The Childhood Obesity Epidemic

Childhood obesity is a major public health epidemic which has significantly risen over the past three decades and there is no chance in sight of slowing it down unless real action is taken. This major health crisis continues to reduce individuals’ quality of life and has caused severe health problem like heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. In most cases, obese children grow up to be an obese adult. The prevalence of childhood obesity can be addressed through education initiatives such as school prevention programs because children spent a majority of their time outside of the home at school, therefore school provides a great opportunity to educate and improve a child’s health at an ideal point before the problem gets worst. My paper will focus on childhood obesity prevention in Hill Top Middle school Lodi, New Jersey.

Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that is affecting children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height and can result in serious medical conditions. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased significantly over the past ten years. Childhood diabetes has been on the rise since the early 90’s and continues to rise. In the article, “Don’t Blame the Eater” David Zinczenko, shows that “ Before 1994… only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today...Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of new childhood cases of diabetes in this country” (463). Type 2

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than one third of children are overweight. This figure is increasing rapidly. This epidemic puts children at risk for various health problems such as type two diabetes and heart problems. Although they are several risk factors for obesity, parents play a significant role in this issue. This paper will look into how parents are influential to their children, how they contribute to this problem and how they may help fight the fight against obesity. Obesity is a very serious problem and there are solutions that parents can apply to help their children lead a healthy lifestyle. Obesity does not only affect a person physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.

Childhood obesity is not just an issue in United States- it is an growing epidemic. Obesity epidemic in kids has increased by alarming rate just in last few decades. Nearly one in every five child is obese in the United States. If the pattern of obesity continued on most of America’s children will be living with diabetes, heart disease, and dying young due to obesity. The American Heart Association reported this year that childhood obesity is the top health concern among parents in the United States, beating out smoking and drug abuse. My own younger siblings suffer with child obesity. Their craving for fast food and very limited physical activity has made them overweight and currently they suffer from health problems. Is this the future of our young generation? How much contribution should a parent have in their child’s diet? Fast food has taken over American diet and it has lead to poor nutritional diet among American youth. Fast food companies spend billion of dollars every year on commercials, convincing youth to love and eat their product. It’s just not our eating habits that has lead our young generation into obesity, lack of physical workout has also played a major role in obesity epidemic. TV, computer, video games and other technology entertainment has contributed to children getting no exercise. Obesity in children can put them in high risks of developing chronic and serious illness. Unhealthy weight leads to having weaker lungs, poor blood quality, heart

What does childhood obesity means? Obesity can be defined as a condition in which the body carries abnormal or unhealthy amounts of fat tissue, leading the individual to weigh in excess or 20 percent more than his or her ideal weight (Health & Illness).Obesity in America is an ever-growing problem and has boosted America to the number one spot in terms of obese population. It also stands as the most prevalent medical issue in American Children. In the past thirty years, obesity has affected many different age groups of kids. Preschool group, two to five years in age, and the youths between the ages of twelve and nineteen the obesity rate has more than doubled (Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts 2v007). Childhood obesity has more than tripled in kid’s ages six to eleven years old. Children can become obese due to many different things like parents or schools. Although obesity may linger for a lifetime, there are many ways to overcome childhood obesity and not have to deal with the weight issue. Childhood obesity causes many problems and concerns in many American families, but families need to work together to overcome obesity. One out of three children in the United States falls into the overweight or obese category (Ding). Children face many different problems and issues at a young age because of obesity. Children obesity causes type 2 diabetes, fatty liver because of excessive weight issues, social problems, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders (Ludwig). Childhood

Childhood obesity is a major cause for concern within the United States. This is mainly due to children not getting the require nutrition that they need. Although study show that there is a decrease in obesity in children, it still remains at an all-time high. Children are failing to eat as healthy as they should, and it has become an even bigger problem now that they aren’t getting the require amount of food in their diets. The USDA made a decision a couple of years ago to reduce the amount of food given to children while they are at school. This hurts them tremendously, because the majority of the food they eat comes from being at school all day. The other half lies on the parents when they go home and eat dinner. It is very important for children to eat healthy and eat the required amount of food according to various dietary guidelines. First Lady Michelle Obama has started a new campaign to help kids and parents combat obesity in children. One thing that the campaign has placed emphases on is getting healthier food within school. Although they are getting healthier foods in school they are beginning to change the proportion they are giving students. Through the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign students should be giving healthier foods and also be allowed to have the correct proportion to help them maintain a healthy diet.

