Childhood Obesity Epidemic Children

In Laura Dawes book, Childhood Obesity in America: Biography of an Epidemic specifically the chapter titled, “Fat Kids Go to Court,” the author examines various aspects of the food industries role in the childhood obesity epidemic. Dawes explores specific actions taken by children’s advocacy groups as well as junk food companies response to the groups attacks on their industry. The author also highlights the role future litigation could take in changing the advertising tactics as well as possible food reformulation by food industry powerhouses.

This article “Parents’ Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic” written by Jan Hoffman talks about how parents are ignoring their children’s increasing weight gain and shrugging it off, saying things such as “my kid will grow out of it.” And I agree completely with this article, whether kids are healthy or not depends on who is managing their diet and exercise, so if a teenager is overweight, then their parents must have fed them a lot of bad foods when they were younger and the weight increased over time.

For many children and adults, those insults that make life uncomfortable cause them to be sad, lonely, and nervous and in some cases lead to suicidal thoughts and attempts. In the case of children, Seeman and Luciani (2011) explain that “obese children, especially boys, are likely to be victims of bullying. Overweight children report significantly more verbal and physical bullying then their thinner classmates” (Pg.13). These risks are very well known in today’s society. However, an obese individual may not develop all the illnesses and disabilities that come along with being obese in his or her lifetime. It is likely they will have one out of the nine listed above. Even though they may not develop all the illnesses and disabilities, obese individuals should still look into how to lose their weight so they are able to live an enjoyable, long, and healthy

Childhood obesity is a major public health epidemic which has significantly risen over the past three decades and there is no chance in sight of slowing it down unless real action is taken. This major health crisis continues to reduce individuals’ quality of life and has caused severe health problem like heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. In most cases, obese children grow up to be an obese adult. The prevalence of childhood obesity can be addressed through education initiatives such as school prevention programs because children spent a majority of their time outside of the home at school, therefore school provides a great opportunity to educate and improve a child’s health at an ideal point before the problem gets worst. My paper will focus on childhood obesity prevention in Hill Top Middle school Lodi, New Jersey.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the US that, if left unchecked, will lead to a generation of adults who suffer from a multitude of problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes to name a few. Combatting childhood obesity is the first step to ensuring a healthier generation. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2011-2014, the obesity rate for children aged 2-19 years old was 17%, affecting approximately 12.7 million children and adolescents. Additionally, obesity disproportionally affects children in low-income families (CDC, 2017). The ultimate goal here at Project Hope, is to combat childhood obesity across the US, through education and health initiatives that will

Childhood obesity is not just an issue in United States- it is an growing epidemic. Obesity epidemic in kids has increased by alarming rate just in last few decades. Nearly one in every five child is obese in the United States. If the pattern of obesity continued on most of America’s children will be living with diabetes, heart disease, and dying young due to obesity. The American Heart Association reported this year that childhood obesity is the top health concern among parents in the United States, beating out smoking and drug abuse. My own younger siblings suffer with child obesity. Their craving for fast food and very limited physical activity has made them overweight and currently they suffer from health problems. Is this the future of our young generation? How much contribution should a parent have in their child’s diet? Fast food has taken over American diet and it has lead to poor nutritional diet among American youth. Fast food companies spend billion of dollars every year on commercials, convincing youth to love and eat their product. It’s just not our eating habits that has lead our young generation into obesity, lack of physical workout has also played a major role in obesity epidemic. TV, computer, video games and other technology entertainment has contributed to children getting no exercise. Obesity in children can put them in high risks of developing chronic and serious illness. Unhealthy weight leads to having weaker lungs, poor blood quality, heart

Under this criteria,33% of children account for the 85th percentile and above. 1 out of every 3 children is considered overweight.

This increased prevalence of childhood obesity has correlated with a rise in serious health concerns, once only seen in adults including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and asthma (Freedman, Srinivansan, Berenson, Dietz, 2007; Whitloc, Williams, Gold, Smith, Shipman, 2005; Han, Lawlor, Kimm, 2010). Additionally children who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for being bullied, experiencing psychological distress, mental disorders such as depression and anxiety and low self -esteem (Halfon, Larson, Slusser, 2013). Furthermore, obesity in childhood is a strong predictor of adulthood obesity and therefore a precursor to more serious health consequence throughout the lifespan (Halfon et. al, 2013).

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than one third of children are overweight. This figure is increasing rapidly. This epidemic puts children at risk for various health problems such as type two diabetes and heart problems. Although they are several risk factors for obesity, parents play a significant role in this issue. This paper will look into how parents are influential to their children, how they contribute to this problem and how they may help fight the fight against obesity. Obesity is a very serious problem and there are solutions that parents can apply to help their children lead a healthy lifestyle. Obesity does not only affect a person physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.

