Obesity Is A Common Issue

Have you ever wondered what are the major causes of obesity? The CDC (2017) states that one out of every five children in the U.S. are overweight or obese, and this number is continuing to rise. Wilson (2016) states that many children who are obese develop health complications, such as joint, gallbladder, and sleeping problems. The majority of children who are obese as kids tend to be obese as adults. Reason being, many children develop bad eating habits by learning from their surroundings. When it comes to such an important topic as obesity there 's not only one cause, but several causes of why obesity is such a huge problem in America. Childhood obesity has greatly increased over the years and there are three main causes that have caused

One reason for this cause is the parents’ lack of personal responsibility for their children’s health, making sure that they are eating healthy, and having the proper exercise they need to stay in shape. In the article by journalist Daniel Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Foods Begins in the Home”, he argues that child obesity starts in the home, that parents are the reason why child obesity rates are booming by stating “ It’s the fault of parents who let their kids eat unhealthy foods and sit in front of the television or computer for hours at a time .” . Parents allow their children eat whatever they want, not knowing or caring how detrimental it may be for their health. Also, many parents don't encourage their children to go outside for physical activities for at least a half hour a day. Instead, many parents accuse video-games for the reason that their child is obese. Parents play a main role towards the cause of child obesity, even though fast food industries might seem like the culprit, one must understand all the factors that contribute to the obesity

Also, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in a study in 2004, 16 percent of children that are between the ages of six and nineteen years of age are overweight or obese. This is a number that has nearly tripled since 1980, mostly due to technological usage. Being overweight can bring with it great health concerns. Many of these children have a chance of developing Type II Diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, social discrimination, high cholesterol and/or blood pressure. Moreover, according to a Stanford University of Medicine study, elementary students consume 20 percent of their daily calorie intake while watching television, which usually includes unhealthy snacks, largely due to advertisements for junk food and boredom. Coincidently, kids are not burning off any of these calories while they are plopped in front of the television.

In America childhood obesity statistics show that almost 60 percent of children are obese. This statistic continues to grow at an alarming rate. 70 percent of obese adolescence become obese adults. This means when these children grow into adults they will have more health problems than they already do and their quality of life will decrease. The amount of children who are obese between ages 6-11 years old has risen from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent, in 2008. In adolescents ages 12-19 years old the obesity rates risen from 5.0 percent in 1960 to 18.1 percent in 2008. Last year the United States government stated that obesity and type 2 diabetes have become a national epidemic.

Even when controlling for ethnicity and socioeconomic status, results still indicate that watching TV contribute significantly to obesity. For example, a study conducted in the United Kingdom concluded that an increase in TV hours on weekends correlated with higher BMIs at 30 years of age. For each added hour of time spent watching TV on weekends at age 5, obesity risk increased by 7%. The impact of watching TV on children’s weight is even more pronounced when there is a TV set in the child’s bedroom. A study of children between the ages of 9 to 12 suggested that having a TV set in their bedroom significantly increased risks of obesity, regardless of physical activity. Moreover, when TV viewing time is decreased, obesity as well as other measures of adiposity are reduced as well. Multiple studies have also documented the positive association between increased TV exposure and increase risks of childhood obesity in the Latino

In the recent decades, obesity has grown into a major health issue in the United States. Obesity in the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity seems not to be only found in adults anymore, appears to be found among children and it’s a serious life threatening. Childhood obesity turned into a medical situation that children are destined to suffer from psychological, health problems and health care cost that affect children’s.

Obesity has become a problem that is seen almost everywhere in todays children and teens. Almost nineteen percent of children

“Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese” states (Children and Teens, 1). Yes, one fourth of all children in the United States are obese, and inevitably this number will continue to rise. Obesity is one of the most obvious conditions to recognize, yet one of the most difficult to treat for quite a few reasons (Children and Teens, 1). Childhood obesity has been an epidemic in the United States for many years, but has recently skyrocketed, due to lack of exercise and unhealthy food choices among children in America.

