Policy Priority Issue : Childhood Obesity

One in five children in America are obese. How is this possible? In Stephanie Soechtig’s documentary, “Fed Up” (2014), she brings awareness to a few of the causes of obesity and elaborates on the lack of effort people are putting in to end it. Food manufacturing corporations care only about strategic plans to put money in their pocket, not to help make America healthy. Obesity can be traced back to one main cause; sugar. The three things have been addressed through personal stories and physicians that support and increase sugar addictions of adolescents is the amount of added sugar in processed foods, junk food advertisements, and the lack of regulations relating to sugar. Sugar addiction is a real problem and is scientifically proven to be as addicting as cocaine.

Many Americans are suffering from nutrition issues. There are approximately 12.5 million children and adolescents aged 2-19 years that are obese (CDC). The proper health and nutrition for children is very critical to their growth and development. The media and its promotion of junk food is one way that affects obese children. Within this paper, I will discuss the long and short term impacts of obesity on children, their growth and development, describe a specific child who is affected by obesity, and give three ways to combat obesity that involves collaboration among schools, families, and communities.

Prevention of health related disease attributed by obesity should begin with educating children to choose healthy lifestyles and not to spend all their money on sugary snacks and drinks. Schools are aware of the increasing rate of childhood obesity and know that education is one of the best tools that can be use at an early age to help reverse the rate of

Obesity has become an epidemic in adults and children in the United States. Moreover, children are at risk of obesity because they do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and do not obtain enough physical activity. Also, children have a higher chance of developing health diseases related to obesity such as hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and pulmonary disease. In addition, obesity in children from ages one to seventeen is an issue in Texas, since children are not aware of the serious consequences of being obese. Therefore, Texas should find ways to prevent obesity by authorizing healthier school lunches and allowing a school program to help obese children lose weight. Also, television advertisements are

Childhood obesity has expanded tremendously within the past thirty years (CDC, 2015). It is not only a state, but also a nationwide issue. For many children, they depend on their school lunches to provide them the nutritious meals they cannot afford to have at home. As a community, we need to get our children into better shape. Not only will they become more astute, but they will also live healthier lifestyles, and have less health complications as they age. When you are overweight or obese, you are much more likely to develop health problems like heart disease, diabetes, or even a stroke. It is our responsibility as a community, state, and nation to offer nutritious meals and activities for our youth and future.

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.

Childhood obesity is a serious health issue currently affecting America’s population. School lunches have gained a spotlight in the search for prevention of child obesity because the majority of America’s youth eat two school meals a day during most of the year. Although the nutritional standards of school meals have been changed over the years, there is still room for improvement. With additions such as a la cart and vending machines, school meals quickly fall from the federal nutrition standards. As children grow they spend an average of 7 hours a day at school over half of the year. With almost 95% of America’s children attending school, it is one of the most stable and influential aspects of their life. With so much of a child’s time spent

Childhood obesity is a pressing national health issue that requires policy attention at either the federal or state level. The health care costs associated with childhood obesity is staggering and according to the Duke Global Health Institute, “Childhood obesity comes with an estimated price tag of $19,000 per child when comparing lifetime medical costs to those of a normal weight child” (Duke Global Health Institute, 2014). Lack of action on the part of policymakers will only increase the number of obese children and the medical cost associated with it. The best way to address this issue is not by overt, heavy handed government action, but by policy prescriptions that indirectly influence behavior. The following three policy tools will leave

Childhood obesity is one of the major public health challenges of the 21st century. The prevalence of obesity is increasing globally. In 2013, the number of overweight children under the age of five was estimated over 42 million. Childhood obesity can cause premature death and disability in adulthood. Overweight and obese children will grow up to become obese adults and are more likely to develop diseases like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes at a younger age. Many factors can contribute overweight and obesity in children, however a global shift in dietary habits and lack of physical activity play a crucial role. Overweight and obesity are preventable. Unlike adults, children cannot select the environment they live or the food they eat, they are unware about the long term health consequences of their behavior. Therefore, it is important to have strict policies for the prevention of obesity epidemic. School play an important role in fighting against the epidemic of childhood obesity (World Health Organization, 2016). Even after the legislature has enacted laws to support school nutrition and physical education, many states including, Texas has not yet adopted these policies. It is important to have these policies in practice to prevent childhood obesity (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014). Government play an important role in making sustainable changes in public health. For that reason, the author is intended to

