Nutrition and weight status is a vitally important issue as obesity is on the rise in the United States. One third of children in this country ages 2-19 are either overweight or obese and this potentially sets them up to develop diabetes and other comorbidities during their lifetime (U.S. Task Force, 2010). It is important to promote health by way of consumption of healthy foods, getting adequate exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight and body image. The Let’s Move initiative, founded by First Lady Michelle Obama, approaches the obesity epidemic at a grassroots level and encourages children to eat healthy, get active and take actions towards a healthy lifestyle ("Let’s Move," n.d.). The Let’s Move initiative is devoted to solving the problem of childhood obesity. After the launch of this initiative, President Barack Obama also put into motion the first task force on childhood obesity with a goal of decreasing obesity in children to 5% by the year 2030 (U.S. Task Force, 2010). The Let’s Move initiative is built upon the following four pillars: Empowering parents and caregivers Providing healthy food in schools Improving access to healthy, affordable foods Increasing physical activity (U.S. Task Force, 2010, para. 5) While this initiative is for anyone, the specific target is for pre and school aged children. This initiative reaches into childcare centers, schools systems, as well as museums, gardens and faith communities across the country. In St
This national initiative was put in place in 2010 by efforts of First Lady, Michelle Obama. The main goal of the initiative is to combat the childhood obesity epidemic. The program has put in place multiple action plans, in the hopes of putting kids in the path to a healthy lifestyle. The campaign has also included parents and schools to be a part of these programs. They are key places and people that allow for child development and decision making. Although this is a national campaign, strategies are being implemented within small communities across the nation. Some of the interventions that can be found are: Let’s Move! Active Schools, Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Countries, Let’s Move! salad bars to schools, Let’s Move! Childcare and Let’s Move! Outside. The campaign has had many accomplishments since its establishment. One of these is the President Challenge Youth Fitness Test, which is expected to be in 90% of schools by 2018. According to Let’s Move!, “The new Presidential Youth Fitness Program is a voluntary, school-based program that assesses students’ fitness-based health and helps them progress over time”(Let’s Move!, 2015). The Let’s Move! national campaign is still ongoing and no formal evaluation has been done, but success can be measured through the implementation of the accomplishments and policies that have accompanied the campaign. One policy is the Healthy, Hungry-free Kids Act of 2010, that touches upon changing nutritional guidelines in school lunches and other food
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.
The Obesity epidemic in America has continued due to ignorance. People are aware that eating and excessive amount of food causes obesity and obesity leads to serious health risks. According to,the Obesity Society,“Obesity puts individuals at risk for more than 30 chronic health conditions. They include: type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, gallstones, heart disease, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea GERD...and numerous cancers.”(“What is Obesity”).People have unlimited access to this information, however,millions of Americans are obese. However, if one chooses to acknowledge the issue future issues can be prevented. First lady, Michelle Obama enforced obesity prevention programs in school,such as “Myplate” .(“Team Nutrition”).By enforcing this program she is helping to prevent childhood obesity.
The Let’s Move campaign is a good start in taking action against obesity by educating parents and children, providing healthier foods in schools, and motivating children to participate in daily physical
The first lady Michelle Obama took the initiative to inform about the epidemic of obesity among children’s because “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity in America have triple, and today nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese” (Let’s Move). The percentage of young children ages six through eleven years have increase in eleven percent that means that children obtaining more weight, also among teenagers ages twelve through nineteen years old who have been obese and this number has increase from five percent to nearly twenty one percent over the
Childhood obesity is becoming one of the top public health concerns in the United States. “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S., and today, the country has some of the highest obesity rates in the world: one out of six children is obese, and one out of three children is overweight or obese” (World Health Organization, 2015). With the drastic increase in obese children over the last 30 years and the huge healthcare associated costs many programs and incentives have been implemented to fight this epidemic. Although any child can become obese “racial and ethnic inequities persist among children; 22.5 percent of Latino children and 20.2 percent of Black children are obese, compared to 14.1 percent of
Childhood obesity has become a prevalent disease in America. The Center for Disease Control says that obesity in children aged 6-19 has more than tripled since 1970. Obesity is a gateway disease; a disease that leads to many other diseases, type 2 diabetes and heart disease are just a couple of examples. The problem is children in America are not learning how to live healthy balanced lifestyles. The goal at One Step at a Time is to change how fitness and health are viewed today. One Step at a Time teaches children new and creative ways to possess healthier and happier lives. One Step developed a program to help these children because they are the future of America, they deserve to be aware of how to make healthier choices, and they deserve
“Let’s move!” was a public health campaign, created by Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States in 2010. Let’s Move aims to decrease the rate of childhood obesity to 5% by 2030. The purpose of the health campaign was to raise public awareness about the problem of childhood obesity and creating a better lifestyle for children. Five main goals of the campaign are creating a healthy start for children, Empowering parents and caregivers, providing healthy food in schools, improving access to healthy, affordable foods, and increasing physical activity. The Let’s Move! initiative has also created various programs across the nation with federal agencies, private businesses, and nonprofit organization to help kids and families.
