Childhood Obesity the Health Issue Argumentive Research Paper

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the past few years. It is a result of an imbalance between how much a child eats and how much a child keeps their body active to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Common factors that are influencing childhood obesity would be the lack of self-control, environmental, and genetics. In order to combat these rising numbers of childhood obesity, people as a collective force must target problem areas within homes, schools, and their surrounding community by educating each other.

As indicated by the graphic above (U.S Department of Agriculture, 2017), each child and adults plate need to have the proportional foods in order to consume a healthy diet. However, with the availability and pricing of healthy

Also, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in a study in 2004, 16 percent of children that are between the ages of six and nineteen years of age are overweight or obese. This is a number that has nearly tripled since 1980, mostly due to technological usage. Being overweight can bring with it great health concerns. Many of these children have a chance of developing Type II Diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, social discrimination, high cholesterol and/or blood pressure. Moreover, according to a Stanford University of Medicine study, elementary students consume 20 percent of their daily calorie intake while watching television, which usually includes unhealthy snacks, largely due to advertisements for junk food and boredom. Coincidently, kids are not burning off any of these calories while they are plopped in front of the television.

Even when controlling for ethnicity and socioeconomic status, results still indicate that watching TV contribute significantly to obesity. For example, a study conducted in the United Kingdom concluded that an increase in TV hours on weekends correlated with higher BMIs at 30 years of age. For each added hour of time spent watching TV on weekends at age 5, obesity risk increased by 7%. The impact of watching TV on children’s weight is even more pronounced when there is a TV set in the child’s bedroom. A study of children between the ages of 9 to 12 suggested that having a TV set in their bedroom significantly increased risks of obesity, regardless of physical activity. Moreover, when TV viewing time is decreased, obesity as well as other measures of adiposity are reduced as well. Multiple studies have also documented the positive association between increased TV exposure and increase risks of childhood obesity in the Latino

Greg Critser identifies the main barriers to physical activity in modern society. First of all, being active was viewed as a personal choice, not an obligatory part of daily life. In 1980, TV became the dominant mass medium which occupied a high proportion of American leisure time. According to Greg Critser, an average American watches about four hours of TV a day and during these hours there is no physical activity. Moreover, when people watch TV they usually eat something or take snacks with increased caloric intake. Numerous researches have shown that children who watched television during childhood had a higher risk of becoming obese. CDC also found that children who watched four or more hours of TV per day are more likely to have higher BMI and skinfold thickness than children who watch less television. There is a strong positive association between TV watching time and the risk of becoming overweight or obese. The more television people watch, the more likely they are to gain weight and become overweight or obese. Second of all, cuts in school funds influence physical education and PE classes. The amount of time and frequency children spent in PE class decrease tremendously. Along with this, the level of rigorous activity needed in order to surpass decrease dramatically. By the end of the 1980s, Illinois was the only state that required daily physical

The most basic regulation of weight loss or gain is the amount of energy we put into our body needs to be equally exerted to stay the same. If we put more in, it leads to weight gain and less energy in leads to weight loss. (6) Over the past years our standard portion sizes, from the home to restaurants, have almost doubled. (7) Foods higher in fat and lower in fibre are being consumed more regularly. Skipping breakfast also is contributing to a poorer daily quality of diet. (8) Poor diet quality and lack of physical exercise are major contributions to weight gain and a high BMI. In children, a high level of television viewing has also been linked to weight gain and obesity, through its link to lack of physical activity. (9) These factors are behavioural and choices we make on a daily basis but although a large cause of obesity is not the only

Twenty five percent of children in the US are overweight and a shocking eleven percent of them are obese (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh and Merchant). Child hood obesity is a forerunner to one of the United States greatest public health crisis. The growth of technology has had a major impact on childhood obesity. Obesity is a widespread epidemic and is getting incredibly worse as technology increases. The use of technology relates directly with childhood obesity because it has been proven that technology has made children live more sedentary lifestyles versus active lifestyles. Also, television commercials influence children to increase their food intake as well as advertise foods extremely high in sugar and fat. Childhood obesity is mainly caused because of personal lifestyle choices and environmental factors, such as where the child is living. (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh and Merchant).

