It Is Essential That Through Government And Community Participation,

As time went on, I began to expect it more, as they’d take their aggression out on me in the hall, I tried to stand up to them. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t. Despite this, I remember feeling scared to come into school. I was constantly called fat, and ugly. I was passed notes that when I read them, I couldn’t help but cry. I was being pelted with trash and laughed

The rate of childhood obesity has grown an enormous amount over the years with more than 40 million children being overweight! That number is astonishingly high and it is very obvious that something needs to be done about this. Studies had shown in 2008 that more than 40 million children were said to be overweight and the sad truth is that they are still increasing rapidly to this day; also every 1 in 4 teenagers is said to not reach the fitness guidelines (Tanner) according to an article by Lindsey Tanner. For this problem to be resolved not only do the parents of children need to make sure their kids are staying active but also, the schools they attend need to make sure they are getting a well-balanced meal and have some type of physical activity during their school day. Each state in America is given a percentage rate on the number of obese people in that particular state. The highest ranking state is Mississippi with a percentage of 34.9 and the state ranking the least is Connecticut with 24.5 percent. Different researches have shown that each day 850 lives are taken due to obesity and each year there are more than 300,000 people that die from obesity related illnesses. These are deaths that most likely could have been avoided if these individuals would have had the proper exercise and diet in their lives.

“Childhood obesity is an condition in which a child is significantly overweight for her or his age and height.” (Mayo Clinic) With childhood obesity rates on the rise, concern among Americans is also heightening, and rightfully so. Due to this concern, many are asking, should the government be stepping in more with childhood obesity cases? Should more regulations and laws be passed to prevent childhood obesity in our children? What can our government do to help with this devastating epidemic? The government should enact higher regulations, education, and activity levels in adolescents to prevent the rise of childhood obesity rates.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic and continues to be the focus at the national level (Washington, Reifsnider, Bishop, Ethington, & Ruffin, 2010). Furthermore, many comorbidities and health issues, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and depression are associated with this disease. Hence, combating childhood obesity would involve a collaborative multidisciplinary team consisting of family members, the client, health care providers, and policymakers. Therefore, radical changes need to be implemented into law to combat this issue. As a health care provider, this writer has seen the devastation that childhood obesity has not only on the child, but the family as well and wishes to propose a

Childhood obesity has expanded tremendously within the past thirty years (CDC, 2015). It is not only a state, but also a nationwide issue. For many children, they depend on their school lunches to provide them the nutritious meals they cannot afford to have at home. As a community, we need to get our children into better shape. Not only will they become more astute, but they will also live healthier lifestyles, and have less health complications as they age. When you are overweight or obese, you are much more likely to develop health problems like heart disease, diabetes, or even a stroke. It is our responsibility as a community, state, and nation to offer nutritious meals and activities for our youth and future.

I've begun and ceased diets. I've cried about it, and I've lashed out to others because of my own weaknesses. During my puberty years, starting when I was about 12 years old I started to get severely bullied, words such as "obese", "husky", "chubby", "fat" or whatever my insensitive classmates chose to call me that day. In grade 8, I was punched in the stomach and slapped across my face, I remember it hurting so bad it was like a bag of bricks hitting me straight in my gut, so that night I went home and cried for hours and i’d look in the mirror and believe everything they were saying was true about me. My self confidence flew right out the window.

Per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in three children age two to nineteen in America are obese or overweight, putting them at risk for serious comorbidities. Like many illnesses, obesity reduces the life expectancy and quality of life of those affected. The impact of obesity on children and adolescents’ physical, social and emotion wellbeing can be extremely devastating. The body mass index which most obese children suffer from limit their ability of be mobile. In addition to this, they may endure a change in their academic performance due to their health status. Obese children are less likely to perform to their full potential in school (Wang and Veugelers, 2013). On an emotional level, many obese children and adolescents suffer from low-self-esteem. These self-confidence issues may arise as they start feeling self-conscious about their weight. Unfortunately, at this age, kids tend to highly value their peers’ opinions. This can be negative or positive depending on the individual, but it is most likely going to be negative for obese children. Their peers’ opinions can impact the way they view themselves. Bullying can become a problem, as they constantly worry about their peers teasing them about their weight. It is not easy building self-confidence when one’s self-image is constantly are belittled and scrutinized. Per Wang and Veugelers (2013), a study shows that children’s self-esteem and academic performance decrease due to obesity. Adolescence is a phase in which a person builds and develops not only self-confidence, but his or her personality. Due to this fact, it is extremely important for them to have a strong self-esteem and personality as they grow Moreover, it is essential for policymakers to focus on creating programs to reduce obesity among children because it is the easiest, and best way to lower the national obesity rate. Children are constantly growing in

After reviewing the information provided, I have come to a conclusion that there is not one sole solution in stopping obesity within our children. There are way too many factors such as social, environmental, and financial that influences the eating habits and activity levels among children. The solution would have to be a multifaceted approach involving physicians, medical organizations, federal government, schools and parents. If nothing is done to combat the current the epidemic of childhood obesity, today's obese children may indeed have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents.

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.

Obesity causing depression on adolescents is an important topic because depressive symptoms are the beginning phase to depression. These young adults who are clinically obese feel like outsiders and do not feel like they belong in society’s norm. They suffer from daily teasing and put-downs and from other kids because of what they physically look like. Their weight causes them to be rejected from others as well as themselves. Having this happen day after day will lead to a feeling of hopelessness and gradually leading to the early stages of depression. This is a serious turning point because once one becomes depressed they tend to lose their sense of self efficacy. Then which latently leads one to hurt their body even more through eating

In the hallway at school, my friends and I talked about gym class when a girl commented, “Erin, you need to lose weight.” The sharp, harsh words tore into my heart, making me regret my lifestyle choices. After the bell rang to attend class, I went to the restroom to hide from the girls who bullied me.

Teenager’s who were deemed overweight or obese would more than likely be only too aware of the Social and Psychological aspects and not the ramifications of their morbidity rate lowing by their condition and the ensuing health problems in later life. The data and facts above speak for themselves and provision of these to Teenager’s will help them make a learned response.

While awareness of other dangers to children is widespread such as, stranger danger, helmets and seatbelts; the dangers of childhood obesity does not seem to raise enough attention. Reducing childhood obesity is a team effort involving parents, schools, health care professionals and government officials. Help us strengthen our voices against childhood

This submission directly addresses the growing concern towards the escalating number of overweight and obese people within Australia

Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result.