Essay On Obesity In African American Children

Perhaps the most damaging health habit kids today have is their complete and total lack of exercise. Children today are more inclined to a sedentary behavior. Movies, television, the Internet, etc. are all magnets for kids, and while these mediums of entertainment aren’t altogether “evil” they can breed docile attitudes. If too much time is spent watching

Over 60 million people are obese in the world today. The socioeconomic statuses of the Americans play a major part in the obesity rates across the country. People with higher incomes are less likely to be obese than people with lower incomes. One in every seven preschool-aged children living in lower income areas are obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). A 2008 study showed that obesity is highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic Americans (18.5 percent) children, and it is lowest

Obesity was significantly more prevalent amongst female African Americans in this community. With the highest rate affecting women between the ages of 45 to 64. Obesity was also higher amongst Black females who’s educational attainment was lower

Currently, the definition of obesity, determined by the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale, considers a child over the 95th percentile to be obese. Childhood obesity affects 17% of the children in the United States, and according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, 12.7 million American children will have the prevalence of obesity. Roberto Ferdman argues in his article in The Washington Post that “American kids are still far more likely to be overweight than kids in most other countries.” Some children are more likely to become obese based on their race or gender. “The prevalence of obesity among non-Hispanic Asian youth (8.6%) was lower than among non-Hispanic white (14.7%), non-Hispanic black (19.5%), and Hispanic

Almost two out of every three children (ranging from 58 to 68 percent) in the five heavily minority communities were either overweight or obese, compared with 26 percent of children nationally and 23 percent in the predominately white community. (http://pweb1.rwjf.org/reports/grr/043026.htm)

South Carolina has one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation and, proportionately, more Latino children aged 2–5 years are obese compared to black and white children in the state (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). In fact, the proportion of obesity among South Carolina Latino children between the ages of 2 and 5 years in 2009 was 37.3% compared to 27.3% and 26.4% for black and white children, respectively (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). Moreover, in 2011, about half of all middle-school children were not active, and approximately 30% of high school students were considered overweight or obese (Torres, Meetze, & Smithwick-Leone, 2013). These high numbers of overweight and obese children are startling because overweight

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported since 1960 adult obesity has tripled and since 1970 childhood obesity rates have also tripled (May, Freedman, Sherry & Blanck, 2013). However, in comparison with national averages, obesity rates amongst minorities remains exceedingly high. Currently, 38 percent of adults in America are obese (Segal, Rayburn & Martin, 2016). Meanwhile, 48.4 percent of Blacks are obese, 42.6 percent of Latinos are Obese and 36.4 percent of Whites are obese. Furthermore, childhood obesity rates for American children is 17 percent. Examination of the data reveals 21.9 percent of Latino children are obese, 19.5 percent of Black children are obese and 14.7 percent of Whites are obese (Segal, Rayburn & Martin, 2016). These gaps are significant and represent a major health disparity. Health disparities are the quantifiable variances in health outcomes amongst groups of people. Obesity

Unfortunately, childhood overweight and obesity rates in America have tripled the last three decades and tend to be much higher amongst African Americans. According to research done by UC Davis, “Nearly 40% of African American children are overweight or obese.”

The Leadership for Healthy Communities (LHC) (2014) reported that food advertising continues to target African-American youths more aggressively that White youths. Consequently, African-American youths are at higher risk of developing diabetes. Also, African-American children and adolescents are expected to be overweight and obese than their White peer 's (Leadership for Healthy Communities, 2014).

There are many factors that play into whether a child will become obese. Most of the time it is due to lack of physical activity but there are key features such as where you come from and what your race/ethnicity is. If you are from a wealthy family and like to buy a lot of junk food or fast food then you are more at risk to become unhealthily overweight. If you are poorer and come from a minority in some cases you eat the bare minimum which keeps you below the overweight line. This is an important factor to take into consideration.

Childhood obesity is at an all-time high in the United States, afflicting one in every five children aged 6 to 19. The prevalence of childhood obesity in the U.S. was 17% in 2011-2014. The CDC notes that obesity rates are not equal across ethnicities, noting a prevalence of 21.9% for Hispanics, and 19.5% for non-Hispanic blacks compared to 14.7% for non-Hispanic whites. In this report, we will focus on childhood obesity in low-income communities. Youth in low-income families (which are disproportionately Black and Hispanic) are at greater risk for obesity because they are more likely to live in a neighborhood with unfavorable conditions such as poor housing, unsafe

It has been proven that children with parents affected by obesity are more likely to be affected as well. Genes alone do not always choose whether a child will be affected by excess weight or obesity. Learned behaviors from parents are a major contributor. Parents, especially of those whose children are at risk for obesity at a young age, should promote healthy food and lifestyle choices early in their development. Children learn from watching others, so a child who is watching their obese parent eat junk food, drink soda, and not participate in any physical activity, they are going to learn that this behavior is normal and will eventually take on the same lifestyle as the

The age old saying, “You are what you eat” still rings true today. Fresh fruit and vegetables have been replaced by french-fries and hamburgers. Children today do not know how to eat healthy. We, as a nation, spend hours and hours bombarding children with fast food commercials, sugary cereal commercials and cavity causing drink commercials. We than spend a fraction of that time telling kids these things are healthy only in moderation.

A growing number of children are demonstrating unhealthy eating habits and as a result are becoming obese due to lack of physical activity, nutrition and genetics. Children in today’s society are not motivated to exercise and participate in after school activities. If we were to go back in time 15 to 20 years ago, children were encouraged to explore the outdoors by engaging in activities such as camping, bicycling, walking, running and playing sports. Now, living in the 21st century, technology has taken a major toll on our children health; they are spending more time indoors watching television, playing video, games, surfing the internet and texting on their mobile phones.

The fast-paced lifestyle of Americans today results in unhealthy frozen T.V. dinners and take-out meals. In present day society, the role of woman and men are virtually equal. With this making both the mother and father of families busy, there is little time for home cooked meals. A hardy breakfast is replaced with sugary pop-tarts, hand packed lunches is replaced with money for fast food, and frozen T.V. trays take the place of a healthy dinner. These foods may all taste good, but they are not healthy. By giving children lunch money, the children are having the choice to buy whatever foods they please. It could be easily assumed that a child would choose a candy bar, chips, and a soda over a school lunch. Again, the children are not the only ones to be blamed here. The parents need to take time to guide their children towards what food is healthy and what food is unhealthy. By taking a little more time out of the day and making healthier food choices, the rate of childhood obesity could slow down, if not stop altogether.