Body Mass Index Essay

When children do not eat a healthy meal, their concentration and energy become more difficult to manage. The “Journal of School Health” issued a study in 2008 about the eating behaviors of approximately 5,000 school children. The research showed that children who ate more fruits and vegetables, accomplished higher grades on tests compared with children who consumed a high-fat, high-salt diet

Schools are a very important factor in determining obesity. Schools that resist a role in their students’ health welfare are setting their students’ up for obesity or at least poor health. In fact, “children consume 30 to 50 percent of their calories in school” (Klobuchar, 2011). Schools can be a positive influence and provide

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

When tourist come to America they see the bigger food portions on our plates than what they would see in other countries throughout the world. In the U.S. obesity is a one of the major problems we have because people are free to buy and eat what they want without anyone to tell them differently. The cost of healthier foods are also more expensive than buying fast food or anything else that’s not healthy. As the obesity issue becomes a bigger problem new problems start to rise. For example health issues are increasing for the obese.

Throughout the last twenty years there has been an increasing trend of childhood obesity. The trend of childhood obesity is highly discussed more than ever before because prior to 1980 there was not a pandemic of childhood obesity (Type 2 Diabetes, 2015, para. 2). Moreover, many people lack the knowledge of how harmful childhood obesity is and how it can negatively affect their children in numerous ways. However, it is important to realize that there is more than one factor that leads to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is an increasing trend that supports a sedentary lifestyle and puts children at risk of social criticism, which can impact a child’s social skills negatively. For example, “obesity increases the likelihood of

In addition to poor food selection in low-income neighborhoods, prevalence of childhood obesity is also significantly affected by family education. Several works of literature support the idea of the critical role of parents or caregivers in determining children's physical health and body mass index. The role of parenting and caregivers is crucial for young children because parents directly determine the child’s physical and social environment, and indirectly influence behaviors, habits, and attitudes through socialization processes; this means that overweight is a function of environment.10

Childhood obesity is increasing worldwide. Experts estimate that 1 in 5 kids between the ages of 6 and 17 are overweight. That means that as they get older they will be more at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart related diseases. Things that we used to associate with older people are now affecting younger and younger children. There are many reasons for this rise in obesity and this paper will look at a few of them. My goal is to show a correlation between what children are doing and how it affects their chances of being obese. My data comes from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. They sent a survey to schools in all

Environmental influences on childhood obesity is a socio-cultural environment. Highlighted data section the aspects of socio-cultural environments of U.S. ethnic groups favor obesity development. Overweight may be viewed as a problem only when it is clearly linked to health problems. These types of attitudes about large body size may apply to any population where excess fat is only seen. The observation that childhood obesity is more prevalent in ethnic minority populations is likely to reflect differences in combination of factors. (Kumanyika 61-70)

Observational studies were done on school children in kindergarten through third grade. The article explains that the children’s BMIs (body mass index) were measured at the beginning of the school year, end of the school year, and then again at the beginning of the following school year. It was seen that the BMI increase of the children increased twice as much during the three summer months than during the nine-month school frame. This infers that children gain more weight and are more incline to become overweight in their own home environment than their school environment. Sloviter makes a point that this increase in BMI at such a young age will lead to an increased risk for adult obesity. She concludes the article by briefly reminding the reader to remember that there are other factors that contribute to childhood obesity and the largest factor may not be the school lunch environment after all.

The researchers recruited two thousand three hundred preschoolers for their study and acquired the student’s height and weight in order to solve their body mass index (BMI). The BMI of a person is the estimate of excess fat on their body, but doesn’t take in to account their muscle mass. At the same time the children’s BMI were being taken, the parents were also asked for their height and weight in order to attain their BMI. The researchers found that children with one obese parent are twice as likely to be obese and children with two obese parents are two point four times more likely to be obese (Overweight Parents More Likely to Have Overweight Children). This study directly proves that parents have a huge impact on their children when it comes to their

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ‘good health is an important element in a child’s quality of life as it can influence participation in many aspects of the life, including school and physical education’. A poor start to a child’s life increases the outcome of a poor adult life, as 24.9% of children aged from 5-17years already overweight or obese. These statistics are based on The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), who have developed a standard age and sex-specific Body Mass Index (BMI) cut off point. Nutrition is the key factor of a student’s health and wellbeing, already students are; eating 48% junk food per day and eating majority foods that fall under the ‘red food’ category. (Health

other. The focus of the school based interventions was around changes in diet and increased physical activity which were found to have short term effectiveness in decreasing BMI among students. The studies showed weight loss in students after interventions were delivered, but again found no difference between the effectiveness of interventions at school or at home. However, the research did indicate that the most effective method may be school based interventions which are followed up on and supported at home (Kothandan, 2014). The effectiveness of this combination strategy seemed to be mere hypothesis in the study and was not directly researched. This study does confirm that school based interventions can be effective in addressing childhood obesity.

Most of the weight problems Americans have are being overweight or obese. There are no signs that the percentages of Americans who are overweight or obese are decreasing. Not just teenagers but kids and adults worry about their weight. People have weight problems for different reasons. I think Americans need to put an effort to manage their weight.

Weight management has been thought of as only weight loss by many. Weight management covers all aspects of attaining and maintaining optimum weight for a healthy lifestyle. Health professionals now realize that prevention of weight gain as well as weight loss and improving health status are important goals. These goals must be individualized for success.

Sawka et al. (2015) examined multiple categories of quantitative surveys detailing the relationship between children’s’ peer network and dietary behavior outcomes. Unhealthy food intake was associated with close friends’ fast food and other low-density snack food consumption. It is important to note one study showed a difference between genders, as boys consumed higher calorie snacks and fast food than girls. Healthy food intake findings were less significant than unhealthy associations, although best friends’ vegetable intake was positively correlated. Additional findings suggest a potential relationship between popularity and unhealthy low-nutrient food intake among boys. The overall findings of the review demonstrate a potential influence of dietary behavior and friendship among adolescents. School and nutrition professionals should consider the power of friendship when developing food-related policy and healthy food encouragement campaigns. Pachucki, Jacques, and Christakis, (2011) investigated how social ties influence dietary choices through analysis of quantitative data. The researchers found spousal food choice was positively related to partner food choice at the time of the spousal food choice. Additionally, a spouse’s food choice at a particular time influenced future partner food choices. Friends also influenced choices with regard to sweets, snack-type foods, and alcohol at a moderate rate. The findings imply social ties