Childhood Obesity In Children

Childhood obesity in America is a growing disease that has become an epidemic problem that has lasting psychological effects, because of advertisement of fast food, lack of physical activities, and parental control; which has made food become a major health issue in many young teenager's lives today. Childhood obesity is something that most kids inherit from his or her own parent. When it comes to child obesity, there is a great deal of understanding of the causes and consequences of this kind of problem. There are important necessary steps to take in order to take preventative action.

The rates of childhood obesity Worldwide are alarmingly high! Obesity is a global nutritional concern and leads to horrible consequences on our children and becomes a worldwide pandemic. Worldwide estimates of obesity are as high as 43 million, and rates continue to increase each year. In this study, people will find healthy tips to prevent childhood overweight or obesity to help children in our communities. Child’s obesity can make kids in our communities at high risk for diseases like heart problems, asthma, type 2 diabetes. Genetic, behavioral and environmental factors are a cause of obesity on children in the United States. Parents and

Fast food restaurants are proven to be the main cause in becoming overweight. Due to the costs of healthy foods the low-income families have to buy what is convenient and cheap. The food that is consumed by a inactive child turns into fatty tissue. Once a child does consume things that are healthy such as, fruits and vegetables, they take the shape of the fatty food consumed before the healthy foods. Public schools only give children a ½ cup of fruits and ¼ cup of vegetables a day at lunch. On average, the American child that eat fast food 1 of 3 days gain 6 extra pounds a year says, Claudia Wallis. The amounts of fast food or unhealthy food is affecting the amount of healthy foods being consumed. The healthy foods just turn into the fatty foods since a child consumed so much fatty foods. From eating all of these bad foods that make you become overweight, there are many effects from

Last, psychological factors such as stress, anxiety or boredom can make a child eat more to face the problem and then getting fat.

Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern for Americans; it is a very serious health concern. It doesn’t just impact the way Americans look, this serious condition can change the course of our lives, and not for the better (American Heart Association, 2005). Childhood obesity is a national epidemic that is affecting our children and adolescents of America at high and alarming rates. It occurs when children are exceeding the normal weight for his or her age and height. Up to one out of every five children in the U.S. is overweight or obese, and one and three are obese, and this number has continually to rise (Benaroch, 2012) for over 30 years. Since 1963, kids and teens overweight issues and medical conditions are increasing at an alarming rate and unfortunately some of the same overweight and obese kids / teens become overweight / obese adults with serious health issues. Overweight kids have a 70–80 percent chance of staying overweight (American Heart Association, 2005). The most common causes for children being overweight and obese is genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of all these factors.

Obesity is an epidemic that affects millions of People around the world and it continues to rise. A particular concern is the rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States and it has become a national epidemic. Obesity is a threat to the health of many children as it has doubled in children and has quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. According to survey on childhood obesity, 2014, “an estimated 80% of obese adolescents continue to be obese into adulthood, so the implication of childhood obesity on the nation’s health are very huge”.

Common causes of Obesity are over eating, not keeping physically active, genetics, and low income to support a family. Some people are very unfortunate and their genetics are what cause this problem. "Five to 7 percent of obesity cases

Behavioral factors of childhood obesity are food consumption and physical activity. Children consume more food and beverages that are unhealthy on a more consistent basis. Often children’s environments in their homes, child care center, school, or community are influenced by high calorie sugar-saturated drinks, such as soda and unhealthy foods. Larger food portions of with increased fatty and sugar content is the new reality for American children. Studies completed on children who have consistent intake of food and

Despite recent declines in the prevalence among preschool-aged children, obesity among children is still too high. For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years, the prevalence of obesity has remained fairly stable at about 17% and affects about 12.7 million children and adolescents for the past decade (CDC). Childhood obesity does not only affect children, but also has many long term health effects on our children as they get older, including, an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in both childhood and adulthood. (2). Researchers estimate that if obesity trends continue, obesity related medical costs, alone, could rise by $43 to $66 billion each year in the United States by 2030. (1) A major factor in childhood obesity is the inadequate amount of physical activity children are getting, as well as the school lunches that are being provided to the kids. The accessibility of competitive foods which includes things like vending machines, student stores and items a la carte in schools has been linked with negative dietary behaviors, including higher saturated fat intake, higher sweetened beverage intake, and less fruit and vegetable intake,(3) thus resulting in obesity among our children and adolescents. Research suggests that by making sure children are getting healthy school meals and getting enough physical activity in their day it will decrease their chances of having childhood obesity (3). The purpose of this review was to determine the role, school lunches and physical

