Are Children Less Fit Today Compared to Previous Decades?

Becoming increasingly more active is vital to combating and reducing obesity in children. Healthful, fitness habits, then, must be jumpstarted at institutions where all American children spend mandatory time, such as in a child’s school; evidently, “normal weight children get 16 more minutes of

Do you get enough exercise? Are you sure about that? Or how about this, are you overweight, do you even know? Today’s adolescents don’t. In fact today’s adolescents face serious risk from their lack of activity. Today’s children are obese because they have developed some very bad habits related to healthy living and as result can suffer serious physical and psychological damage.

In 2015, 15% of children between the ages of 2 to 15, in Scotland, were at risk of obesity, in relation to their Body Mass Index (Scottish Health Survey, 2015). For children, the BMI ranges changes as they grow and get older, as well as being dependent on gender. For example, if a 12 year old boy and a 9 year old boy have the same BMI, and the 12 year old is classed as healthy, it doesn’t mean that subsequently the 9 year old is healthy too. It can, in fact, allude that the younger boy is overweight. Obesity in childhood can lead to a plethora of health issues in later life, and the children are more likely to be obese or overweight in adulthood. The World Health Organisation identified some of the future health outcomes of being obese in childhood. These include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, such as osteoarthritis, and in the worst case; death. WHO has estimated that, globally, over two million people die annually from health problems associated with being obese or overweight (WHO, 2016). There are several contributing factors to a child’s weight, including; parental weight and activity level, geographical location and deprivation.

Childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent in the western world as statistics show that in Australia, one quarter of children are either overweight or obese. (Australian Bureau of statistics)

Physical activity also has benefits for children's social and emotional development and cognitive development. These benefits include being part of a team and making friends through group sports, which have a major impact on social and emotional development. The effect of obesity on children is closely linked to many bad health habits such as diet, smoking and drug use which in turn can affect a child's academic performance (Goran et al., 1999). Physical activity, if encouraged at a young age, can reduce the likelihood of children developing these behaviours and focus on their academic performance and cognitive development. As children in this age range are in their fundamental development stage, it is important that educators and parents alike, teach children about the importance of physical activity at a young age in order to prevent health and social well-being problems in their adult years.

Why are a third of young people identified as overweight or obese? The presence of gluttony in Canada, specifically in children, is a growing issue. To demonstrate, the education board is putting a ban on certain unhealthy foods in school lunches, cafeterias, and vending machines. Leah McLaren, wrote an article in The Globe and Mail (2014) drawing attention to a specific example of a student caught selling said contraband at school. Banning junk food in school is not a good way of instilling healthy eating habits because it makes said food more alluring to kids.

Obesity can affect any person, disregard their age. From the article U.S. kids outweigh the Canadian kids, we can realize the obesity among the kids in the U.S. is increasing day by day. When we see a lot of kids, and teenagers together, we could not identify their or guess who is younger or who is elder. Overweigh can cause diseases among children, and after few years America will get the title for having the most disease affected people’s nation. Throughout the society and in life the evidence to support my viewpoint is pervasive.

Obesity in our youth has been identified as one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. (Lobestein). Overweight children and adolescents are more likely to develop sleep apnoea, breathlessness on exertion and reduced exercise tolerance, some orthopaedic and gastrointestinal problems, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and early signs of metabolic and clinical consequences, such as hypertension, hyperinsulinaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and type 2 diabetes. (WHO, DENNY W) A major long-term consequence is that overweight children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults, with an increased risk of chronic diseases and early mortality. (BRIO FM)

Today’s generation of children is the most inactive and obese in all of U.S. history (Loonin, 54). Poor exercise habits are developed as early as preschool age (All children above the age of 2 should be getting at least an hour of exercise a day in order to stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight (Overweight and Obesity, 2). Many young children have become accustomed to staying inside and using electronics, where they do not have to exert much energy whereas going outside and playing would. The average child in today’s society spends up to

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Increasing physical activity among youth is an essential component of the broad strategy needed to curb the obesity epidemic” (CITATION). The AAP goes on to encourage different forms of physical activity, whether it’s joining a sport, taking part in extracurricular activities or even participating in gym class and to start this routine from childhood. When experimenting to see the impact that sports and extracurriculars made on a person’s health, they stated, “Our findings supports previous research demonstrating sports were related to substantially lower risk of both overweight/obesity and obesity” (CITATION). While other factors play a big part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, childhood is a crucial point because that’s when the body is nurturing, which is why there should be more budgeting towards helping those who are unable to

Obesity is an ailment that is often correlated with having an overabundance of body fat, influenced by a series of factors that may be challenging to administer when dieting. Obesity is distinguished as having a Body Mass Index of 30 or above, and rates among children in Canada have nearly tripled in the last 30 years. Approximately 31.5 per cent of children were classified as overweight or obese between 2009 – 2011 (Stats Canada, 2012.) This paper will primarily focus on the short and long term effects of childhood obesity, childhood obesity in Toronto, and what initiatives are being taken to decrease this matter.

The absence of activity and proper rest has been associated with obesity in children, adolescents and adults. Physical activity habits, and, specifically, inactivity, track significantly from adolescence into young adulthood. Because poor children have fewer opportunities for outdoor exercise or organized sports participation, we expect physical activity will mediate the effects of

America's children are not getting enough exercise, and the health risks due to obesity are becoming epidemic in nature. Even First Lady Michelle Obama is supporting an initiative to help children become more active and to provide for exercise (at least 30-60 minutes per day) in all schools. Even limited amounts of exercise can have great health benefits. When humans exercise, the brain produces chemicals that help enhance mood, limit cravings for sugars, and contribute to healthier joints, muscles, the heart, and kidneys. In turn, this translates into more productive work time, the ability to sleep better, increase memory, and reduce dependence on medications. Children are so vulnerable to this health risk that if it continues, over 60% of graduating seniors will be clinically obese. Written by a medical journalist, the book is designed for the lay reader but has a number of documented scholarly sources.

Childhood obesity is one of the most prevelant epidemics plagueing American youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only 18 percent of all American youth were able to pass the 2008 national fitness standards (A Growing Problem, 2012). This means the vast majority of American youth are incapable of satisfactorally meeting fitness requirements such as completing pushups, running laps in a specific time, and stretching their muscles. According to the CDC, these goals are easily accomplished by any child who gets a total of 1 hour of aerobic exercise daily (A Growing Problem). In fact, that hour of exercise also ensures those same children have greater focus and mental stamina in school and increased immune systems to fight regular diseases.

Physical activity is essential for children; therefore sport participation has many physical benefits for youths (Willox, 1994). In the United States there is a very unhealthy trend of physically unfit children going on. According to a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health seven out of ten kids in our nation are out of shape and the incidence of obesity has increased by more than 50 percent among America's children and teen since 1976 and continues to grow at a staggering rate (Metzel & Shookhoff, 2006). When children participate in sports activities they get some of the exercise they need to improve their quality of life and can help prevent children from becoming obese. Physical activity regulates obesity because it increases energy expenditure, suppresses appetite, increases metabolic rate, and increases lean body mass (Willox, 1994). Even though regular physical sport activity has been shown to improve physical fitness, it can also help in preventing many different health problems down the line that youths who participate in sports are more likely not to develop than youths who do not participate in sports. Women who participated in organized sport and fitness programs as