Obesity is a condition where someone is significantly overweight for their age and height. On a child, it can lead to life-threatening diseases and health problems in the future. This excessive amount of weight that a child bears can lead to future diseases and mental abuse from peers and even on rare occasion 's parents. Childhood obesity has become a national problem in the United States and continues to grow at a substantial rate. This growing health problem presented with children is affecting them negatively for the future. Is fast food really to blame, or is it the new lazy lifestyle that revolves around technology? With technology growing quickly, children seem to be less likely to play outside and live an active lifestyle than …show more content…
While all of these circumstances are unique for every child for genetic reasons, there are many ways that these unhealthy habits can still be physically detrimental to a child growing up and being obese. There are several negative effects on children struggling with obesity, these include future health problems, becoming more susceptible to bullying, and depression. In this analysis, I will explore different resources that will explore the negative effects on childhood obesity in the United States. Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is occurring in both genders across the 50 states, but now more than ever it is affecting children. While numbers vary, throughout the nation about 11%-14% of children are now considered obese (Ferraro et al. 2002). This rate is slowly increasing and according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2011-2012) in 2011 to 2012, that number increased to 17% or 12.7 million children. These numbers are staggering, and while parents believe it 's just a phase obesity can lead to life-threatening diseases if not treated quickly and soon. Helen N. Sweeting suggests that there is an imbalance of input and output of energy (2008). Children are eating more and playing less. HOW MEDIA IS CONTRIBUTING TO OBESITY: Ever wonder what commercials are playing on the television when your child is upstairs? According to the documentary "Fed Up," as
Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming an epidemic in America. Children are becoming overweight from lack of exercise and overeating. A average US child eats fast food daily without exercise. More than 15 million US children live in “food insecure” homes which means they have limited access to the foods they need to stay healthy due to the cost of the items according to the Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Children are consuming much more than they burn off from exercise daily. Due to children eating more than they burn off, they are suffering from different types of diseases. Researchers are still studying these epidemics. So far, statistics have shown that children are in fact becoming obese from not exercising
Childhood obesity has placed the health of an entire generation at risk. Obesity in America is a big problem that has been growing over the years. “An estimated 12.5 million children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (Loop 2015). As the number of children being affected keeps growing, parents or guardians do not change the habits that lead their children to become obese. “Among children today, obesity is causing a broad range of health problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood” (American Heart Association, 2014). Not only is obesity causing health problems more than before, but it also causing a big problem in America. More and more children every year become obese and it keeps growing. Even though some people believe the lifestyle of a person is not to blame for the childhood obesity problem in America, the technology, the parenting style , and the media of the outside world are huge factors that contribute to childhood obesity.
According to “Childhood Obesity Facts”, the percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s. Today about one in five school-aged children (ages 6-19) is obese.” Also, “The State of Obesity” reported that childhood obesity rates have remained at around 17 percent for the past decade. Approximately 14 percent of children (ages 2 to 5) enrolled in WIC are obese. Nearly one-third (31.3 percent) of children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, and 13.9 percent of high school students are obese. These statistics support that childhood obesity is a problem in our country.
According to the CDC, childhood obesity in the United States is at a steady incline and has seen an exponential growth in the past 30 years. (“Childhood Obesity Facts”, 2015).
Through the easy accessibility of technology, the media is able to have a detrimental effect on the young people in America. According to Tiffany Rush- Wilson, Skills Development Coordinator of Counseling Programs at Walden University, the media places a greater emphasis on having the perfect body and looking thin in today’s society. This in turn causes obese children to feel negative about themselves which leads them to eat even more (Rush-Wilson 3). Technological advances have also promoted laziness through gaming systems like the Xbox. The glorification of sitting on a sofa firing pixelated guns at pixelated soldiers has been added to the list of hobbies enjoyed by children in the twenty first century. The television has also been linked to childhood obesity. Tom Robinson from the Division of General Pediatrics and Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention uses an experiment to show the positive correlation between the two factors:
When a child gets home from school, they grab a bag of chips and a soda then, they sit on the couch and turn on the television and do not move for hours. Children nowadays do not even have physical education class everyday. This is the beginning of very bad eating habits and lack of exercise habits. Even after sporting events, children are rewarded with Little Debbie's and a juice box even if they lose. Adults are teaching their kids that food is comfort. The amount of adult obesity is at an all time high. Nowadays parents are even worried about childhood obesity. The long term health effects are something people should be concerned about. Obesity in America is not uncommon. According to the most recent data,
Obesity is the second leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Being overweight and obese has become more prevalent and increased during the last three decades in both adults and children. Currently, 25 million children in the United States are obese or overweight (Babey, Wolstein, Diamant, Bloom, and Goldstein, 2011). The rise in childhood obesity and related health diseases are indicators of a decrease in life expectancy and increased individual and societal costs (Olshansky et al., 2005).
