Childhood Obesity Essay

Childhood obesity is at an all-time high in the United States and should be a major concern for the nation. With childhood obesity steadily rising, it is imperative that actions be implemented to offset this trend. Childhood obesity places children at a significantly higher risk for a multitude of physical and psychological health concerns. It is important to understand the actions that have been set in motion that attempt to resolve this issue. Additionally, it should be determined if these actions are adequate or if further action need to be proposed.

Childhood obesity affects 12.5 million children and teens and this has continued to increase over the years because the heaviest are getting even heavier (“CDC Grand Rounds: Childhood Obesity in the United States.”). Obesity is a growing disease in the United States and it is only getting worse. Data has presented in a new study that 8 year old are having problems with their hearts, as obesity has taken over America. Of 20 obese children, 40% had enlarged hearts, therefore letting us know that the organ is strained. Children now are setting themselves up for longterm heart failure and disease and more and more children will undergo this problem if they do not make a change. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common, in the 1980’s, this was unheard

Childhood obesity it is a huge problem. Over the past years, the number of obesity in children has increased. The number of obese children in the U.S. has increased over the past years. The number has obviously also grown due to the video games, computers, and televisions, which are considered to be needed now-a-days, and have begun to take over the importance of exercising. The lack of exercise can lead to obesity, which approaches lots of negative effects. Obesity continuously puts these children at a very high risk of developing many serious illnesses like high blood pressure, asthma, and many more. Even though there are many things that get in the way that can make obesity hard to slow down or stop children from being obese, there are

Obesity is not a disease. It is a condition where our body stores excessive fat and affects our health or well-being. Childhood obesity is becoming a threat to society because of its prevalence. Obesity reduces life expectancy. Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States. The number of obese children has increased and doubled within two decades. (National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, 2+.) The childhood obesity epidemic requires more prevention focused on the first five years of a child’s life because it is the period where rapid growth and developmental changes occur.

The childhood obesity epidemic is the result of many factors.1 The childhood obesity is becoming a major concern in the United States because this leads to chronic disease conditions into adulthood.

Eagle, T. F., Sheetz, A., Gurm, R., Woodward, A. C., Kline-Rogers, E., Leibowitz, R., Durussel-Weston, J., ... Eagle, K. A. (January 01, 2012). Understanding childhood obesity in America: linkages between household income, community resources, and children's behaviors. American Heart Journal, 163, 5, 836-43.

The obesity rate have increased in the last past 30 years, and today, nearly one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. A clear picture of the epidemic can be seen in the hard numbers. I think urges people to avoid eating anything that they parent would not recognize as food. To begin with, we need a better understanding of the scope and nature of childhood obesity.We can't change our genes, but there is much work to be done to change our environment. Although not every obese child will have these health problems, doctors are seeing many of these problems in younger and younger children.

Today, we see more cases involving childhood obesity throughout the United States than ever before. In this generation, 17% of all children across the country are suffering from obesity. Many say that dietary influences such as school lunch options, food deserts, advertising of foods, portion sizes, unhealthy eating patterns, and a lack of exercise are the major causes of childhood obesity. Others believe that where, how, and what children eat does not factor into childhood obesity. Rather, genetic components are the main cause of weight gain in children. After considering both sides of the issue, I strongly believe dietary influences are the main cause of childhood obesity.

Some people do not understand the meaning of obesity. Most take it as a joke, or an excuse to tyrannize others. Childhood obesity is the condition of being overweight between the ages of 2 and 19 years old. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines it as “having an excess body weight for a particular height.” Although obesity is major crisis in most americans, it can be avoided.

Class 3 obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater

Forty years ago in America childhood obesity was rarely a topic of conversation. A survey done in the early 1970s showed that 6.1% of children between the ages 12 and 19 were overweight. Eight years later the same survey was done and 17.4% were considered overweight (Iannelli). “Childhood obesity epidemic in America is now a confirmed fact since the number of overweight or obese children has more than tripled during the last 30 years” (Childhood Obesity Epidemic). “Over the last 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in children aged 6 to 11 years has tripled from 6.5% to 19.6%” (Childhood Obesity Epidemic). As a nation statistics should be alarming. Why are American children today so obese?

In the United States, childhood obesity has become such a pervasive problem that it is now the number one concern for parents and doctors, even more than drug abuse and smoking. Obesity can lead to many health issues as any child transitions into adulthood; if any bad habits that may have led the child to become overweight persists, they are likely to have an unhealthy future.

Childhood obesity is an existing issue in the United States today. Childhood obesity if often correlated with disorders such as asthma, hypertension, and diabetes in children. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) explains “Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Body mass index, or BMI, is a widely used screening tool for measuring both overweight and obesity. If the child’s body mass index is over the 95th percentile they are considered overweight. There are several risk factors that contributes to childhood obesity, which are having parents who are obese, lack of physical activity

Childhood obesity is a major nutritional problem that occupies many countries around the world. This nutritional disease has concerned many scientists and parents since this increasing problem often begins in very young age and has various implications on the child life (Anderson, P., & Butcher, K. (2006)) . These consequences might even progress rapidly in adulthood(Guo et al,2000) .This essay will concentrate on the three main effects of child obesity such as: physical, psychological and social effects.It will briefly present and explain about each effect separately.

There was a time when chubby children were considered cute. It was assumed that their baby fat would melt away and a healthy adult would emerge. We now know that childhood obesity can be very harmful for our nations children. Not only can obesity cause health problems but also psychological problems. In observing the causes of childhood obesity, hopefully we can slow down the epidemic.