries about future hurricanes, and feeling on edge and tense. However, less is known about the effect of Hurricane Katrina on children specifically.

Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Due to Hurricane Katrina in Children

Children may be particularly vulnerable to experience posttraumatic stress following exposure to a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina. One group of researchers from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center looked at this. They surveyed 2,362 4th to 12th grade children in the 2005-2006 school year and 4,896 4th to 12th grade children in 2006-2007 school year. All children were from schools in Louisiana parishes that were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

They found that many children had experienced a great deal of stress as a result of the hurricane. Most had been displaced by the hurricane, had seen their neighborhood destroyed or damaged, and had lost personal belongings. In addition, around a third had been separated from a caregiver and/or a pet during the storm or evacuation. Children also reported, to a lesser extent, seeing family members or friends injured or killed.

Given the stress that these children were exposed to, it makes sense that many experienced severe symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. In fact, this study found that about half of the children experienced high levels of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Currently being separated from a caregiver, living in a trailer, having to stay in a shelter, younger age, being female, having previous loss or trauma, having had family members or friends killed as a result of the hurricane, and having personal belongings destroyed or damaged seemed to increase risk for these symptoms.

_Sources:

_{Mcleish, A.C., & Del Ben, K.S. (2008). Symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in an outpatient population before and after Hurricane Katrina. Depression and Anxiety, 25, 416-421.}

_{Osofsky, H.J., Osofsky, J.D., Kronenberg, M., Brennan, A., & Hansel, T.C. (2009). Posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after Hurricane Katrina: Predicting the need for mental health services. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79, 212-220.}

_{Weems, C.F., Watts, S.E., Marsee, M.A., Taylor, L.K., Costa, N.M., Cannon, M.F., Carrion, V.G., & Pina, A.A. (2007). The psychosocial impact}

Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity Facts

• Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years.^{1, 2}
• The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.^{1, 2}
• In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.¹
• Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors.³ Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.⁴
• Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.^5,6

Health Effects of Childhood Obesity

Obese Youth Over Time: Selected U.S. States

 

Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being.

Immediate health effects:

• Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.⁷
• Obese adolescents are more likely to have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels indicate a high risk for development of diabetes.^8,9
• Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.^5,6,10

Long-term health effects:

• Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults^11-14 and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.⁶  One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults.¹²
• Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.¹⁵

Prevention

• Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases.⁶
• The dietary and physical activity behaviors of children and adolescents are influenced by many sectors of society, including families, communities, schools, child care settings, medical care providers, faith-based institutions, government agencies, the media, and the food and beverage industries and entertainment industries.
• Schools play a particularly critical role by establishing a safe and supportive environment with policies and practices that support healthy behaviors. Schools also provide opportunities for students to learn about and practice healthy eating and physical activity behaviors

Birth Experiences

• Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child's birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?
•  I can remember that one of my children was born in the am and one in the pm.  Their births were pretty normal and so is their development. 
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• Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison
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• I chose to examine Africa.  Very few births are in the hospital,  There are a lot of low birth babies because certain parts of the country suffers with disease, and famine.