Childhood Obesity Is A Common Problem

Obesity is defined as an accumulation of excessive fat that impairs a person health or a body mass index (BMI) that greater than or equal 30 (WHO, 2012). Childhood obesity is a major public health epidemic in which the prevalence has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the United States over the past three decades with the highest prevalence in Blacks, Hispanics and Native American children and the number is

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the definition of childhood obesity is simply put as “as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex.” (CDC) Body mass index, aka, BMI

Obesity is when a person has excess body fat. It is calculated by dividing one’s weight by his or her height to get the body mass index (BMI=kg/m^2). This number is also used to screen for health problems that maybe be caused by certain weight categories. A BMI of 25-29.9 is considered to be overweight and over thirty is considered obese. A third of children are overweight (CDC, 2014). Obesity leads to significant physical and mental health consequences. Obese children are at risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, type two diabetes, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease and hypertension (CDC, 2014).

What does childhood obesity means? Obesity can be defined as a condition in which the body carries abnormal or unhealthy amounts of fat tissue, leading the individual to weigh in excess or 20 percent more than his or her ideal weight (Health & Illness).Obesity in America is an ever-growing problem and has boosted America to the number one spot in terms of obese population. It also stands as the most prevalent medical issue in American Children. In the past thirty years, obesity has affected many different age groups of kids. Preschool group, two to five years in age, and the youths between the ages of twelve and nineteen the obesity rate has more than doubled (Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts 2v007). Childhood obesity has more than tripled in kid’s ages six to eleven years old. Children can become obese due to many different things like parents or schools. Although obesity may linger for a lifetime, there are many ways to overcome childhood obesity and not have to deal with the weight issue. Childhood obesity causes many problems and concerns in many American families, but families need to work together to overcome obesity. One out of three children in the United States falls into the overweight or obese category (Ding). Children face many different problems and issues at a young age because of obesity. Children obesity causes type 2 diabetes, fatty liver because of excessive weight issues, social problems, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders (Ludwig). Childhood

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is defined as “having excess body fat.” A child who is diagnosed as obese has a Body Mass Index of at or above the 95th percentile. Obesity has become one of the largest growing epidemics in the United States. Childhood

Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. To be considered obese, you must have a BMI of 30 or higher. Your BMI, Body Mass Index, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. While obesity can affect all ages, sexes and ethnic groups, compared with whites, African-Americans have 51% higher and Hispanics have 21% higher obesity rates (CDC, 2010). Along with that, it has been found that women with higher education are less likely to be obese compared to those with less education (Rodrigo, 2013). Also, obesity is affecting younger ages each year; childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. It is said that one-in-three children are affected by excess body weight, which then carries into adulthood. According to the AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), if one parent is obese, there is a 50% chance their child will be obese and if both parents are obese their child has an 80% chance of being obese.

Before the causes, effects, and prevention of Childhood Obesity can be debated, there must be a clear difference made between overweight and obesity. Being overweight is the state of “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, and or water.” Being obese includes the definition of overweight, but it also includes “having excess body fat.” (“Facts”) In short, the state of being obese is worse than being in the state of overweight, and has more considerable causes and effects.

Definition of Childhood Obesity: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), a child with a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile and below the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex are considered overweight. If a child or teen has a BMI over the 95th percentile they are considered obese (CDC, 2015).

Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid. Paul Campos in his article “There is no Childhood Obesity Epidemic” discussed the there is a “stunning” drop in childhood obesity rate. He claims that obesity rates among two to five year olds have plunged over the past decade, and that the so called “obesity epidemic” had ended. I strongly disagree with Campos view that there is no childhood obesity epidemic, this is due to the researches that was done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which shows that childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescent in the past years.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping through America. The key to understanding the threshold for the term obesity is to know the clinical definition. Obesity and overweight are two terms that are intermittently misused. Overweight is clinically defined as the excess body fat one has in terms to their height, muscle, bone, or in a combination of all factors (Childhood Obesity Facts). Obesity is simply the concept of having excess body fat (Childhood Obesity Facts). Adult obesity is the cause of multiple disease that are difficult to treat and most are fatal. Childhood obesity should be seen just as fatal, if not more, than adult obesity due to the higher risk children have to contracting

To start of with what is Obesity? In the Merriam-Webster dictionary “obesity” is defined as “a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body.” In the article by Kathryn Faguy (2016) called “ Obesity in Children and Adolescents: Health Effects and Imagining Implications” it goes deeper in explaining how obesity is determine in youth. It explains that obesity for adolescents, and children are categorized by weight to determine and compares a child’s Body Mass Index known as “BMI” to other children who are the same age and sex. A child is considered to be “overweight” if the child’s BMI is in the range of the 85th and 94th

Childhood obesity has been a constant debate topic in the United States for several decades. Obesity is defined as a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent it may have an adverse effect on health and reduce life expectancy (WHO, 2011). About 1 in every 6 American children is considered overweight or obese. Under current obesity guidelines by using the body mass index measurement (BMI) for age percentile, a BMI of below 18.5 is considered underweight, normal weight (BMI of 18.5 to 24.9), overweight (BMI of 25.0 to 29.9) and obese is a BMI that is higher than 30 for children of the same age and sex. Some experts believe that parents should be held liable and prosecuted if their children become morbidly obese. Others argue that this is not the best action to take against parents because other factors affect childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity is a rather new reality in the United States due to intake of sugary snacks and beverages, childhood obesity is the result of a sustained energy imbalance. Most youth never eat the required daily servings of fruits and vegetables; its noted only one in five eat the required servings (21%) (Moore, Wilke, & Desrochers, 2017). The availability of sugary snacks and beverages in schools are what one would call “junk food”. According to a study conducted by Ashlesha Datar and Nancy Nicosia (2012) students could purchase more than one single food and beverage items either

States many facts that have occurred in our time related to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period. In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. The CDC defines being overweightas having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle,

The rising numbers of obese children has reached an alarming rate. With many Americans, “…‘obesity’…carries the connotation of being extremely overweight. [But] health professionals define overweight as an excess amount of body weight that includes muscle, bone, fat and water;