Causes of Childhood Obesity Essay

In United States of America (USA), the prevalence of obesity was 10% among children 2 to 5 years of age and 15% among adolescents. When children at risk for obesity (overweight) were included, the values increased to 20% and 30%, respectively. Therefore, > 1 of every 4 patients examined by pediatricians either is obese or is considered to be at high risk for developing this challenging health problem (Ogden et al.,

There have been studies conducted to find out what has caused or what the leading factors to obesity are. Researchers are currently still doing research to find out what causes or what may be the lead to obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition which considers a child to be obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. (Rendall., Weden, Lau, Brownell, Nazarov & Fernandes, 2014). Obesity is on a rise in the Unites States and all over the world and can lead or result to other health complications later in life. The crucial breakdown serves as an implication of outlining childhood obesity, collaborating problems of the disease and resolutions, as well as applying critical thinking to give a complete approach to deliver information on childhood obesity. This will be done through citation of scholarly articles, samples and other modes of supporting details.

Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% .

Child obesity is alarmingly prevalent in the United States today; approximately 18 percent of adolescents are considered obese. Obesity is defined as “one of the most pervasive chronic diseases...that affects more than one-third of the population” (Source 2). While obesity may be a major challenge facing adults in the United States, adolescents are facing a similar struggle. More than 33 percents of all children and teens suffer from obesity. But why is child obesity such a major problem in the United States? Though obesity has been shown to have some genetic inheritance between parents and offspring. Adolescents are regularly eating fatty and unhealthy foods, and are not getting the

Introduction: In 1998 the World Health Organization announced that obesity had become an epidemic in both adults and children. This epidemic is a major concern in public health yet many countries are failing to address the issue. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes contributing to this increasing epidemic of childhood obesity. There are many causes that factor into childhood obesity but I will focus specifically on genetics, overeating, and the lack of exercise.

Childhood obesity is more than a major issue in the United States: it is an epidemic. The number of overweight and obese children in America has increased at an alarming rate over the past years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years [1]. American Heart Association stated, “Today one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese; nearly triple the rate in 1963” [5]. Unfortunately, this affects our children physically, mentally, and long-term.

In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than tripled. The pervasiveness of obesity has increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 20% in 2014 among children aged 6 to 11. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 increased from 5.0% to 18.1% during the same 30-year period. With that said, America is experiencing a very serious health issue concerning its youth. Obesity results from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity. In addition, obesity is mediated by genetic, behavioral, cultural, and environmental factors. The health impact from childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects, negative consequences that include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and

For my research project, I will be looking into the leading causes in childhood obesity. Obesity can be defined as when an individual is really overweight in which can affect their overall health. It has come to our concern that obesity among children has become a major problem, which needs to be confronted. Childhood obesity is continually expanding instead of decreasing, which is frustrating because it’s a difficult task for children to eat healthier in society with obesity hazards. Childhood obesity is a huge problem, which has negative consequences that leads to major obese in adulthood. It’s important to inform the audiences in what ways they can partake to help combat childhood obesity.

According to Kimbro, “Approximately one-third of U.S. children are overweight, and sixteen percent are obese.” (Kimbro 20). This quote refers to children who are struggling with overweight problems at an early age and more likely to become overweight adolescents and adults. Kimbro gives the reader a very clear, concise definition of childhood obesity without using vague, euphemistic, or emotive language (Chaffee 2012). Obese and overweight children are increasingly diagnosed with type two diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and certain cancers. Some people say childhood obesity is genetics and lack of exercise. Children might be obese because of family history with obesity and do not exercise. One factor is food at home and school. Children

Obesity has been a major health issue in the community for the past three decades, and has recently become a spreading concern for children (Black & Hager, 2013). Childhood obesity leads to many health and financial burdens in the future, and has become a public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016), childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Black and Hager (2013) state that pediatric obesity is a major public health problem that effects a child’s mental and physical health. Having childhood obesity also increases the risk of developing adult obesity and many other chronic illnesses. Childhood obesity will be further explored in the following sections and will include: background, current surveillance methods, epidemiology analysis, screening and diagnosis, and the plan of action.

1) One of the big causes for the increase of childhood obesity are food commercials. Children are exposed to media more now than before, usually children channels include a wide number of food commercials. This is done on purpose because kids usually can get their parents to buy them anything. This leads to kids eating more junk food. Another big cause for obesity is lack of physical activity. Kids now skip board games or outdoor games, and rather play games on an iPad or phone. This reduces the amount of physical activity greatly, which leads to obesity.

The percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s (“Healthy Schools.”). Childhood obesity is a medical condition that affects children and teenagers who contain excess body fat. This condition is very common today, having about 3 million cases per year (“Healthy Schools.”). A sign that a child is suffering from obesity is when their weight is well above the average for a child’s height and age. Today about one in five school children, ages 6-19, are obese (“Healthy Schools.”). I will be addressing the causes, health complications, treatments, controversy, and supporting obese students.

Childhood obesity has increased drastically over the past years and has become a high health risk to children. In fact, childhood obesity has doubled in numbers in the past thirty years (Childhood Obesity Facts). Obesity occurs when an individual becomes overweight and doctor’s diagnose a patient by using the body mass index or BMI scale. Obesity causes many diseases in children which cannot be cured without a doctor, in result, childhood obesity drives high health care costs. Since little effort has been put forward to prevent childhood obesity the existence of this disease has begun to skyrocket in numbers. The number of children who suffer from obesity have greatly increased over the years so, people have to come up with a solution to prevent obesity. However, it will take more than just one solution to prevent childhood obesity, it will take many. Without the prevention of obesity future generations could be in serious trouble with health issues. Childhood obesity should be prevented by showing the youth that healthy will benefit them in life, therefore, parents start by guiding children in the correct direction with their eating habits, limit their fast food intake, and fight the market for unhealthy foods so that children are not exposed to unhealthy options.

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

There are so many causes for childhood obesity, just to name a few genetics , hormonal, over eating, not exercising , sleeping and many more. But in most circumstances it's more of over eating, lack of exercising, too many hours on the video games that's just to name a few of them. Children's look for fast food that they can't eat, anything that it's less than 5 minutes to cook they are satisfied. There are kids that turns to food when they are stressing, and which they call the coping mechanism or emotional eating. Genetic disease and hormonal disorder can influence a child to be obesity. There are a disease called hypothyroidism and it means then when your thyroid glands which are in your neck they do not get enough hormones to control the