The most basic regulation of weight loss or gain is the amount of energy we put into our body needs to be equally exerted to stay the same. If we put more in, it leads to weight gain and less energy in leads to weight loss. (6) Over the past years our standard portion sizes, from the home to restaurants, have almost doubled. (7) Foods higher in fat and lower in fibre are being consumed more regularly. Skipping breakfast also is contributing to a poorer daily quality of diet. (8) Poor diet quality and lack of physical exercise are major contributions to weight gain and a high BMI. In children, a high level of television viewing has also been linked to weight gain and obesity, through its link to lack of physical activity. (9) These factors are behavioural and choices we make on a daily basis but although a large cause of obesity is not the only

Pollution could be a reason. Pollution in the city can influence our hormones, which can dominate our weight and health(facts). If a adolescent’s family has a history of obesity, a child has a four out of five chance of gaining a disproportionate amount of weight as well due to heredity (facts). Obese adolescents, ranging from ages 13-25, may be more responsive to television fast-food advertisements than people who are not overweight or obese. Research professionals are not certain which part of the process happens in the beginning, rapidly absorbing television fast-food advertisements becoming obese (facts). Approximately 50% of all American broadcasting aimed towards children and adolescents is revolved around food (facts). Foods high in fat and sugar can stimulate the mind’s pleasure structure, which can overwhelm the mind’s capability to notify a person to cease consuming of food and drinks (facts). Americans eat three to four times the recommended amount of fat for each day(facts). French fried potatoes are the most commonly eaten “vegetable” in fast-food drive-ins in the United States

Twenty five percent of children in the US are overweight and a shocking eleven percent of them are obese (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh and Merchant). Child hood obesity is a forerunner to one of the United States greatest public health crisis. The growth of technology has had a major impact on childhood obesity. Obesity is a widespread epidemic and is getting incredibly worse as technology increases. The use of technology relates directly with childhood obesity because it has been proven that technology has made children live more sedentary lifestyles versus active lifestyles. Also, television commercials influence children to increase their food intake as well as advertise foods extremely high in sugar and fat. Childhood obesity is mainly caused because of personal lifestyle choices and environmental factors, such as where the child is living. (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh and Merchant).

There is a wide spread speculation that television viewing is one of the most easily modifiable causes of obesity among children. America children spend more time watching television and videotapes and video games than doing anything else except for sleeping. Two primary mechanisms by which television viewing contributes to obesity have been suggested, reduced energy expenditure from displacement of physical activity and increased dietary energy in take, either during viewing or as a result of food advertising.

It was found that at each hour of TV watched by a 5-year-old child their chances of obesity would rise by 7%. Whilst studying 8000 children who had watched 8 or more hours per week, all age 3 it was found that by the time all those children were aged 7, every single one of them were at higher risk than average of obesity. (Pediatrics, 2011). Television on its own shows from 4400 to 7600 fast food commercials a day. Those statistics don’t include what is shown in magazine, billboards and so on. The number of health promoting adverts shown is 165 a day its no wonder today’s children are at higher risk. Speaking of which, the number of children under 5 effected worldwide by obesity found in 2013 was an astonishing 42 million. Its predicted that by 2025 this number will rise to a huge 70 million. (Bupa,2016) The media has fooled people the way never use overweight or unhealthy looking people In adverts, how often do we see obese people on our televisions? Especially when we are trying to be sold something. More often than not in movies fat people are portrayed as unattractive and unpopular and the laughing stock. Society seems to find it difficult to sympathise with obesity as a disease as many see it as self-inflicted issue. (Teaching tolerance, 2016). ) it was found that by 2006, obesity was responsible for 10 percent of media

Moreover, lifestyle can be serious causes of obesity. Television watching is a strong factor in obesity. (Oliver, 2006). Advertisements

In today’s world television has become one of the most popular and frequently used pastimes. With the increase of technology available today people can now watch television on their phones, laptops, and tablets wherever they go. Something else that has increased in the past years are the number of obese people in the United States. In the last couple decades it was estimated that the number of obese children age 2-5 has more than doubled (5.0% to 12.4%) and for ages 6-11 it has also more than doubled (6.5% to 17.0%). In adolescents aged 12-19 the number has more than tripled (5.0% to 17.0%) and as for adults it is estimated that 70% of Americans are overweight and out of that percentage 50% are obese (Boulos, Vikre, Oppenheimer, Chang, & Kanarek, 2012). It is no coincidence that as the number of prolonged television use has risen so has the number of obese people in America. Television has a negative impact on children that in the long run can lead to obesity.