Up until the late 1990s, seeing an obese child was extremely abnormal because children’s main form of entertainment was playing outside. The rate of childhood obesity drastically increased due to the fact that children’s main form of entertainment has shifted from outdoor activities, to vast outlets of easily accessible technology. Children are also being served a variety of unhealthy meals from fast food restaurants, such as McDonald’s or Taco Bell. Unfortunately, most parents do not know the underlying truth about what they are feeding their children and often choose the cheapest route for feeding their families. Research indicates that the corpulence of today’s youth is becoming severely problematic, and drastic steps are being taken to solve the obesity concern in adolescents.

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in our nation. Currently, more than one in six American children is obese, which is three times the rate as that of the 1970s [1]. Obesity contributes significantly to cardiovascular disease, different types of cancers, as well as diabetes. About 70% of obese children/adolescents have at least one risk factor for heart disease, such as hyperlipidemia and hypertension, and almost 40% of obese youths have at least two additional risk factors. Increase in rates of childhood obesity is also associated with higher rates of type 2 diabetes; as youth now make up almost half of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in certain communities. The increasing trends of childhood obesity as well as obesity-related comorbidities may seriously undermine the future health of the nation’s population while increasing healthcare costs exponentially.

Fact: Many American children are or are becoming obese in the past thirty years. About fifteen percent of the U.S. children from 2 to 19 years old are considered as obese, and many more children are in a risk of becoming obese. The genetic reason causes childhood obesity in some cases, but many has become obese due to a lack of proper nutrition education and physical exercises. Childhood obesity may affect children in their adulthood. Obesity cause many diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, and lung problems. It also can be a risk of psychological damage (Brazelton, ix-x). If children aren’t educated about the food, they are more likely to be careless about food and become unhealthy physically and psychologically.

Obesity at any age is caused by poor diet and lifestyle choices. Childhood obesity is a special situation because the child is not often directly responsible for their own diet. Most children’s diets are dictated by what parents and school provide (“Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity”). Therefore, the true roots of the childhood obesity problem lie in poor education for parents and unhealthy food choices in school cafeterias.

Certain consumer behaviors adopted by children affect their mental and physical health. Studies have shown that there is a link between what children see in advertisements and the lifestyle choices they make. Studies also showed that children who viewed advertisements showing healthy eating were more likely to engage in healthy eating habits (Carter and Maria). There are large amounts of advertisements for foods and drinks high in fat and sugar. Many studies show that there is a link between childhood obesity and advertising. There has been a rise in childhood obesity in the past few years and many believe, and have evidence to support, that it is partly because of unregulated advertisements aimed towards children. The health of a child is very important childhood obesity is something to be concerned about. The definition of childhood obesity is: having a body mass index above the normal range for age and sex in children. The definition of childhood obesity may not sound very frightening, but childhood obesity has many detrimental effects and associated diseases and disorders that extend into adulthood (Dill and Moglia). Some of these include: metabolic syndrome, high insulin levels, high blood pressure, abnormal lipid levels, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Other than physical syndromes, childhood obesity also affects children mentally. Children with childhood obesity often have poor body image, low self-esteem, social isolation, recurrent anger, clinical

First and foremost, the most common causes of childhood obesity are genetic factors, overeating, and not exercising enough. Although obesity may run in a family, it does not determine whether a child will be obese or not (“Obesity in Children”). If a child who comes from a family of obesity, happens to become overweight like them, the likely cause is due to bad eating and activity habits. Many children today spend more time inside the house eating and watching television, rather than being active outdoors (“Obesity in Children”). This is due to the recent popularity of having electronics such as television, games, and phones serve as entertainment. Another reason for the excessive eating is because parents are often too busy to cook healthy foods on a regular basis, leaving children to rely on fast food or