Both the prevalence and incidence of childhood obesity may increase because of all these potential root causes. Katzymarzyk & Janssen (2004) support this with their conclusion that in North America it is likely that both dietary intake and physical inactivity have played a role in the increasing prevalence of obesity, not just one single factor. Of these possible root causes, overconsumption due to large portion sizes will be focused as the single root cause as it dictates the probability of becoming obese at the fundamental level. Canadian society has seen a shift in the past century to larger serving sizes, inexpensive and accessible food, and frequent snacking that make it easier to overload on calories (Blackburn-Evans, 2004). Additionally, a different study concluded that obese children and adolescents need to limit their sugar-sweetened drinks and out of home food consumption as there is a relationship between these foods and body fatness, due to higher calorie intake (Gillis & Bar-Or, 2003). Gillis & Bar-Or (2003) went further to determine the types of foods children that are obese were consuming, and they found that they were consuming more servings of meat and alternatives, sugar-sweetened drinks, grain products, and potato chips compared to non-obese children. Overconsumption of these products contributes to a higher daily calorie intake. Overall, managing children’s calorie input to calorie output

America is home to the free and brave…also the obese. Within the last 4-5 years there has been a decrease in childhood obesity but the numbers are still weighing high. According to the CDC in 2011-2012 as many as 12.7 million children ages 2-19 are obese in the United States. Considering children from 5-18 are still in school most of the day, it is a good place to begin. As the percentage of children who are obese rises, schools and parents should bond together and fight against the rise in obesity by providing healthier eating options for their students.

One of the biggest issues in the US today is childhood obesity. The reason it’s childhood obesity is: Junk Food in school. Junk Food may be delicious, but it has to go. Obesity percentages are rising, costs more for the school, and kids are getting too energized for class.

One fundamental cause of obesity is diet. Adolescence is perfect example of this. Students might have breakfast and lunch at schools. The vast majority of students’ lunches often consist of crisps, chocolate bars and soft drinks, which are high energy foods and due to unbalance energy. (Oliver, 2010). According to research, 25% teenagers are already obese. (ibid). To save money or reduce expenses, schools provide unhealthy foods or junk foods. When soft drinks which were coca cola came into the global economy, drinking soft drinks became popular in schools. The data gives a detailed situation. If a student only has one tin of coca he might has 8 tablespoons of sugar and the rest can be done in the same manner one, a month is 240 tablespoons sugar from drinks. (ibid). Frequent, red meat, large meals high in refined grains, sugary drinks, unhealthy fats are typical Western diet. (Harvard School of Public Health, 2014).

Obesity is one of the most serious health issues facing American schoolchildren today. Moreover, exactly how to deal with childhood obesity is a question that vexes parents, politicians, educators, and nutritionists. Students spend a significant part of their day in school and therefore consume a significant proportion of their caloric intake at school. In addition, the school lunch program is important in providing food children from disadvantaged backgrounds (the subsidized National School Lunch program serves over 28 million schoolchildren a day). Thus, the role of schools in shaping the eating habits its of students as well as the potential for school-cafeteria dining to affect students' purchasing patterns is important to consider. Due to changes in school cafeteria practices, a student's food choices are poorer today than they were years ago. Snelling, Korba and Burkley (2007) discuss a Center for Disease control report that observed that in 2003 only 22% of students surveyed admitted to eating five or more servings of fruit and only 17% drank three or more glasses of milk during the seven days prior to being surveyed. Moreover, the intake of sugary drinks containing no significant fruit juices has doubled since the 1990s. Thus, school cafeterias may have a contributing influence on the change in diets observed in school age children and may

Restrictions should be made against junk food in school in order to decrease the rate of obesity and diabetes.“Junk food can be addictive for children and complications like obesity, chronic illness, low self esteem and even