The everyday routines of life can and will be more difficult if encumbered with obesity.
Childhood obesity is one of the major public health challenges of the 21st century. The prevalence of obesity is increasing globally. In 2013, the number of overweight children under the age of five was estimated over 42 million. Childhood obesity can cause premature death and disability in adulthood. Overweight and obese children will grow up to become obese adults and are more likely to develop diseases like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes at a younger age. Many factors can contribute overweight and obesity in children, however a global shift in dietary habits and lack of physical activity play a crucial role. Overweight and obesity are preventable. Unlike adults, children cannot select the environment they live or the food they eat, they are unware about the long term health consequences of their behavior. Therefore, it is important to have strict policies for the prevention of obesity epidemic. School play an important role in fighting against the epidemic of childhood obesity (World Health Organization, 2016). Even after the legislature has enacted laws to support school nutrition and physical education, many states including, Texas has not yet adopted these policies. It is important to have these policies in practice to prevent childhood obesity (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014). Government play an important role in making sustainable changes in public health. For that reason, the author is intended to
An epidemic is happening in the United States of America; obesity is on the rise. The United States is currently is second in the world’s most obese countries with more than two-thirds of adults being overweight ("Overweight and Obesity Statistics"). Countermeasures to promote a healthier living style are on the rise, also. For instance, Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program promotes eating healthy food and increasing exercise. The NFL promotes sixty minutes of play for children each day to promote healthier living and establishing an active lifestyle.
In February, 2010 “President Obama established a Task Force on Childhood Obesity clearly stating his goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation” (Eschmeyer). Therefore, he launched the Let’s Move campaign where Michelle Obama was the leading spokesperson for. Furthermore, she played an important role in helping to improve the food nutrition policy. As nearly everyone knows the issue of childhood obesity has been on the rise in the United States. In fact, children ages 6-19 have a one out of five chance of being obese as a result, putting our children at risk of having health issues and various other problems to have to deal with in life including, being bullied. Hence, the launch of the campaign that would in later
Her contribution to the Let's Move campaign outlines initiatives to attempt to end childhood obesity within a generation (AAFP, 2017). The Let's Move campaign provides support for parents, establishing healthier foods in schools, more physical activity, and providing affordable healthy foods in communities (AAFP, 2017).
Obesity basically means having too much body fat. Not being overweight for your height, having too much muscle, or water in your body. What exactly is obesity? “Obesity is a condition that is associated with having an excess of body fat, defined by genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control when dieting. Obesity is classified as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is a tool used to measure obesity. Obesity increases your risk of developing related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea, to name a few. Many individuals are affected by obesity and are not aware of it” (O.A.C, 2016). Causes of obesity vary from person to person, but most are from the same reasons. Taking in more calories than your body can burn leads to obesity because your body stores the unused calories as fat. Typical causes are eating too much food than your body can use, drinking too much alcohol, and not getting enough exercise. Many obese people who lose large amounts of weight and gain it back think it is their fault. They blame themselves for not having the willpower to keep the weight off. Many people regain more weight than they lost. Today, we know that biology is a big reason why some people cannot keep the weight off. Some people who live in the same place and eat the same foods become obese, while others do not. Our bodies have a complex system to help keep our
Obesity is a condition in which the over accumulation of adipose fat tissue causes the weight of a person to increase abnormally. Their weight exceeds by 20%, as a factor of their ideal body weight. According to recent analysis, statistics show that more than one third of the world’s population is targeted by obesity. Research shows that overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. Obesity occurs greatly amongst adults who are 18 years or older. An estimated 600 million adults were obese out of the 1.9 billion that were overweight, around the world in 2014. One in three adults in Mexico, New Zealand and United States are obese, and one in four adults in Australia, Canada, Chile and Hungary are obese. In contrast, rates of obesity are much lower in Asian countries, where approximately 2-4% of adults have obesity. In countries such as Mexico and the United States, Latino and Africans have the highest rates of obesity amongst all the individuals. However, along with adults, statistics show that the rates for obesity are also high among children within and below the age of 5. As calculated in 2013, the number of children across the world that were either overweight or obese was 42 million. Since then, the rates have increased by 30% more in in low- and middle-income countries than in developed countries. Due to the fact that this condition continues at higher rates across the world, several organizations, such as the World Health Organization, are working with and