Persuasive Essay On Child Obesity

To illustrate, I was dining at a local McDonald’s when I heard the horrendous sound of a crying toddler. The child short and rather plump child appeared as if he were about five years old. The young boy was begging at his mother to let him order an extra side of fries, but she was refusing. The outburst continued. The mother of the boy was standing her ground, up until the kid had a breakdown. The mom finally caved in. This is where the problem begins. Parents let their kids eat unhealthy foods. In this case, a parent allowed their kid to get what they wanted just because he whined for it. Parents believe it’s just to “make them happy.” In others, parents may just be lazy. Perhaps the kid was better off crying, because the fries do not help him in the long run. So, they will help him quit his whining for now, but after a while, all the extra fries that this child begs for will add up. McDonald’s fries are loaded with carbohydrates, even after the restaurant made their switch to vegetable oil. In fact, each serving of fries contain about 48 grams of

As years go by American weight struggle has been getting worse. People with diabetes today has more than double since 1994. While there are ways to help bring down obesity, most companies have not taken action. There are many factors to why obesity has only been increasing all these years.

Childhood and teenage obesity has been an issue in America for more than twenty years now. The percentage of obese children has nearly doubled in this time, according to the article “Is Your Kid Failing Lunch?”. Today’s generation of kids is recorded as the fattest generation in history. One of the main causes of this is believed to be fast food kids are exposed to every day in school lunches. Schools are now starting to serve fast food in their lunches as more kids demand it, causing an increase in the schools profit. Outside of that, Americans are currently spending more than $100 billion a year on fast food. Each day one in four Americans will eat at a fast food chain (Beaver). This is easy to believe as the global fast food industry spent

Childhood obesity is a global health crisis and an epidemic that has drastically increased over the years. A comprehensive report from 2010, revealed forty-two million children below the age of five suffer from obesity worldwide, which is a 50% increase since 1980 (Garel, 2014; Moore, Wilkie, & Desrochers, 2017). Not only is the issue of childhood obesity a public health threat, but it is also a form of child abuse with potentially fatal consequences. However, many people do not consider childhood obesity to be a child abuse issue. As a result, this topic is hugely controversial and has attracted some heated public debate. Even more controversial is the argument that the state should intervene on behalf of morbidly obese children. People opposed to the idea that the state should interfere in such matters often argue that blame cannot be placed solely on parents when there could be other factors involved, such as an underlying medical condition or a genetic predisposition to obesity. Moreover, some argue that the 14th amendment gives parents the right to raise their children how they choose and state intervention in such cases is an overreach of government power, and there are better ways to address the problem without removing children from homes (Garel, 2014). Although there are undoubtedly other factors that contribute to the widespread prevalence of childhood obesity, studies have shown that parents are primarily to blame for the growing problem (Wolfson, Gollust, Niederdeppe, & Barry, 2015). Parents indeed have the right to raise their children how they wish, as long as their children are healthy and thriving. If a child is in harm's way or is not adequately taken care of, then by law, the state must intercede on behalf of the child. Nevertheless, parents are responsible for the health and well-being of their children. Therefore, this paper is intended to show that morbid childhood obesity is a severe and life-threatening form of child abuse worthy of state intervention when parents fail to comply with lifestyle changes and recommended medical treatments.

Childhood Obesity is a growing epidemic within Australia. Studies have shown that children who are obese during their childhood are more likely to stay obese and are at an increased risk of developing both short and long-term health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes as they transition into adult hood, (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). Important key concepts can reduce the risk of childhood obesity such as educating individuals of the risks and the detrimental factors that childhood obesity can cause if left untreated. Health care professionals such as nurses, doctors and health practitioners all play an important role

With the rise of cardiovascular diseases, it is the time that we create ways to incorporate more daily physical activity each day and emphasize health and nutrition with students. One approach I would take would be to warn the families of the importance’s of physical activity and good eating habits. A way to do that would be to set up a meeting where all health educators can come together to introduce fun and exciting activities that their children can participate in and present them with hard evidence of the rise of childhood obesity. Having this meeting will hopefully open parent’s eyes so they can start enforcing their child to eat better and be more active rather than having them sit behind a gaming system all day long. The goal is to hopefully make these students participate in physical activity for the rest of their lives.

Obesity is a very serious subject that a lot of people take lightly, especially us as Americans. America is the most obese country in the world. Statistics show that 300,000 people die a day in the United States of America due to obesity. This clearly shows that we have a serious problem that is massively underestimated. Obesity is also something that countries all across the world suffer from. For example, Australia is also one of the most obese countries in the world, and 50,000 people die a year from obesity in Australia. That’s 140 people who die per day in Australia. To solve the problem of obesity the prices of junk food should be raised and the prices of healthy food should be lowered and more convenient.

