Childhood Obesity Policy Paper

Childhood obesity has reared itself as a hot-button issue in the United States – perhaps among them most salient public health challenges of our generation. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years (CDC), and in only rare exceptions does the evidence point to any foreseeable decline in such an aggressive trend. In terms of policy perspective, childhood obesity features three important characteristics of worthwhile analysis – market failure, government failure, and tangible cost-benefit calculations for various alternatives of addressing the problem. Market failures abound in public health and specifically childhood obesity, first and foremost with the

The new generation continues to increasingly fall under obesity’s evil spell. Although many Americans recognize that their children are obese, they fail to accept that this is an epidemic that should be controlled and given dramatic attention to. Research suggests that childhood obesity in the United States has doubled in the past decade. Despite the fact that we have necessary resources to control these statistics, Americans continue to expose their youngsters to unhealthy and fattening meals. It is no joke that America is the fattest nation in the world. Thus, preventing this serious issue should be perceived as a life-or-death situation where if we fail to control it, many more overweight children will grow up to be obese adults in the future.

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the last three decades, and conditions in many communities continue to act as barriers to healthy eating and adequate physical activity. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that has adverse and potentially long-lasting consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Perhaps most shocking, life expectancy for today’s children may be shortened in the United States because of the impact of childhood obesity (Olshansky and Ludwig, 2005).

“Childhood obesity is an condition in which a child is significantly overweight for her or his age and height.” (Mayo Clinic) With childhood obesity rates on the rise, concern among Americans is also heightening, and rightfully so. Due to this concern, many are asking, should the government be stepping in more with childhood obesity cases? Should more regulations and laws be passed to prevent childhood obesity in our children? What can our government do to help with this devastating epidemic? The government should enact higher regulations, education, and activity levels in adolescents to prevent the rise of childhood obesity rates.

Childhood obesity is becoming one of the top public health concerns in the United States. “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S., and today, the country has some of the highest obesity rates in the world: one out of six children is obese, and one out of three children is overweight or obese” (World Health Organization, 2015). With the drastic increase in obese children over the last 30 years and the huge healthcare associated costs many programs and incentives have been implemented to fight this epidemic. Although any child can become obese “racial and ethnic inequities persist among children; 22.5 percent of Latino children and 20.2 percent of Black children are obese, compared to 14.1 percent of

This is a factor that many people overlook. Previous research has shown that, “the estimated annual cost of treating obesity-related illness in adults reached $147 billion in 2009.” (“National League of Cities Institute”) With the rate of childhood obesity growing, this number could become catastrophic. In fact obesity related illnesses cover a whopping, “21% of annual medical spending in the United States.” This amount of money can play a major role in our nation’s depth. Obesity is not only affecting the health of America’s individuals, but it is also affecting our nation as a whole. The government's job is to contribute to economic development and to the health and safety of people by maintaining and improving the state of the

This is no time to play the blame game on who’s responsibility, or right it is. The fact of the matter is we are all involved and we all need to do our part. Although much can be done by educating parents and individuals on the cause and effect of obesity, there are many issues that need a bigger brother to step in for bigger changes to be made. This is where the U.S. Government is able to do their part. Due to the alarming rise in obesity rates, along with the issues concerned individuals face in trying to make necessary changes on their own, the U.S. Government should be involved in the fight against childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic and continues to be the focus at the national level (Washington, Reifsnider, Bishop, Ethington, & Ruffin, 2010). Furthermore, many comorbidities and health issues, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and depression are associated with this disease. Hence, combating childhood obesity would involve a collaborative multidisciplinary team consisting of family members, the client, health care providers, and policymakers. Therefore, radical changes need to be implemented into law to combat this issue. As a health care provider, this writer has seen the devastation that childhood obesity has not only on the child, but the family as well and wishes to propose a

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic of national importance. Study after study has shown us alarming evidence about the health risks facing America’s children. This problem cannot be solved without considerable action. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is a piece of legislation, signed by President Barack Obama, which aims to combat the overwhelming epidemic that is concerning the entire nation. Many conservatives oppose this act and would like to repeal the legislation, claiming that it is not the proper way to go about managing the problem at hand. However, in this essay I will argue that we should keep the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act while reauthorizing the childhood nutrition programs and free lunch programs supported by this

The current epidemic of childhood obesity needs to be addressed by applying policy alternatives. The Act of 2010, Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids continue to administer subsidized and provide free meals to qualified children. Secondly, authorize all the Public

Childhood obesity has expanded tremendously within the past thirty years (CDC, 2015). It is not only a state, but also a nationwide issue. For many children, they depend on their school lunches to provide them the nutritious meals they cannot afford to have at home. As a community, we need to get our children into better shape. Not only will they become more astute, but they will also live healthier lifestyles, and have less health complications as they age. When you are overweight or obese, you are much more likely to develop health problems like heart disease, diabetes, or even a stroke. It is our responsibility as a community, state, and nation to offer nutritious meals and activities for our youth and future.

The rate of childhood obesity has grown an enormous amount over the years with more than 40 million children being overweight! That number is astonishingly high and it is very obvious that something needs to be done about this. Studies had shown in 2008 that more than 40 million children were said to be overweight and the sad truth is that they are still increasing rapidly to this day; also every 1 in 4 teenagers is said to not reach the fitness guidelines (Tanner) according to an article by Lindsey Tanner. For this problem to be resolved not only do the parents of children need to make sure their kids are staying active but also, the schools they attend need to make sure they are getting a well-balanced meal and have some type of physical activity during their school day. Each state in America is given a percentage rate on the number of obese people in that particular state. The highest ranking state is Mississippi with a percentage of 34.9 and the state ranking the least is Connecticut with 24.5 percent. Different researches have shown that each day 850 lives are taken due to obesity and each year there are more than 300,000 people that die from obesity related illnesses. These are deaths that most likely could have been avoided if these individuals would have had the proper exercise and diet in their lives.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Currently, policies in place to address the epidemic of obesity are mostly designed for prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009) reports the adoption of “24 environmental and policy level strategies to prevent obesity” as part of the Measures Project evaluation to determine what tools are effective for meeting a standard required to prevent obesity. However, the parent and child should be the primary stakeholders regarding an obesity intervention with an education that includes the environment and others.

There is a giant threat looming over the United States, a catastrophic event of epidemic proportions which is threatening to capsize the health care system and that epidemic is childhood obesity. The awareness of this epidemic as a national problem developed in 1999 with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) publication of a compilation of yearly state-based maps that indicated the increase in the levels of childhood obesity. There were earlier studies done by the CDC regarding this epidemic, but the maps gave physical proof of the dramatic increase for this pressing issue (Dietz, 2015).

Each individual brings their own set of strength and resources to the committee. In order to decrease the obesity level of children, all of the skill and resources need to be evaluated in order to ensure that the policy moves forward in its development. These resources may include review of previous studies, collection and interpretation of childhood obesity rates.