Child Obesity Research Paper

Numerous studies have concluded that the content and amount of television programming watched by individuals – especially by children - has a direct result on the behavior of that individual. The behavior affected by television viewing can be anything from a desire for a certain food or material good to violent distemper (Zuckerman 1985.) Recently, more and more woman have given up their traditional role of raising their children opting instead to work during the day and leave their children to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, many children find that spending countless hours in front of the television to be a worthwhile way to entertain themselves. Most parents tell their children never to talk to strangers, but what they fail to realize is that every day their children are subject to the messages and ideas of strangers on the television. In fact, a study concluded that an average American by the age of 18 has spent more time watching television than they have spent in school; this study also went on the state that children spend more time watching television than any other activity besides sleeping. This may explain why an additional study revealed that if a child was told something by his or her parents and then viewed on television something that contradicted what the parents had said, four times out of five the child opted to believe the

The rate of childhood obesity has grown an enormous amount over the years with more than 40 million children being overweight! That number is astonishingly high and it is very obvious that something needs to be done about this. Studies had shown in 2008 that more than 40 million children were said to be overweight and the sad truth is that they are still increasing rapidly to this day; also every 1 in 4 teenagers is said to not reach the fitness guidelines (Tanner) according to an article by Lindsey Tanner. For this problem to be resolved not only do the parents of children need to make sure their kids are staying active but also, the schools they attend need to make sure they are getting a well-balanced meal and have some type of physical activity during their school day. Each state in America is given a percentage rate on the number of obese people in that particular state. The highest ranking state is Mississippi with a percentage of 34.9 and the state ranking the least is Connecticut with 24.5 percent. Different researches have shown that each day 850 lives are taken due to obesity and each year there are more than 300,000 people that die from obesity related illnesses. These are deaths that most likely could have been avoided if these individuals would have had the proper exercise and diet in their lives.

In the precedent few years, Type 2 diabetes has risen radically among children and adolescents. Experts consider this increase is due to the high rate of overweight and obesity (Cutting TM, Fisher JO, Grimm-Thomas K, Birch LL1999). One of the core reasons of children obesity is watching television. Technology is a vast accessory that millions of people use commonly in daily life. Television could be the most-used technological product of all. Millions of people now have as a minimum one television in their home. Though television seems like an immense thing to have, it has its disadvantages. Television can pessimistically influence people, mainly kids. A number of observational studies have originated an association between television watching and child and adolescent obesity. Moreover, it is recognized that American children spend more time watching television and playing video games than doing something else apart from sleeping. Researchers conducted a randomized, controlled test to assess the effects of reducing television, videotape, and video game use on changes in adiposity, physical activity, and dietary intake (Fisher JO, Birch LL. 1995). “The previous twenty five years have caused such a spectacular increase in childhood obesity. Technology, overeating and lack of physical activity can all contribute to obesity”. Birch LL, Fisher JO. Development of eating behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatr

Childhood obesity is increasing dramatically is the U.S. . The media aren't setting any good examples for children, nor the parents. The media show burgers that are only a $1.29 and salads that are $6.78. But what they don't show you about those burgers are how greasy they are, how the grease can cause acne, how those burgers were made and who makes those burgers. Eating healthy cost, but parents have to look at the outcome of their child eating healthy. Obesity can cause body weight, snoring, heaving breathing, diabetes, depression, etc. and death. Obesity is so common, the only way to stop it is to lend a helping hand.

Another environmental cause of childhood obesity is the lack of physical activity. The problem is that physical activity has been replaced by video games, television, social networking and other technology. (Child Obesity Statistics) “It’s proven that children who watch the most hours of television have the highest incidence of obesity.” (Hosten) The American Heart Association they recommend “all children age 2 and older should participate in at least 60 minutes of enjoyable, moderate-intensity physical activities every day.” They also recommend “if your child or children don't have a full 60-minute activity break each day, try to provide at

WHO (2011) described weight problems as ' 'strange or immoderate fats accumulation that offers a chance to health ' '. Youth obesity is a totally sizeable trouble to have a look at due to the dangers that it comes with. Similar to in the aforementioned paragraph, childhood obesity follows untimely loss of life and early onset of diseases because of the truth that children with weight problems will most in all likelihood live obese once they

