Childhood Obesity in America Essay

Do you get enough exercise? Are you sure about that? Or how about this, are you overweight, do you even know? Today’s adolescents don’t. In fact today’s adolescents face serious risk from their lack of activity. Today’s children are obese because they have developed some very bad habits related to healthy living and as result can suffer serious physical and psychological damage.

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in America. "the percentage of obese children doubling from 6.5% in 1980, to 17.0% in 2006. Weight, nutrition, and physical activity are the main components to a child’s overall health.”(1) “When parents become too busy to cook meals in their homes, children learn poor eating habits and develop into unhealthy eaters.”(1) They will take what they learned at home and apply it to anywhere else that they eat. For example a child that drinks milk at dinner and sits with their family at dinner when asked what they want to drink when they are at a friend’s home will ask for milk because the child would associate milk with dinner. Children cannot make healthy choices of their own they need to be guided so

Why is it that America, deemed to be the most developed and advanced country in the world, has the largest epidemic of childhood obesity? Obesity is a frequent topic of discussion, and extensive research and studies to find the root of this disease. So why are some American children, despite the knowledge of the importance of health, variety of food that is available, and health awareness at schools, are still gaining excess weight? Lack of proper nutrition and sedentary lifestyle of some American children may be contributing to the rise of childhood obesity in the United States.

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).

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. (“Data & Statistics.” Childhood Obesity in America, childhoodobesityinusa.weebly.com/data--statistics.html). The reasons why the numbers are increasing are because children are eating more empty calories than ever before. Instead of healthy fruits, veggies and nutritious snacks and lunches, parents are packing and serving processed snacks that contains high fructose corn syrup. If this problem is not solved, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some time in their lives. (National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity). Childhood obesity should be prevented because it is a risk to kids' health, low self-esteem, and they can be bullied because of it.

Childhood obesity in America has been a big topic in the last decade. Within the United States and the high drive society we have, more people every year are eating improperly. The improper diet we are feeding our children is slowly killing them. Chicken, broccoli, and carrots are getting substituted for McDonalds and Burger King. The numbers do not lie every year more and more children are becoming obese, big question is why? How can we combat this epidemic? And how can we reverse these trends? Obesity leads to many problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, coronary vascular disease, heart attack, stroke, and even some cancers. This is why through statistical analysis, proper diet, and proper exercise we can combat this slippery slope that is slowly killing our children, obesity.

There are more children overweight now than ever before. The reasons for this are that parents are do not care what their children eat, their portions are too big, or children are just too lazy. There are statistics to back this up. Statistics show that 30.7 % of Caucasian children, 30% of African American Children, and 37.9 % of Mexican American children are overweight “(Overweight)”. Those statistics are just for children in America if we included stats from other parts of the world it would be worse. The source of these statistics is an article called “Overweight in Children,” which was found on Americanheart.org.

School lunches, curriculum focus, and daily activities have changed in elementary schools over the years. The nutritional value in school lunches often meet a bare minimum. Curriculum is focused strongly on idealistic future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; but often forget teaching basic healthy habits needed for lifelong health. Physical education is no longer required every single day. Obesity has become an epidemic and not just for adults, it is increasingly affecting children as well. Children spend a generous amount of time in the classroom. They spend more time in school than at home or anywhere else. Therefore, schools have a responsibility in preventing obesity in adolescents by teaching them healthy habits, serving them nutritious food, and providing them with adequate physical activity.

In today’s society, there has been a plethora of achievements in technology, medical advancement, and educational platforms. However, with these new, exciting gateways has come several issues, some of which have become very serious. One of the most important hot button issues is childhood obesity. In fact, statistics show that since the 1970’s, the obesity rate in children’s ages range two to five in the United States, has increased over five percent alone, as well as over ten percent in children in age ranges between twelve to nineteen in 2008 (Gale Encyclopedia of diets, 2013). With this serious issue facing the United States, it leads to question: why have children in the United States become so obese and what strategies have been implemented to curve this often-outrageous statistic? The cause of childhood obesity can be blamed on several factors that affect all areas of the child’s life. Factors including the home lifestyle and parent accountability, outside the home in school where implementation and access of unhealthy foods and beverages far exceeds their nutritional counterparts, as well as an increased portion size are adding to this overall problem. To combat the issue, many states have implemented programs specifically aimed at childhood obesity to prevent the future health risks associated with this medical issue. Also, suggestions are being acquired for schools and parents alike to assist in getting the obese target below the national level

Over the past few decades an epidemic has occurred called childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is defined as a child having his/her BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 94% among children in the same age and gender group. One third of American children are overweight and over 15% are obese (Lanham, 2009). Research and documentation is without dispute, our children are not just overweight, but physically and mentally becoming ill. Specialists are seeing specific life-threatening medical conditions, all associated with childhood weight issues. An unhealthy lifestyle is the number one factor in childhood obesity. However, many researchers believe the parents are to blame. Recently, the United States is evolving its legal definition of child abuse to include child obesity. Prosecutors propose that it is time for legal intervention, as parents are failing to provide a healthy environment for children. Others argue that the government has become increasingly intrusive in private matters. Should a law consider childhood obesity abuse? Are there other options that could create change, without legal prosecution and the dismantling of the American family?

viii. Fast foods are high in calories, provide less fruits and vegetables, and are packed with sugar, fat, and sodium

When you think of the word “epidemic,” you often associate it with disease such as the flu, or much more serious ones like the plague. What most people often do not think is the much more common, relatable epidemic of childhood obesity. While we may not be the generation that is being affected the most, chances are the children we see today and children of future generations will be affected if we do not take action now. A fast-food frenzy has swept the nation, technological advances both in and out of the classroom seem to be taking over children’s lives- leaving less time for being physical active, and obese kids are posing a higher risk for an already damaged healthcare system. Childhood

Obesity is a disease which is associated with enormous body fat that severely escalates the exposure to health issues (Google). Obesity-related conditions can potentially involve heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, and other conditions that are avoidable (cdc).

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.

In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.