Childhood Obesity: The Need For a Healthy Lifestyle Essay

Sadly, childhood obesity has more damaging effects than just what is visible on the exterior. When children become overweight they put themselves at great risk for certain conditions that were once thought to be rare in children, these conditions include type 2 diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. Other conditions include orthopedic damage, like stress on the joints caused by excess weight and skin damage like heat rashes and monilial dermatitis. As well, children and adolescents who are obese put themselves at risk of becoming obese adults. Overweight adults are at an even greater risk to suffer from potentially life threatening conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and certain forms of cancer. Overweight adults are also at risk for type 2 diabetes.

Since 1980 the rates of child obesity have more than tripled which has caused a growing pandemic of childhood obesity in the United States. Out of all the young children and adolescents within the age group of two through nineteen about 12.7 million are obese. That is the equivalent of about 17% of America’s population that is suffering from childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is too prevalent in all American households. Childhood obesity is detrimental on a national scale, since it has been growing at a steady rate in the United States of children not reaching the daily-recommended physical activity, the absence of a balanced diet with overconsumption of eating, and more critically the increase of type 2 diabetes.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and other developed economies. Over the past 30 years, the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in the U.S. has increased at an alarming rate, from 5-7% to 18-20% by 2008 (CDC, 2012). In addition, a full one third of all children in the U.S. are now overweight.

In addition, Childhood Obesity has long-term effects, here are some. When a child is obese and has health problems at a young age there’s many possibilities he or she will grow up and be obese. When this happens they could suffer heart diseases, strokes, several types of cancer ( breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix and prostate) , and osteoarthritis. In a few words Childhood Obesity will lead to many other diseases within

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 America. Many experts like doctors and dietitians have narrowed the epidemic to a few causes some being lack of exercise, genetics, and food insecurity. Exercise and genetics could lead to obesity in the way that you need exercise to burn fat and some people are genetically more inclined to store more fat. Obesity is having excessive amount of fat that could lead to other health problem which is scary to think that childhood obesity is something that is on the rise in America. When you think of children you think of them being happy and healthy not being overweight and having health problems that most people get in their 50’s. I believe that food insecurity is the main cause for obesity and I will be arguing the stance that food insecurity is a leader in childhood obesity. Food insecurity is being without reliable access to obtain food that is high quality and nutritious. Some people may confuse food insecurity with hunger, but hungry is a physical discomfort. In discussion of food insecurity, one of the controversial issues has been if it is linked to childhood obesity. On the one hand, some Americans argue that food insecurity and childhood obesity have no association. On the other hand, some Americans argue that there is an association between food insecurity and childhood obesity. I personally believe that there is an association between food insecurity and childhood obesity.

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.

Childhood obesity rates in United States have skyrocketed thus making it a major public health concern. “There is a rapid climb in the prevalence of obesity in children in the United States over the last two decades such that in 2009-2010, 16.9% of US children and adolescents were obese”(Karnick, & Kanekar, 2014, p. 2). Today more than 23 million children and teens in US, nearly three in one young people are overweight or obese. Childhood obesity threatens the health of our young people now and their future potential. They are at high risk for serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and asthma. Also they miss more school and have more psychological stress and are more likely

One of the greatest health risks that children face today is not an atrocious disease like cancer nor is it learning or behavioral problems—it is obesity! The Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, health education and research, defines child hood obesity as “a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents, that occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height” (Mayo). The Mayo Clinic goes on to say that childhood obesity is particularly troubling because it starts kids off on an early path to health complications that they could encounter later in life (Mayo). The Centers for Decease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently started referring to obesity as an “epidemic” and new national statistics show that about 16.06% of American children, ages six years old to eleven years old, are considered to be overweigh (Childhood Obesity Facts). The California Department of Public Health Nutrition concluded that in California, 15.8% of children, ages six to eleven years old, are considered overweight (Obesity in California: The Weight of the State, 2000-2012). With these percentages in mind, Childhood Obesity must be viewed as an immediate serious concern that is impacting our children at the national, state, county, and local level.

Obesity is becoming an increasing problem with children in America. The obesity rate among children and adolescents have been greatly increasing in the last thirty years. “In 1976, about 7% of children and 5% of adolescents were obese, with a body mass index (BMI) in the 95th percentile; in 2000, over 15% of both groups had become obese.” Nearly one third of American children were obese by 2000.

The obesity epidemic remains a public health concern worldwide. Obesity rates remain high in the United States, where one third of adults are obese.1 According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the percent of children (ages 2-19 years) who are obese rose from 14.5% in 1999 to 17.3% in 2012.1 A recent study based on the 2012-2013 NHANES suggests a stabilization in obesity rates since 2003-2004, with a significant decrease among 2-5 year olds but no significant changes observed in other age groups.2

One of the serious public health issues in the United State is obesity in children.”Obesity a condition with an excess accumulation and storage of fat content in the body is also defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex. (CDC, 2014). The rationale to choose this specific population is that obesity increases the risk for any serious physical complication in children such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep disorders, breathing problems, hepatic

Childhood obesity is characterized by excess body fat, while overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height and age, which ultimately carries significant health issues for the future. A high amount of body fat can lead to many health issues, both immediate and long-term health effects. Immediate side effects include an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease, like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, prediabetes, and increased risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and psychological issues (CDC, 2016). Long-term effects include:

Obesity rates in the United States are alarming, with more than one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children qualifying as obese with a Body Mass Index greater than 30.0 (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015). Even more frightening is the growth rate of this crippling health epidemic; between 1980 and 2014, obesity has doubled for adults and tripled for children (CDC, 2015). The physical consequences of rising obesity rates in our country include an abundance of physical ailments including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, elevated cholesterol, and even some cancers. Additionally, obesity-related health care costs to our country are estimated at $147 billion annually, plus the costs of productivity lost at

A very good indicator for the health of the nation is the national epidemic of childhood and adolescent obesity, currently a target objective for Healthy people 2010 (DHHS). The Surgeon General reports there are 12.5 million children between toddlers and school age who are obese, a prevalence of 17%, while children at risk for obesity have a prevalence of 16% (General). A third of the child population are obese or at risk for obesity. This condition crosses all age groups, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds and is determined by the measurement of high Body Mass Index (BMI), based on weights and heights in children. Obesity is a leading contributing factor known to have an effect on the morbidity and mortality rates.