Childhood Obesity : Nutrition And Weight Status

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 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.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in U.S. In the year of 2012, about “one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.” Also, percentages of childhood obesity have increased by over ten percent in the last thirty years in children and adolescents (Childhood Obesity Facts 2015). These statistics are shocking, and many people are concerned for the health of their children. This medical condition, as defined by Mayo Clinic, leads to serious health conditions in the future in the children’s adult lives, which can only be treated with pricey medication, treatments, and surgeries (Mayo Clinic Staff 2015); some can also lead to a very short life, ending their lives in between the ages 40 and 60. Due to many studies and research, 1childhood obesity can be easy prevented early on from infancy by analyzing the causes, studying the effects and finding the solutions to the problem.

In the United States, childhood obesity is an epidemic and in the past 30 years, childhood obesity have had nearly tripled. There are 31 % of American children and adolescents are either overweight or obese. And according to the numbers, more than 23 million of American children are either overweight or obese and more than 12 million are obese (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013).

Many studies have shown the increasing trend in early childhood obesity over the past few decades. But in recent years that trend has begun to level out and even decrease in some cases. In this paper, these trends will discussed along with the health implications that follow childhood obesity, how big of a problem it has become, as well as how to fix the problem and what we can do in the future to prevent this problem.

Childhood obesity is one of the major health challenges of the 21st century. (World Health Organization, 2016). In the last 30 years, obesity has more than doubled in children. Overweight and obesity are the result of caloric imbalance and can cause physical and psychological problems in children. A global shift in dietary habits and lack of physical activity play a crucial role in childhood obesity. Healthy lifestyle habits, such as healthy eating and physical activity can reduce the risk of becoming obese. School plays an important role in establishing a safe and supportive environment with policies and practices that support healthy behaviors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). The fifty state legislation on childhood obesity policy was enacted in 2013. Many states including, Texas has enacted some type of school nutrition legislation but not on physical education (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013). Therefore, the author decided to contact a policymaker, a local school board member of Plano, Texas to implement the existing policies of school nutrition and physical activity.

The healthy communities program (HCP) was designed to help people make healthier choices and to avoid chronic diseases and diminish health gaps. This program works at a national, territory, state, and local level to work with leaders and shareholders in the community to promote healthy living. The main factors of this program is to increase physical activity, decrease unhealthy eating and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke to cut down on the number of adults with chronic diseases such as: heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, obesity and arthritis (“Division of Community,” 2014). There are over three hundred community health departments and over fifty state and territorial health departments that are financed by the CDC through the healthy communities program.

If you have been anywhere near a TV screen or any other form of media outlet, lets say in the past ten years, you are probably aware of the word obesity. Probably not only just aware but have come to understand that as a nation we have been battling our own obesity epidemic on a super sized scale. We are continuously reminded of the physical consequences of obesity but not much coverage has raised awareness to the psychological outcomes. It has always been declared that the future of our nation lies in the hands of its children. They are the dreamers and the doers. The future depends greatly on the ideals and habits of its youth. So it is only logical that we continuously ensure both the health and strength of our youth. But with childhood obesity invading both mind and body of our children it is time we truly understand all aspects of this childhood obesity issue. As a nation if we begin to examine all influences and outcomes of childhood obesity, we will be able to more effectively fight it. Childhood obesity is not merely over eating. Childhood obesity is a result of a child’s surrounding environment and the influence of its society that hinders more than a child’s physical appearance. Childhood obesity in observance evidently leads to a lower quality of living and a long list of mental obstacles, obesity is caused not by an increased intake of calories but by the stress and quality of living a child has experienced.

Childhood obesity has multiplied exponentially in the past two or three decades. More than one third of children and young adults were classified as obese or overweight in 2012. Childhood obesity has become an epidemic all over the world but especially in the United States. Health is the most important part of a person’s life and it is unaccepta-ble for multitudes of people to be at a disadvantage when it comes to health at such an early and tender age. There are some trends of society that can be seen as apparent rea-sons for this increase in childhood obesity such as the rise of a more sedentary lifestyle and the growing access to unhealthy food. However, children and parents are not solely to blame, rather, society as a whole may be

Childhood obesity has gained a lot of attention in the last 15 years. Obesity is also so much more than just being fat; it is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescent. Before they reach the age of five, 40 million of the world's children will become obese. According to Primary Health Care, “one in three children is overweight, very overweight or obese” (Bishop 12). Childhood obesity is a well known health issue in society today. Some may think of it as a disease such as cancer, but others disagree with this. According to a Health Progress, “Obese youth also are more likely to have pre-diabetes, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea and behavioral and psychological problems” (Donahue 80). The progression of childhood obesity

Childhood obesity in America is at the height of its peak. Actions should be taken to ensure that kids maintain a healthy weight to prevent them from developing health problems in the future. If a solution is not set into place, then this problem will only get worse and worse each and every year. The first solution I will suggest is that we bring back physical education within schools. The second solution I propose is that we regulate fast-food commercials on any form of media that children are able to see. The first solution that I introduced, which is bringing back physical education within the school system is better the better of the two options, because of the cost to implement it, the number of children served, and the effectiveness of this particular solution.

Research Questions/Hypotheses: Childhood obesity has become a large dilemma all over the U.S and continues to raise each year. This article talks about the research done in Preventing childhood obesity and what works. Focusing on primary prevention of childhood obesity and they chose three parts to aim at. The authors Birch and Ventura suggest that prevention and treatment programs need to be reverse also that although schools create a foundation of health education setting used to increase awareness on childhood obesity, they have had little success. The ones inside of the school systems. With the information that they found, they have discovered a possible solution. By using where the children live as possible settings for intervention efforts,

Childhood Obesity is usually measure by a child’s body mass index. This tells where a child lands on the health scale. At the same time, a child’s body mass index doesn’t give the final and complete picture about that child. In order to create an effective action plan to combat this public health issue, it is imperative that it is understood that children are very unique. Children are a lot like snowflakes; each one has different and unique characteristics to them. How a child grows is usually different from the next child’s growth pattern. Children have different amounts of muscle and how their body is built or their frame varies, because of this children have varying contributing risk factors (Sprouse, n.d.). These are all factors that

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.

Obesity has been a growing cause in the world for centuries. Most cases of obesity are caused by overeating and not getting enough physical activity. If you consume high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars, but does not burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat. Which therefore causes you to gain an abundance about of weight and soon become overweight, obese, or even morbidly obese. Preventing obesity is not as hard as it may seem. A person has to do basic exercise daily, eat a lot more nutritious foods and cut down consumption of fatty and very sugary based foods. Obesity can happen to generally everyone, including: Children, adults, and even animals,