Often, parents take young children to fast food restaurants because it is the cheapest or easiest option they know. This habit follows kids long after their grade school years and into adolescence and adulthood, and education programs can teach parents easy and healthy habits to instill in their children early in life. Liz Szabo explains the prevalence of fast food consumption in children and the worsening of unhealthy habits as they grow into teenagers in “Kids Consume 12% of Their Calories from Fast Food” by stating, “Adolescents ages 12 to 19 years old got 17% or more of their calories from fast food in 2010-2011, compared with 9% of children ages 2 to 11 years old, the report found.” These statistics prove that while parents may feel that a few meals from a fast food restaurant is a simple compromise that will not affect their children severely, in the long run their kids will struggle with the habit. Implementing government funded education into schools will help to demonstrate to parents and students alike that childhood obesity is not as simple as eating less and exercising more, and that one does not need to spend a lot of time and money in order to be

Obesity is a tragic case that many people face today. Children especially face obesity at a young age due to many cases. Children are more likely face obesity if their parents, for example, eat fast food or processed goods. However, is the school lunch program a huge factor into children’s obesity? Schools can either provide only healthy foods or allow unhealthy options. In some cases, going healthy means they go into debt, or they can choose to allow unhealthy options and generate revenue. Schools lose money daily because it costs more money to prepare meals than the reimbursement they get from the federal government. Children are better off eating what they are surrounded by. If children are surrounded by home made fresh prepared meals, they are more likely to choose healthier options from that day on. To achieve this, many school districts fail and succeed to create a healthier environment for children.

Fast food restaurants are the only option for many teenagers today because their parents often work during the day. The problem is that fast food companies are easy to eat and has a fast service. If people were truly thinking about their meal, it might influence consumers to look for healthier options. At home, parents are the ones who feed their children. If they continue to feed their children hamburgers and french-fries, their children will continuously want more and more. It is set out their healthy pattern as opposed to obesity. David Zinczenko states “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder -- only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today, according to the National Institute of Health, Type 2 diabetes account for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country”(463). There are so many other meal options, but the parents are not taking that extra steps. When children grow up, they are going to be unhappy with their weight because it is not their fault to be served with the fast food from their teenage years. Even with other options, the parents are the ones who buy their kids the meal. A little kids can’t drive through a fast food restaurant and order foods, the parents are the ones who give it to them. All parents want their children to be healthy, and fast food is making them

Obesity is defined as a disorder involving excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. Obesity is a nationwide epidemic, especially in today’s younger generation. This is caused by all the processed, fatty, fried junk food that is easily accessible everywhere. For instance, schools are promoting unhealthy eating habits by providing unhealthy lunches and allowing students to buy unhealthy junk food through vending machines and fundraising method. The government must begin financing for healthier food in schools to promote healthier eating habits as well as making unhealthy foods less accessible and healthy foods more accessible.

Everybody has their own opinions, but who is truly to blame for children eating street food often? It is a rising problem that children are choosing large meals in comparison to small meals that parents are purchasing for them. People becoming overweight is an issue that has been rising since the 1970s. At young ages, they are experiencing diseases and conditions associated with obesity which was never an issue before the 1970s. Since the 1970s, the obesity epidemic has started rising as an issue due to latch key kids, divorced parents and boxed foods becoming popular for teens to make at home alone. In the 1970s, the only term for obesity was being overweight, then as more children became overweight it was known as obesity by the late 1900s. America's millennials were becoming more introduced to processed foods and supersizing of those foods which made them gain weight rapidly. It is up to the young adults of now to fix the obesity epidemic by changing the way they are eating through educating themselves. They are the future parents and lawmakers that will hopefully decrease obesity in future children and people. Millennials and fast food companies need to take a step forward and reduce the amount of people becoming overweight by taking personal responsibility for the issue and promoting healthier foods.

Justin Timberlake, one of the most popular recording artists today, filmed a commercial for McDonald's. A spokeswoman for McDonald's said "the campaign is getting "buzz on the street." The song he sings in the commercial was also to be released as a full length single (MacArthur, 2003, p. 2).

The percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s (“Healthy Schools.”). Childhood obesity is a medical condition that affects children and teenagers who contain excess body fat. This condition is very common today, having about 3 million cases per year (“Healthy Schools.”). A sign that a child is suffering from obesity is when their weight is well above the average for a child’s height and age. Today about one in five school children, ages 6-19, are obese (“Healthy Schools.”). I will be addressing the causes, health complications, treatments, controversy, and supporting obese students.

“The similar advertising bans already exist in some jurisdictions such as in Quebec (Canada) and few Scandinavian countries” (Dhar, Baylis 7). “Sweden, Norway, and Finland have banned commercial sponsorship of children’s programs. Sweden also does not permit any television advertising targeting children under the age of twelve” (Role of Media). “Quebec’s 32 years ban on advertising to children had led to $88 million annual reduction in expenditures on fast food and 13.4 billion to 18.4 billion fewer fast food calories being consumed per year” (Dhar, Baylis 2-10). Residents of Quebec have a very sedentary life, yet their obesity rate is comparatively lesser than the US. These figures indicate that the sanction on fast food advertisement can prove effective in lowering or curbing fast food consumption in the United States as well. A larger proportion of the US population leads a very active life. An active life combined with the proper and healthy diet may lead to significant reduction in the obesity rates. “Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co's has already banned junk food advertisements during its TV, radio and other online programs intended for children under the age of 12” (Heavey).