Childhood obesity has now reached an epidemic in several parts of the United States. As a result, children now have a higher risk to have numerous chronic and acute medical problems. Several of the long-lasting medical problems a child might face as a result of obesity could eventually result in death. In addition to chronic medical problems, childhood obesity has severe psychosocial effects on an individual such as low self-esteem and depression. Childhood obesity is a serious problem that is caused by a numerous amount of factors that can eventually lead to severe health complications.

In the precedent few years, Type 2 diabetes has risen radically among children and adolescents. Experts consider this increase is due to the high rate of overweight and obesity (Cutting TM, Fisher JO, Grimm-Thomas K, Birch LL1999). One of the core reasons of children obesity is watching television. Technology is a vast accessory that millions of people use commonly in daily life. Television could be the most-used technological product of all. Millions of people now have as a minimum one television in their home. Though television seems like an immense thing to have, it has its disadvantages. Television can pessimistically influence people, mainly kids. A number of observational studies have originated an association between television watching and child and adolescent obesity. Moreover, it is recognized that American children spend more time watching television and playing video games than doing something else apart from sleeping. Researchers conducted a randomized, controlled test to assess the effects of reducing television, videotape, and video game use on changes in adiposity, physical activity, and dietary intake (Fisher JO, Birch LL. 1995). “The previous twenty five years have caused such a spectacular increase in childhood obesity. Technology, overeating and lack of physical activity can all contribute to obesity”. Birch LL, Fisher JO. Development of eating behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatr

The six year study mentioned prior, also states, “… that for every two hours of TV you watch a day, you’re 23 percent more likely to become obese (and 14 percent more likely to develop diabetes.)”(Cohen.) This also relates to the lack of physical activity due to the “couch potato” mentality.

Another environmental cause of childhood obesity is the lack of physical activity. The problem is that physical activity has been replaced by video games, television, social networking and other technology. (Child Obesity Statistics) “It’s proven that children who watch the most hours of television have the highest incidence of obesity.” (Hosten) The American Heart Association they recommend “all children age 2 and older should participate in at least 60 minutes of enjoyable, moderate-intensity physical activities every day.” They also recommend “if your child or children don't have a full 60-minute activity break each day, try to provide at

Additionally, the lack of physical activity is also another important risk factor. Obesity in childhood has both the instant and long –term effects on the health of a child as well as his/her well living. The immediate effects are that obese adolescence may have pre-diabetes, which is a condition where the levels of glucose will indicate a high risk of diabetes development. Type 2 diabetes is the most common because it is caused by poor diet. Children who are overweight, are most likely to be obese as an adult and this causes them to be at more risk for further heart diseases, cancer types, or a stroke. This is common in children who are involved in increased television viewing and playing video games. The number of hours children spend watching TV and playing video games each day are major reasons why children are becoming obese every day. Watching TV and playing video games increases snacking. Also, children’s time spent exercising is decreased, because they are spending a large amount of their time playing video games and watching TV. This has been encouraged through media and the social environment, which places an emphasis on the social trends and leisure more than on

Therefore, I do a research about obesity to find out the relationship between TV advertisement and obesity. I may also want everyone to realize that TV advertising affect obesity among children and they are related to each other. Parents can limit the time of watching TV among children to reduce obesity if they understand that TV advertisement is the main factor of

Moreover, lifestyle can be serious causes of obesity. Television watching is a strong factor in obesity. (Oliver, 2006). Advertisements

In today’s world television has become one of the most popular and frequently used pastimes. With the increase of technology available today people can now watch television on their phones, laptops, and tablets wherever they go. Something else that has increased in the past years are the number of obese people in the United States. In the last couple decades it was estimated that the number of obese children age 2-5 has more than doubled (5.0% to 12.4%) and for ages 6-11 it has also more than doubled (6.5% to 17.0%). In adolescents aged 12-19 the number has more than tripled (5.0% to 17.0%) and as for adults it is estimated that 70% of Americans are overweight and out of that percentage 50% are obese (Boulos, Vikre, Oppenheimer, Chang, & Kanarek, 2012). It is no coincidence that as the number of prolonged television use has risen so has the number of obese people in America. Television has a negative impact on children that in the long run can lead to obesity.