Over the past decades, many parents did not have to get a child to move around. The children would regularly play all day long without being asked; however, nowadays the young children aren 't playing enough themselves and the children need their peers to tell them to go play outside. The peers would need need to promote the children with resources to keep them moving. As a matter of fact, the lack of exercise is a major problem, and it is increasing each year; especially, the rate of disease that were found in young adults can now be found in young children because of lack of exercise. Therefore, as the director of this facility in for future reference, the research I 'm focusing is base on the children 's improving in physical health to prevent any disease in the future or at least to minimize the situation problem of obesity that is occurring right now in the 21st century. In addition, play is an important product for young children which can also help them have opportunities to enrich in their learning and be active youngsters. It is a new exploration where children can be active during play time, which play can help having bad health problems in the future. It is letting the children to gain weight and determining their health issues to worsen than making it better for them. For instance, the Scientist are now finding out new health problems that isn 't noticeable until adulthood just like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer and
According to the Obesity Action Coalition, childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than thirty percent of American children are obese which makes this the most common chronic disease in children. A child is defined as obese by body mass index-for-age. If a child’s BMI-for-age is greater than eighty five percent and lower than ninety five percent that child is considered overweight. Children with a BMI-for-age over ninety five percent are considered obese. Children are becoming overweight and obese at an alarming trend. Many of the health problems adults with obesity face are becoming more predominant in children (obesityaction.org). Many kids are spending less time exercising
I have decided to research Childhood Obesity. I chose to research this topic because I am currently working with families that are not aware of the types of food that promote good health for their kids and the statistics of “Childhood Obesity”. I plan to effectively limit the topic to just stating the main causes of obesity in America, statistics and the History of “Childhood Obesity”. During my research, the claim I plan to argue will be “Confronting America’s Childhood Obesity Epidemic”, and “How the Health Care Reform Law Will Help Prevent and Reduce Obesity”. In this paper I will present the truth and facts about “Childhood Obesity.” While studying here at Ashford University over the past weeks, I have learned how to properly research information pertaining to my topic. Over the years obesity has become an Epidemic and my research will touch on the areas that statistics show that are the major causes for obesity. The USA is the leading country with obesity? After my research I will have a better understanding and more knowledge in many ways and from different viewpoints about this Epidemic. The Internet has a lot of knowledge about the history of obesity, the causes of obesity and the proper steps to take to prevent this sickness that has become an epidemic from getting out of control.
Juanita was born at an average weight of six pounds, but now at 10-months-old she weights a whopping 44 pounds. Juanita has gained over seven times her original weight and is at the weight of an average five year old. Doctors say by age two or three Juanita could develop type two diabetes (She Was Just Ten Months). Unfortunately, this is not a rare for many children all over the world; many children suffer from the exact same situation Juanita has been put into. Childhood obesity has become an epidemic that must be of upmost importance to every adult figure in a child’s life. Childhood obesity starts in the home and must be prevented by teaching children to make healthy choices at a young age, assuming more active
One of the most recent epidemics known in the United States is obesity. America is considered worldwide to be the most obese nation (Top 10). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past thirty years (Childhood Obesity). Obesity in children and young teenagers is due to the amount of fast food advertisements that the children see every day that causes them want to eat fast food. Children nowadays between ages 8 to 18 “consume multiple types of media” and “spend more time in front of a computer, television, and game screens” more than any other activity expect sleeping (Fast Food Advertising). “Studies show that advertising does help push children and adolescents toward unhealthy behaviors” which include fast food advertisements (Klass).
Childhood obesity is a growing problem that needs to be resolved. Many people may say it is the Child’s fault, he is weak willed. This is just a common misconception; there are hundreds of different reasons for childhood obesity. I will just be scratching the surface of this paper. By the same token childhood obesity is a growing problem that needs to be resolved. We can achieve this by understanding some common misconceptions, understanding health problems, and understanding fitness.
Anyone can be obese at any age. Obesity is defined as having an excess of body fat. According to Huang and Horlick (2007), “Childhood obesity continues to rise in the United States, with now over 17% of children and adolescents considered overweight.” There are many factors that are associated with obesity including lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, genetic factors, and environment all play a role. Hormone is another factor that is considered to be rare. A study by the Institute of the Medicine (2001) shows that weight problems in families are a result of shared family life style habits.
Childhood obesity continues to be a serious health concern. It can be attributed to many factors such as family lifestyle, income or socioeconomic background, and culture. According to the CDC (2015), “the percentage of children aged 6-11 in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period”. Obesity is a threat to future generations of the United States citizens with one-third of children in the United States is affected from obesity. Now an epidemic, childhood obesity is stealing the health, happiness, and future of the next generation and needs an organized game plan for