Fighting Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than one third of children are overweight. This figure is increasing rapidly. This epidemic puts children at risk for various health problems such as type two diabetes and heart problems. Although they are several risk factors for obesity, parents play a significant role in this issue. This paper will look into how parents are influential to their children, how they contribute to this problem and how they may help fight the fight against obesity. Obesity is a very serious problem and there are solutions that parents can apply to help their children lead a healthy lifestyle. Obesity does not only affect a person physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States in the past three decades. In 2012, roughly 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese” (“Childhood Obesity Facts,” 2014). According to the Centers of Disease Control and

Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% .

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the last three decades, and conditions in many communities continue to act as barriers to healthy eating and adequate physical activity. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that has adverse and potentially long-lasting consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Perhaps most shocking, life expectancy for today’s children may be shortened in the United States because of the impact of childhood obesity (Olshansky and Ludwig, 2005).

Childhood obesity remains a chief public health concern nowadays. During the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity among children has increased 47% globally (Brown et al., 2016). The risk associated with childhood obesity including hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance as well as mental and emotional illnesses. Individuals who are obese during childhood are more likely to become obese during adulthood. When obesity continues into adolescence and adulthood, individuals are at risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, coronary vascular disease, and cancer. Obesity disproportionately affects children from ethnic minorities. Approximately one out of six US children are overweight

The rates of childhood obesity Worldwide are alarmingly high! Obesity is a global nutritional concern and leads to horrible consequences on our children and becomes a worldwide pandemic. Worldwide estimates of obesity are as high as 43 million, and rates continue to increase each year. In this study, people will find healthy tips to prevent childhood overweight or obesity to help children in our communities. Child’s obesity can make kids in our communities at high risk for diseases like heart problems, asthma, type 2 diabetes. Genetic, behavioral and environmental factors are a cause of obesity on children in the United States. Parents and

America is facing a serious challenge! Children’s health is becoming a critical concern. Childhood obesity has become an “epidemic disease” that has rapidly grown over the years in the United States. According to the National Center for Health Statistics in 2011 states that, “childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. In 2012, more than one- third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese” (Childhood, 2015, para.1).I would like to inform you all of childhood obesity in children, and ways to get involved in preventing obesity in our future generation. Childhood obesity has many factors, and is a preventable disorder that can be controlled, and if not, it could greatly affect the health of an individual.

The childhood obesity plague in America is a nationwide health emergency. One in every three children (31.7%) ages 2-19 is overweight or obese. The life-threatening price of this epidemic makes a persuasive and serious call for action that cannot go unnoticed. Obesity is anticipated to cause 112,000 deaths per year in the United States, and one third of all kids born in the year 2000 are likely to develop diabetes at some stage in their lifetime. The present age group may even be on a pathway to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. There needs to be change so we don’t lose our children. Most people may not know that America is leading with the most childhood obesity issues. People that are obese are more likely to have risk factors such

Children are our future, and therefore, everyone should protect the young community. Childhood obesity is an epidemic that should be prevented. Children have the right to live a long, healthy life. However, the rise of obesity is affecting the young community. Childhood obesity attains negative repercussions. Yes, doctors have found many ways to combat obesity. As a matter of fact, they emphasize how important one’s health is. It is crucial to acknowledge that obesity alters a child’s health. Obesity has the power to affect a child mentally, emotionally, and physically.

One might think that the reason so many children are obese is from eating too much food, but in reality there are many more variables. The chance of being obese increases forty-one percent if a child has a TV in his or her bedroom and watches more than two hours a day (Adams, 2010). Some other factors include: belonging to a single- parent family, living in an area without means of physical activity, genetics and lifestyle habits

Childhood obesity is a significant and increasingly detrimental health problem on both a national and worldwide scale. National studies conducted by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention predict that, “over one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2012” (“Childhood Obesity,” 2014). Additionally, researchers who have studied the prevalence of childhood obesity over time have found that the rate of childhood obesity in the United States has been exponential increasing, nearly tripling in the last three decades. Defining what constitutes as overweight or obese has also been an issue for professionals because of the variance in body structures in relation to gender, ethnicity, height, and bone structures. Most recently, obesity has been measured using a body mass index (BMI) scale which compares weight over height. For a person to be clinically obese, their BMI must be greater than the 85th or 95th percentile, or if their weight over height is over 120% (Must, & Strauss, 1999). For years, researchers and health professionals have been aware of the serious health risks associated with adults who are extremely overweight or obese, but work done to understand the implications of childhood obesity is a relatively new field of study.

Obesity has been a major health issue in the community for the past three decades, and has recently become a spreading concern for children (Black & Hager, 2013). Childhood obesity leads to many health and financial burdens in the future, and has become a public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016), childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Black and Hager (2013) state that pediatric obesity is a major public health problem that effects a child’s mental and physical health. Having childhood obesity also increases the risk of developing adult obesity and many other chronic illnesses. Childhood obesity will be further explored in the following sections and will include: background, current surveillance methods, epidemiology analysis, screening and diagnosis, and the plan of action.

Child obesity links to genetics, study shows child obesity is higher if  the child’s parents suffer from obesity, rather than a household with healthy parents. This is due to, bad eating habits passed down to their child, for instance, a bad habit like teaching their child to eat large amount of fattening food. If the parents are overweight is due to lack of  engaging in exercise, therefore the child doesn’t engage. Technology today, requires little movement, such as, games, TV, cell phones, etc., can keep people busy for many hours, for example, in the summer a child plays video games all day. In addition, parents who eat outside their home, can expose that habit to their child restraining them from meeting their nutritional needs and will

The causes of obesity in children could be associated to different factors. For example, genetic and family history, when the child has an obese parent his risk of being obese is fifty percent; in case of both parents being obese the child chances of becoming obese increase to eighty percent. Another causes could be emotional or psychological, when the child eats in situations that require tension and emotional stress like class presentations, exams, family problems, sad or

Parents are at fault for childhood obesity. The job of a parent is to teach a child wrong from right, including their