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Obesity : A Nation Wide Issue

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In the United States of America, obesity, especially in children, has been on a steady rise since the 1970s. Many health organizations and public figures have tried to combat this rise through passing new policies and speaking out against the epidemic. These efforts have resulted in little progress as health officials have declared that obesity has stayed consistent in the nation over the years (Tavernise). It is critical that the issue of obesity is combated against successfully as obesity can have many long-term health risks to an individual such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. As a result of these drawbacks, it is especially important to further address the issue as obesity can be particularly harmful to children as they …show more content…

839). Permissive and neglectful parenting styles are most often linked to childhood obesity as both involve a lack of authority or restrictions (Moore et al. 840). These lack of restrictions allow children to generally eat unhealthier foods which contribute greatly to obesity. It is also important for parents to encourage their children to partake in physical activities so they can stay active and healthy. Physical activities are crucial to the health of a child and are effective in preventing and eliminating obesity. However, the majority of children in the United States do not meet the “federal guideline of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day” (Moore et al. 828). In the nation, the balance between the consumption of food and physical activity in children is lopsided toward the former with only 42% of children between the ages of six to eleven actually achieving the recommended hour of daily physical activity (Moore et al. 828). This statistic drops noticeably from 42% to 8% for teenagers, between the ages of 12 to 19 (Moore et al. 828). These staggering statistics help to express how big of an issue a lack of exercise can be in relation to a child’s weight. It is important for parents to influence their children to participate in physical activities, although a parent’s own weight status may act as an influence in this situation. A parent’s weight status affects their child’s weight status in that children generally follow in their

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