Research Project : Advocating For Social Change Essay

Child obesity is a condition characterized by the child having too much fat in the body to an extent of his or her health being in danger. In adults, it could be described as a state of having a body mass index of more than thirty (Paxon, 2006). Parents feeding them with too many calories bring about obesity in children. The excess calories are converted to fats that accumulate in the child’s body. This child will develop a big body because he or she will add weight and become quite fleshy. Obese children are at a risk of getting very adverse health effects, some of

Since the 1980’s obesity rates have soared. Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled between adults and children. Twelve years later in 2012, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention estimated more than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Being overweight is defined as having excess body weight from a combination of height, fat, and muscle. On the other hand, Obesity is simply having too much excess body fat. Being overweight and obese are the result of caloric imbalance. Society tends to consume more calories than calories expended. Obesity can lead to more serious medical issues such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even cancer. I believe that there are many causes of obesity, but there are just as much solutions for a healthier life.

Obesity is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity often begin in childhood and is linked to many psychological problems such as asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood. Childhood obesity is related to increased mortality and morbidity in adulthood as many obese children grow up to become obese adults (Johnson, 2016). In the last 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. In the United States, the percentage of children aged six to eleven years who were obese seven percent in 1980 has increased to eighteen percent in 2012. In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height, whereas obesity is having excess body fat. Childhood obesity can lead both immediate and long term effects on health and well-being. Obese children are likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. A population based sample of five to seventeen year old shows 70% obese children have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Obese children and adolescents are at risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as poor self-esteem and stigmatization. Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, stroke, type 2

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.

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States in the past three decades. In 2012, roughly 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese” (“Childhood Obesity Facts,” 2014). According to the Centers of Disease Control and

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.

Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% .

Before the causes, effects, and prevention of Childhood Obesity can be debated, there must be a clear difference made between overweight and obesity. Being overweight is the state of “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, and or water.” Being obese includes the definition of overweight, but it also includes “having excess body fat.” (“Facts”) In short, the state of being obese is worse than being in the state of overweight, and has more considerable causes and effects.

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.

States many facts that have occurred in our time related to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period. In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. The CDC defines being overweightas having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle,

The past several decades have seen an escalating trend in the rate of childhood obesity. Obesity results from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and inadequate physical activity. Childhood obesity has continued to be a major issue in the public healthcare system, and has more than tripled. Obesity has increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 20% in 2014 among children aged 6 to 11. During the same 30 year period, obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 increased from 5.0% to 18.1%. With that said, America is experiencing a very serious health issue concerning its youth.

Childhood obesity is a significant and increasingly detrimental health problem on both a national and worldwide scale. National studies conducted by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention predict that, “over one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2012” (“Childhood Obesity,” 2014). Additionally, researchers who have studied the prevalence of childhood obesity over time have found that the rate of childhood obesity in the United States has been exponential increasing, nearly tripling in the last three decades. Defining what constitutes as overweight or obese has also been an issue for professionals because of the variance in body structures in relation to gender, ethnicity, height, and bone structures. Most recently, obesity has been measured using a body mass index (BMI) scale which compares weight over height. For a person to be clinically obese, their BMI must be greater than the 85th or 95th percentile, or if their weight over height is over 120% (Must, & Strauss, 1999). For years, researchers and health professionals have been aware of the serious health risks associated with adults who are extremely overweight or obese, but work done to understand the implications of childhood obesity is a relatively new field of study.

America is facing a rigorous obesity plague that is endangering the health of millions. Moreover, we are passing our bad practices down to our children. Obesity is a stipulation in which anomalous or excessive fat buildup in adipose tissue that damages health. Obesity is defined in adults as a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 30 (kg/m). Obesity is one of the most discernible, but until recently, most deserted public health problems. The present high pervasiveness of obesity and the brisk increase in pervasiveness in the last twenty years has been referred to as an endemic (Johnson SJ, Birch LL. 1994). Children all through the U.S. are getting fatter and less fit, through potentially treacherous enduring consequences. The figure of

Obesity is a growing problem among U.S. children. In 1994, one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 was overweight. This is double the rate of 30 years ago (National Center for Health Statistics, 1999). This adverse trend has potentially profound effects on children's health, including their long-term health. The terms "obese" and "overweight" often are used interchangeably. Technically, "obesity" is the upper end of "overweight." Obesity is clinically diagnosed as: greater than 90th percentile for weight for height; or greater than or equal to the 95th percentile Body Mass Index (BMI), age and sex specific. The gold standard is becoming the BMI, since this is also used

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.