Obesity In Adolescent School Children

Back in 2016, Kenny and the other contributors evaluated the factors that affect children with obesity and how brain development plays a big role in learning. Kenny talks to teachers about child obesity and how those children function at school. Many teachers stated that children with obesity tend to develop learning difficulties. According to the 22 teachers interviewed, the majority concluded that those who were obese participated less due to low levels of self-esteem. Reason being, obesity leads to bullying, which turns into name calling; such as fat, ugly etc. Children with obesity tend to have low levels of physical activity due to poor nutrition. Children who have low levels of physical activity tend to develop more screen time rather than going outside and doing something productive; such as playing basketball or other physical activities. As technology evolves, more and more children become obese due to inactivity (Kenney, E.L., Redman, M.T., Criss, S., 2016).

Childhood obesity is a health problem that is becoming increasingly prevalent in society’s youth. For a number of years, children across the nation have become accustomed to occasionally participating in physical activities and regularly snacking on sugary treats. In result of these tendencies, approximately one third of American children are currently overweight or obese (Goodwin). These grim statistics effectively represent all the lack of adult interference, in regards to health, has done to the youth of America. The habits of over consuming foods and under participating in physical activities are all too common in the children of today. Children cannot solve this issue alone, though. These young people need to essentially be given the

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

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake” a quote made by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, as she launches her comprehensive initiative to change the way children think about nutrition and physical fitness (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Three decades ago, children lived active lives that kept them healthier. They walked to and from school, ate home cooked, reasonable portion meals with vegetables and played outdoors most of the time. Today, children ride the bus instead of walk, eat more fast food and snacks throughout the day because parents are busier, and watch more television or play video games rather than be active outside with peers (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Young children are becoming overweight and obese along with being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more frequently. They are making poor dietary choices, inadequate physical activity, and spending too much screen time all contributing to the obesity crisis. One of the effective solutions to reversing the trend of childhood obesity is to provide safe, affordable and accessible after-school health and physical fitness educational programs for all school ages across the nation.

As a future educator of physical education, I feel that our nation’s weight problem is an issue that needs to be addressed. I feel that it is and will be my job to educate students about the importance of taking care of your body because “fat kids have a 92% chance of becoming fat adults” (www.amp.com). The leading cause of death in the United States, for men and women, is heart disease. “The United States alone the estimated annual number of deaths attributable to obesity is about 280,000.”

It is no secret that childhood obesity is a problem in America. With children having to take physical education courses in school, it combats obesity in a way that they may not get at home. “Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults” (Childhood Obesity Facts). Teaching children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle at a young age can help them be less at risk for diseases

The health of students should be considered one of the most important issues in education. However, as of 2012, the Center for Disease Control calculated that over one third of children and adolescents were either overweight or obese. Not only does obesity cause physical health problems, but can also affect the academic performance of students. Over the past few years, Americans have been working together to find solutions for this problem.

A problem that is plaguing America and needs to be addressed with a policy change in school systems across the country is obesity. Obesity in America has been declared an epidemic, and the most alarming rates of obesity exist in younger demographics, which generally dictate that these children will continue into adulthood as obese adults (Jacobson, Kim, & Tortolero, 2009). This will add to the massive costs to society that obesity contributes from loss of employee hours to hospital care from the many diseases that are developed as a result of obesity. Therefore, this issue needs to be addressed early in life with school-aged children as it is far more difficult to stop obese adults from engaging in negative behavior that facilitates or worsens their obesity while legislative action can be taken to develop rules and regulations that can be implemented in school districts across the country.

The issue of obesity has been ongoing in the American society for over a decade and there is much that can be done to fix it. As the great businessman Richard Attias said, “Obesity is a problem that nearly every nation in the world is facing, but there is much that we can do to fix it” (Attais). With very little progress being made to stop or slow it down in the present time, the focus should be shifted towards the future. America’s younger generation should be taught about health, nutrition and preventing major weight gain. Adding lessons and classes to the American public school system that pertain to these subjects would greatly benefit our society in the future. Educating students about nutrition and physical activities will make them more aware about their health and staying healthy. This will cause students to be more proactive by eating healthier and exercising frequently. As a result, there will be a decrease in obesity in our society as the younger generation grows up.

“Childhood Obesity in Florida.” States of Obesity. Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.

Junior High Schools have vending machines today. Food convenience, choices, and price all contribute to the appeal with youngsters. Vested interest groups provide children the choices and the kids suffer the consequences.

Since ancient times society has been threatened by a huge wave of outbreaks that have caused the death to millions of people that live in a nation, or even a continent. Plagues such as the Black Death killed nearly one-third, or 20 million, of Europe's population, according to the History Channel. The XXI- century generation has not been exempted of these diseases. Today's society is being affected by the exaggerated number of epidemics that are constantly being found and put in alert an entire country, and that can be transmitted worldwide. The most popular among people include the flu, cholera, and HIV/AIDS. Mentioned diseases are taught in the classrooms, work centers, and educational brochures

Obesity costs Canada billions of dollars in health care per year (Tran, Ohinmaa, Kuhle, Johnson, & Veugelers, 2014). Obesity impacts individual’s ability to participate in and contribute to society fully due to the psychological and physical consequences, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancers (Tran et al., 2014). Risk factors for obesity include poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle (Tran et al., 2014). In an Alberta based study looking at the impact of school-based programming in preventing childhood obesity, Tran et al. (2014) predicted two thirds of current Canadian youth are likely to become overweight or obese at some point in their lives and found promotion of healthy eating and active living is most effective in childhood, as it has the potential to create healthier lifestyle choices that persist into adulthood. In addition, comprehensive education about healthy eating and active living benefits children long term by increasing levels of knowledge, improving attitudes, promoting self-efficacy, and enhancing leadership skills related to making healthy choices (Tran et al., 2014). Fostering healthy eating and active living through school-based education has the potential to save the nation millions of dollars in health care costs in the years to come (Tran et al., 2014).

One of the biggest problem that children face today is the chance of becoming obese. This epidemic has been getting more and more out of control without any real solutions to this problem. There are many factors that contribute to this problem, there are some easy fixes but what about the long term affects? Many children rely on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for their meals while at school and some rely on the breakfast programs. The ones who are affected the most are children from low income families. There has been many changes that the schools have been doing to help combat this problem, but are they working. In 2010, the federal government has stepped up the effort to help fight childhood obesity, with the passing of the “Hunger

Obesity is the condition of being seriously overweight. It is now considered a global health epidemic by the World Health Organization (2000) (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010). Physical activity is important to children in the middle childhood age group because a staggering amount of children have become overweight in the last few decades and teachers play a role in preventing obesity by becoming a positive role model,