Essay On Childhood Obesity

On the other hand, not all cases of childhood obesity are a result of external forces. In some cases a child’s problem with their weight is mainly a genetic problem. In this case even the healthiest of habits may not be enough to prevent a child from becoming obese. (American Obesity Association) Yet the dramatic increase of overweight adolescents in the past few decades has clearly not been a result of genetics, but rather has in fact been do to poor health habits.

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.

There have been studies conducted to find out what has caused or what the leading factors to obesity are. Researchers are currently still doing research to find out what causes or what may be the lead to obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition which considers a child to be obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. (Rendall., Weden, Lau, Brownell, Nazarov & Fernandes, 2014). Obesity is on a rise in the Unites States and all over the world and can lead or result to other health complications later in life. The crucial breakdown serves as an implication of outlining childhood obesity, collaborating problems of the disease and resolutions, as well as applying critical thinking to give a complete approach to deliver information on childhood obesity. This will be done through citation of scholarly articles, samples and other modes of supporting details.

Obesity usually rises at early age; this positions children to encounter detrimental health problems later in life. The annotated sources validate that obesity is linked with serious health problems, both medical and emotional. Frankly, it is crucial that parents and adolescents are kept up-to-date with the information outlined throughout this argument. About ten years ago children would ride their bikes around the neighborhood, engage in sports, and play tag; when they got home, a nutritious meal would be waiting for them on the dinner table. Where did all this vanish to? Should parents be blamed for allowing their kids to become coach potatoes? There are several theorized solutions to control the number of overweight children in

In the United States alone children’s health is rapidly deteriorating. Since the early 1980’s childhood obesity in America has skyrocketed, leaving overweight children in danger. While obesity is defined as the condition of being very fat or overweight. One third of children “qualify as obese” (Davies), and meet the criteria to be labeled as “overweight as a result of poor eating habits, and a minimal amount of physical exercise. However, the lack of knowledge parents possess surrounding childhood obesity is determent to youngster future. When dealing with such an austere problem as obesity, parents should become more knowledgeable, supportive, and increase family activities to diminish childhood obesity.

Dailey and Ellin quote Levine by saying, “‘The idea is to fight obesity and not obese people’”(579). By learning to cook nutritional meals, students will have the tools neccessary to fight the disease that is plaguing their country. To show that households have lost their way of food preparation, Pollan recalls a conversation with Harry Baltzer: “‘Not going to happen,’ he told me. ‘Why? Because we’re basically cheap and lazy. And besides, the skills are already lost. Who is going to the next generation to cook? I don’t see it’”(584). Schools are designed to supply students with the knowledge to thrive. Therefore, they should include information on culinary arts because it will help reestablish the ideals once thought to be traditional. Likewise, Beebe and Thompson state, “By changing our children’s environment so they have access to healthy foods and physical activity, we improve the opportunity for all members of a community to improve their health”(1). Their statement reinforces the idea that students who learn healthy recipes in school are more likely to lead a healthy

Topic: Childhood obesity in the United States Thesis statement: Childhood obesity nowadays is a big issue in our society, so it is necessary to know the factors that cause obesity to develop in children, while looking for a solution and ways to prevent childhood obesity. Search strategy and evaluation of resources: I began my research by going into the ASA databases and borrowing from the Ebsco e-book collection a book called Childhood obesity in America. I read it and get a complete overview of what exactly is childhood obesity. This book has plenty of information related to my topic, so that is one of the reasons why I chose this book as source of investigation. In fact, the book discusses very deeply about the factors causing the development of childhood obesity and can be shown with the following example: “Moods like

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

The cause of childhood obesity is widely debated. There are some who believe childhood obesity is caused by socioeconomic factors while others believe it is caused by media marketing junk food to children. As a response to this ongoing debate, food markers, mainly fast food, try to defend themselves by blaming childhood obesity on physical inactivity and the lack of parental influence on a healthy diet. Despite what many researchers may believe, childhood obesity is caused by a combination of key factors. According to a well-written article by Erica Roth, Childhood Obesity, she along with other doctors believes that obesity could be caused by many different factors. Some may include “family history, many psychological factors, and lifestyle” (Childhood Obesity). However, the causes of childhood obesity are not limited to these life threatening factors, childhood obesity is almost always

The biggest health crisis in our nation is obesity (Carmona, 2003). It affects everyone everywhere. In today’s society, one out of every three children are considered obese (“overweight and obesity,” 2009). Child obesity has become a raging conflict and solutions must be presented to reduce it.

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?

All across the world, society is infused with media. Everything is about it. Movies, news celebrities, and the worst one. Advertisements. These ads cause the human to long for the need to obtain a certain product. The greatest victim is the children. Watching television everyday can make the children ache for the need to own the new toy or something, junk food. Junk food is advertised as good food or “hip” food. Kids become persuaded with the images and videos into thinking that they must want it, thus asking their parents. A study done by Dr. Strasburger figured out that screen time that advertises junk food and fast food increases children 's requests for those particular foods and products. Such as; snacking increases while watching TV or movies, and late-night screen time interferes with getting adequate amounts of sleep, which is a known risk factor for obesity (Strasburger). This includes the studies that were conducted by the nations

Our children’s nutritional education is almost nonexistent. Ask a fifth grader what the food pyramid is and you’re likely to receive the same blank stare as I did. Most children have no idea what a balanced meal is because they may have never received one. Schools provide nutritional meals at lunch, but there is no enforcement when it comes to eating your fruits and vegetables. Lets face it, children eat what’s familiar. If they haven’t had it at home they are probably not going to eat it at school. If there are no vegetables at home, they are not going to eat them at school. Home life definitely sets the tone for a child’s eating and exercise routines.

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.