The nation has developed a cheap food model. The kind of food Americans eat is the kind that is most profitable, commercial. This source of nutrition has caused over eighteen percent of children in the nation to become obese or overweight. If the obesity epidemic is not taken seriously the nation will have to pay the price. Not only adults but future generations are at a higher risk of developing severe heart conditions earlier than past generations. If improvements are not made, our children will die younger than us.

Per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in three children age two to nineteen in America are obese or overweight, putting them at risk for serious comorbidities. Like many illnesses, obesity reduces the life expectancy and quality of life of those affected. The impact of obesity on children and adolescents’ physical, social and emotion wellbeing can be extremely devastating. The body mass index which most obese children suffer from limit their ability of be mobile. In addition to this, they may endure a change in their academic performance due to their health status. Obese children are less likely to perform to their full potential in school (Wang and Veugelers, 2013). On an emotional level, many obese children and adolescents suffer from low-self-esteem. These self-confidence issues may arise as they start feeling self-conscious about their weight. Unfortunately, at this age, kids tend to highly value their peers’ opinions. This can be negative or positive depending on the individual, but it is most likely going to be negative for obese children. Their peers’ opinions can impact the way they view themselves. Bullying can become a problem, as they constantly worry about their peers teasing them about their weight. It is not easy building self-confidence when one’s self-image is constantly are belittled and scrutinized. Per Wang and Veugelers (2013), a study shows that children’s self-esteem and academic performance decrease due to obesity. Adolescence is a phase in which a person builds and develops not only self-confidence, but his or her personality. Due to this fact, it is extremely important for them to have a strong self-esteem and personality as they grow Moreover, it is essential for policymakers to focus on creating programs to reduce obesity among children because it is the easiest, and best way to lower the national obesity rate. Children are constantly growing in

Childhood obesity is a national epidemic. Nearly 1 in 3 children (ages 2-19) in the United States is overweight or obese, putting them at risk for serious health problems. Studies show that overweight kids are likely to become overweight and obese adults. This is a significant issue in the U.S. and needs to be monitored closely. Some parents are in denial that their children are obese and do not do anything to help or prevent it. When obesity is a problem at a young age it is very easy to have, it become a habit all throughout their life.

In America, most of the people tend to drive to places, so people don’t get exercise on daily. Sometimes, children can’t exercise or do sports because lack of open spaces, and parents will refuse children to go for a walk in an unsafe community. Children generally like to eat food that contain high calories, fat, and sugar. Physical activity can help children to lose weight, it burns the extra calories and decrease total body fat. Children who prefer indoor activities, for examples, playing video games or watching television are always neglect doing exercise. Overweight and children with obesity are especially targeted by bully in school. They have higher chance to develop depression, low self-esteem, and insecurity. (Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences, 2016). Over 24% of overweight boys have experienced bullying, teasing or rejection and almost 30% of overweight girls also experienced the same treatment because of their physical appearance according to a survey of six graders that are overweight (Stevelos, n.d.). Being bully can affect children’s performance in school or social events, in the worst-case scenario, children may not want to attend school or go out attend events which can worsen children’s social skills. Many people may not know, there are many complications result from obesity. Obesity can raise blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels which increase the risk of heart disease. Hypertension is also result from obesity and lead to stroke (Obesity Information, 2018). In long term, obesity children have better chance of developing adult obesity, which is associated with serious health conditions, such as type 2

Have we all question ourselves what is childhood obesity? Well today about one in three children in America are overweight or obese, which has tripled since 1963. The American Heart Association, comments that among the children today, obesity has been causing a reach of health problem that was only seen in adulthood. Obesity not only affects children appearance or the fit of their clothing. The people that are obese most likely will have health problems such as joint problem, sleep apnea, and asthma attack, liver failure, kidney problems. What would be the best way to prevent obesity. We all know the obesity is and will always be a chronic disease that will be affecting more children, and teenagers and adults. The rates of obesity in children in the United States have doubled since 1980, yet it has tripled for teenagers. Children between the ages of six to nineteen are considered overweight and the other percent of adults are overweight and or obese.

Psychological and social consequences of childhood obesity are more complex than the physical complications. School years encompass the critical developmental period of body image and self esteem. It is important to implement prevention programs into schools as individuals who are obese during childhood are more likely to have poor body image, low self esteem and confidence than those with adult onset obesity (Cole, Bellizzi, Flegal & Dietz 2000). Friffiths et al.(2006) study suggested that obese children were ranked by other children as least desirable friends, this is destructive as approval from peers is particularly important to the development of self-esteem. Exhibiting the potential value prevention programs can have on increasing self-esteem. A recent survey revealed that obese children rate their quality of life as low as those of young cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (Lüsted, 2008). The probability of being bullied is increased by 63 percent in conjunction with a negative self image social isolation occurs as obese children are more likely to have smaller or no social companions(Lee, 2009) highlighting the negative repercussion evident without programs aimed at the prevention of childhood obesity.According to the Commonwealth Department of