I. Introduction
A. Attention Getter: “Approximately 17 percent of U.S. youth have obesity, and nearly one in three children and adolescents are either overweight or have obesity” (Healthier America). B. Background & Audience Relevance: Childhood Obesity can have an impact on a child’s physical, social, and emotional health. That is why you should be informed and know the outcomes when a child is obese.
C. Speaker’s Credibility: Childhood Obesity is not something we should ignore and brush aside. It’s something we should take action in and do something about it.
D. Thesis: The purpose of my speech is for you to be more aware of Childhood Obesity, and how we can prevent it and reduce the percentage.
E. Preview of Main Points: I will begin by informing you how and where Childhood Obesity starts, then, I will move on to the immediate and long-term effects obesity has on children. Lastly, I will discuss ways to reduce obesity and how to prevent it.
Transition to 1st Main Point: To begin with, I will inform you, how and where Childhood Obesity starts.
II. Main Point 1: According to Dr. Barry Popkin said, “Children who tend to eat fast foods have parents who do not have the time and means to purchase or prepare healthy foods at home. This is really what is causing obesity in children and need solutions to be addressed.”
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
A. Sub-point A: Childhood Obesity begins at home. Parents play a big role because they are the ones feeding their child and getting them into the bad habits. Most parents prepare the not so healthy foods because it’s easy to make or buy. Also, parents buy fast foods and not healthy foods because the cost is affordable. Buying fast food and unhealthy foods once a week turns into twice a week, three times a week, until it just becomes part of their daily life. Furthermore, Parents give candy and sugary foods to make their child happy not realizing the consequences this could have for their child.
B. Sub-point: Not only does fast food contribute to children being obese, but where they live has an impact as well. During a study it was found that, “21 percent of the children were overweight, and 5 percent were obese, which is similar to the Canadian norms.
In America almost two thirds of the nation is overweight. That is about 79.6 million people who are obese. Fast food is without a doubt the problem why these statistics are so high. According to Shannon Brownlee, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee “ It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” she mentions how fast food corporations are luring buyers into their offers . In another article by David Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home” he focus more on self responsibility rather than fast food restaurants being convenient everywhere you go. In America, the obesity epidemic is caused by the lack of parent not taking full responsibility for their childrens health, as well as fast food industries distorting portion sizes in order to make more
III. Main Point #3: Childhood obesity is preventable. I think that parents and caregivers just need more insight of what it can lead to, not just worrying about body image.
There have been studies conducted to find out what has caused or what the leading factors to obesity are. Researchers are currently still doing research to find out what causes or what may be the lead to obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition which considers a child to be obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. (Rendall., Weden, Lau, Brownell, Nazarov & Fernandes, 2014). Obesity is on a rise in the Unites States and all over the world and can lead or result to other health complications later in life. The crucial breakdown serves as an implication of outlining childhood obesity, collaborating problems of the disease and resolutions, as well as applying critical thinking to give a complete approach to deliver information on childhood obesity. This will be done through citation of scholarly articles, samples and other modes of supporting details.
One of the biggest medical issues in America today is childhood obesity. A child is considered obese if that child is above the normal weight for their age and height. Childhood obesity is a “national epidemic” problem in America that needs major attention. In the article,”The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food,” by Michael Moss he acknowledges that “Among children, the rates had more than doubled since 1980, and the number of kids considered obese had shot past 12 million”(473). Moss’s point is that the rates of childhood obesity has increased tremendously over the past years. And the number of children that are overweight are at risk of becoming obese keeps growing. In addition, they are at greater risk for serious medical
Obesity in both adult and children is a major public health crisis. Childhood related obesity is an increasing concern with respect to the health and wellbeing of a child.
Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. (“Data & Statistics.” Childhood Obesity in America, childhoodobesityinusa.weebly.com/data--statistics.html). The reasons why the numbers are increasing are because children are eating more empty calories than ever before. Instead of healthy fruits, veggies and nutritious snacks and lunches, parents are packing and serving processed snacks that contains high fructose corn syrup. If this problem is not solved, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some time in their lives. (National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity). Childhood obesity should be prevented because it is a risk to kids' health, low self-esteem, and they can be bullied because of it.
Since 1980 the rates of child obesity have more than tripled which has caused a growing pandemic of childhood obesity in the United States. Out of all the young children and adolescents within the age group of two through nineteen about 12.7 million are obese. That is the equivalent of about 17% of America’s population that is suffering from childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is too prevalent in all American households. Childhood obesity is detrimental on a national scale, since it has been growing at a steady rate in the United States of children not reaching the daily-recommended physical activity, the absence of a balanced diet with overconsumption of eating, and more critically the increase of type 2 diabetes.
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
Thesis Statement: While there are many causes of childhood obesity, most are, in fact, preventable.
Because this is beginning to breach into the youngest generation of this country, there needs to be something done to ensure American children are aware about the potential consequences of obesity and how to prevent it. In order to expand childhood knowledge about preventing obesity, children need to be educated about nutrition and physical health. In an article detailing ways obesity can be solved, Richard Attais said,
This incline has numerous negative effects on the young population of this country. The effects of childhood obesity can be both physical and psychosocial. Many different disorders, diseases and health problems occur in the form of “side effects” to obesity. A major concern outside of physical health is the self-perception problem that is likely occur with children and adolescents that are obese. (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, & Boles, 2013).
A. The child obesity epidemic remains a major public concern in the United States and other countries.
Childhood obesity is a disease where excess body fat affects a child's health or wellbeing. With the number of children affected by the disease increasing, it is important to understand the consequences. Not only will obesity influence a child’s physical heath, but it can also affect their emotional and social health as well. Acknowledging that obesity is a preventable disease should help lower the number of children affected by it. It is not about dieting; it is a lifestyle change that should be adopted and practiced by the whole family. Being obese increases a child's risk of being an obese adult. I will argue that parent education regarding the physical and emotional effects of childhood obesity can protect the lives of children.
Establish Need/Relevance: Obesity is spreading across the United States and is becoming a serious problem that can affect anyone. Not only is obesity affecting adults but it is also affecting children as well. According to The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition written by the authors Megan Porter and Tish Davidson, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.