In his essay “Watching TV Makes You Smarter", Steven Johnson - an author specializing in media, pop culture and technology - claims that watching TV is actually healthy for the viewers ' mind as contemporary television requires more cognitive thinking than it did previously. Johnson supported his claim by explaining about his sleeper curve throughout the essay. “The most debased forms of mass diversion – video games, violent television dramas and juvenile sitcoms that we think is bad turn out to be nutritional for us after all” illustrates the meaning of his sleeper curve. (121) Nowadays, parents do not allow children to watch TV because they think that the TV shows are not helpful for their children, and they may be affected by the terrible scenes. Johnson argued that the shows from back then till now have improved greatly and beneficial for kids instead. Johnson may be right that watching TV makes us smarter and it shows us what really happens in life. However, people may sometimes get addicted to the TV shows, stay inside and watch ridiculous, pointless television shows instead of the shows that will benefit them. The good and bad sides of television shows depend on what kind of TV shows it is and completely up to the person who are watching it.

To begin with,obese children are being risked to mental illnesses and health problems that are critical. Such diseases are stated in the article , “Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences”, which states, “ High blood pressure, high cholesterol, breathing problems, joint problems, fatty liver disease, psychological stress, low self-esteem and impaired social, physical, and emotional functioning” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) . Children at such a young age should not be worrying about being overweight or having to take medication. In addition ,all over America there is at least one child in a classroom who is not living a healthy lifestyle. If that does not concern anyone then that is an issue. Childhood obesity is a problem for

The evolution of television, since it was first discovered in 1927, has undoubtedly changed the principal ways of entertainment, and receiving information. The television, when first discovered, covered only a couple programs like sports and news, with very poor quality. Current day and age, television covers thousands of programs with 3D and hi-definition television pictures with screens as big as 75 inches. Television is an essential means of socialization. If used appropriately, it brings families together, informs with news and media, and educates with knowledgeable programs. Although the television has great values of socializing, some programs on the TV can have negative and detrimental effects, corrupting some viewers. An average American family views television, and can consider watching TV a major activity in their home. But who is not only viewing the programs, but retaining the information in their developing minds? Children ages two to five spend on average 32 hours a week watching television. Although some programs may have educational value and positive messages, unfortunately some programs have negative and manipulative memorandum. Parents should consider televisions effects and impact on their child 's life because although some shows with pro-social messages can be beneficial to children’s growth, the reverse can have negative and detrimental effects to their social, cognitive, and emotional lives.

In this section I will be reviewing the literature on children and television. It has been demonstrated that the average American viewer is exposed to 31 hours of television a week, of which three to nine hours is devoted to commercials (Furnham, & Bitar, 1993). In the case of children, the average preschooler watches 28 hours per week, while the average school-aged child, watches 24

In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.

I can remember when I was younger, coming home from school into the house to change clothes and head back out the door to play. Any entertainment I received was what I experienced outside. When I came into the house, I was able to watch very little television. The most television I was able to watch was on Saturday mornings and it was cartoons. Today, the young and old come home and the first thing they do is turn on the television set. According to a survey done by Emory H. Woodard and Natalia Grindina, “on average, people are watching over 51 hours of television- that is five hours a day of TV on average for the last quarter of the year. Teenagers (12 to 17) spend 103 hours watching TV a month, whereas

Research shows that the time children spend on the screen, or receiving background television, considering that today's households generally have more than one TV set, is abundantly superior to any other activity and equivalent only to sleeping time, and—that 90% of infants is watching TV regularly despite the AAP's

Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and death are all symptoms of people being morbidly obese. Children in America are struggling with being overweight. This is something that kids should not have to go through because they are only young children. Children should not have the high risk of being cursed with these terrible health conditions at such a young age. The people and children of America are so fat, and we are not doing anything to prevent the obesity epidemic; this needs to change.

There is no doubt that when it comes to American youth television is one of the biggest influences by far. Many parents would love to say that their child does not watch that much TV but in reality they are spending a lot of time watching television or using media in some way. “The study by the Kaiser Family foundation shows that children ages 2-8 spend an average of 5 ½ hours a day “consuming media” kids 8 and older spend even more time in front of the tube nearly 6 ¾ hours a day” (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 ). Astonishingly, more time is being spent with media then doing homework, studying or even spending time with family. A child’s retention of what