Physical Education And An Obesity Epidemic

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. Seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). Obesity is the result of a rise in fat that accumulated over time due to the lack of exercise and having a calorie surplus due to unhealthy food. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

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

Do you get enough exercise? Are you sure about that? Or how about this, are you overweight, do you even know? Today’s adolescents don’t. In fact today’s adolescents face serious risk from their lack of activity. Today’s children are obese because they have developed some very bad habits related to healthy living and as result can suffer serious physical and psychological damage.

First of all, students do not have much knowledge about the different fitness components; they do not understand the relation between the fitness components and health. If students acquire the background knowledge about fitness, it could improve the class engagement and motivation, and increase the independent drive to exercise. Second barrier to students’ achievement is the lack of motivation to be active, and even more difficult, to specific fitness activities, such as sit-ups and push-ups. In today’s society, students spend more time sitting in front a screen and less time moving. Parent and school today have more responsibility making sure the children get enough physical activity. According to the New York Times (2016), “early school physical education (PE) programs can make a significant difference, and the earlier these routines are learned the more likely they will be carried forth into a healthy adulthood”. Another barrier that prevents students’ success is the loss of instructional time due to discipline problems. The classes are too big, with many diverse students with individual problems, which are difficult to address when these issues are from very different backgrounds. Finally, there is not enough support from home affecting not only physical education, but

At one time, the American physical education programs were producing strong bodied and strong willed children. The common gymnasium was no less than an arena for students to release pent-up energy and to display their physical abilities. High schools were churning out more top-notch athletes than colleges knew what to do with and the gym soon turned into the Olympics for some. America was a force to be reckoned with and it made sure the rest of the world felt the strength of its young people. However, America is now in the worst physical shape it has ever been in and things seems to be getting worse for the future generations. Physical health has taken a backseat when it comes to higher education in recent years. With many middle schools and high schools cutting physical education programs due to a lack of funding and a greater focus on academic

“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.

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.

The last decade has welcomed, with open arms, a new epidemic: obesity. Currently in the United States, more than one-third of adults, 35.7%, and approximately 17% of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is not only a problem in the US but also worldwide with its prevalence doubling in high income and economically advanced countries and is also growing in under-developed areas. Its incidence rate is continually increasing with each successive generation and in each age group, including the elderly (Byles, 2009; Dorner and Rieder, 2011).

I have been naïve to an epidemic that has been plaguing America for quite some time now. It wasn’t talked about or taught much when I was younger. I thought that this disease was for the geriatric population. In 2012, 29.1 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes. 8.1 million went undiagnosed. (diabetes.org) Diabetes is a dilemma and the statistics for this disease is rising steadily. Per the diabetes association there are 1.4 million of new cases of diabetes a year. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the united states of America. Diabetes is not affecting only one group of people. Diabetes.org states that 208,000 Americans under the age of 20 have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2014 I started a new job at a call center. Prior to this occupation I had never personally, that I knew of interacted closely with anyone suffering from this disease. I had never heard of the younger population developing this illness and I certainly never heard any first-hand accounts on how diabetes affected the body. I discovered just how prevalent diabetes were in young adults. I watched people between the ages of 20-27 be afflicted by this disease. They had to constantly watch their diet to ensure that their blood glucose wasn’t either too high or too low. I watched a 20-year-old female be in and out of the hospital because of this disease. I hope to inform this reader of the dangers of this disease and what to do to prevent it.

On a smaller scale, a change ought to occur in communities in which the children live and attend school in order to provide an environment that makes healthy choices readily available. Parents as well as schools largely contribute to this epidemic. Schools contribute to obesity, and need to approach this matter face first. (1) Physical education programs are limited, which is distributing considering only 3.8% of elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools and 2.1 percent of high schools actually provide their students with physical education. Curriculum needs to be utilized in order to educate and empower students of the importance of nutrition and physical activity. For change to occur everyone has to be on board, particularly parents. Parents cannot just tell children what and whatnot to do; they need to allow children to participate in planning and of activities, in order to be successful. Children like to feel as if they are an active participant and to take part in the decision-making process, thus the parent ought to provide them with instrumental support. Parents and school systems are strong advocates and need to implement change to receive positive results; there are various effective methods of doing this. Children spend most of their time in school and at home, subsequently education should occur about of nutrition’s and

Research has found that when kids get enough exercise, their learning skills, attitude and behavior at school improve. The same is true when they have access to healthy food choices. By helping kids be more physically active and eat well, we help them succeed academically, better preparing them for lifelong success.

The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for

Health and Physical Education is a mandatory learning area in the school curriculum which provides opportunities for all students to live healthy and active lifestyles. Schools are recognised as primary settings for developing health-related knowledge and skills. Health and physical education supports students to enhance their own and others’ health. HPE is a learning area of Australian curriculum through which students can make healthier choices. It focuses explicitly on developing movement skills and encourage students to participate in range of physical activities. Therefore, Health and Physical Education is a vital learning area in the school curriculum.

I believe that physical education and health give a unique opportunity to the students to contribute to the overall well-being and student’s development. As a teacher I believe that the most important things that I can teach my students is a love to be physically active because i believe that physical ability will affect every aspect of student’s life including their mental health, academic achievement, self-esteem, social competency and ability to function well in any environment. The purpose of physical education and health class is to provide the concepts of health and skill related fitness in order to create the student with continuous physically active that can promote the development of life long movers. Physical education and health

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of obese children ages 6-19 have tripled to 16% over the last twelve years. That is an alarming figure. One of the main causes is lack of physical activity. This may seem like an obvious cause, but it seems to be the one our youth have the most problems with. Physical education is being