In Laura Dawes book, Childhood Obesity in America: Biography of an Epidemic specifically the chapter titled, “Fat Kids Go to Court,” the author examines various aspects of the food industries role in the childhood obesity epidemic. Dawes explores specific actions taken by children’s advocacy groups as well as junk food companies response to the groups attacks on their industry. The author also highlights the role future litigation could take in changing the advertising tactics as well as possible food reformulation by food industry powerhouses.

Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid. Paul Campos in his article “There is no Childhood Obesity Epidemic” discussed the there is a “stunning” drop in childhood obesity rate. He claims that obesity rates among two to five year olds have plunged over the past decade, and that the so called “obesity epidemic” had ended. I strongly disagree with Campos view that there is no childhood obesity epidemic, this is due to the researches that was done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which shows that childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescent in the past years.

Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming an epidemic in America. Children are becoming overweight from lack of exercise and overeating. A average US child eats fast food daily without exercise. More than 15 million US children live in “food insecure” homes which means they have limited access to the foods they need to stay healthy due to the cost of the items according to the Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Children are consuming much more than they burn off from exercise daily. Due to children eating more than they burn off, they are suffering from different types of diseases. Researchers are still studying these epidemics. So far, statistics have shown that children are in fact becoming obese from not exercising

Under this criteria,33% of children account for the 85th percentile and above. 1 out of every 3 children is considered overweight.

Families across the nation are affected by this issue. Many parents have a lack of knowledge in regards to nutrition and activity, in hindsight the food industry impact families. The article The Childhood Obesity Epidemic discuss despite the government pushing for healthy food choice initiates, have to continue to maximize selling of their products that include junk food, therefore blame shifting towards the food industry (McHugh, 2016, p. 95).

Social Factors: Children of many various ethnicity have greater implications with obesity, however studies have shown that Hispanic American children (both genders) and African American female children are effected at higher rate than European Americans and Asians (Salinas, Leyao, & DeWan, 2016). Numerous studies including BMC genetics have directly associated low household income to higher likelihood children being obese or overweight. According to the CDC 2000 growth reference, adolescence ages 12-19 are obese or over-weight with the body mass index (BMI) ≥95th, that is one in six child in the United States (Diesel, Eckhardt, Day, Brooks, Arslanian, & Bodnar, 2015).

For the past few decades, the dire situation of obesity in America has gotten worse and is now affecting new generations of young Americans. Every day the poor eating and physical choices that children make can lead them to a life with diabetes, heart disease, and cancers. The unhealthy lifestyle that children have is influenced by their parents and the society that surrounds them. This unprecedented surge of poor lifestyle choices has lead to an epidemic that young children are now facing. Ultimately, the health of young children is at stake.

This article “Parents’ Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic” written by Jan Hoffman talks about how parents are ignoring their children’s increasing weight gain and shrugging it off, saying things such as “my kid will grow out of it.” And I agree completely with this article, whether kids are healthy or not depends on who is managing their diet and exercise, so if a teenager is overweight, then their parents must have fed them a lot of bad foods when they were younger and the weight increased over time.

The way we eat has changed in the last fifty years with the advent of science and technology. Not only is food being chemically engineered but also the wrong foods are opted for because of their convenience, their marked down prices and their addictive nature. For that matter, the commencement of the 21st century brought our attention to the childhood obesity epidemic. Although a widespread issue, it is also a discriminative one in the sense that specific groups--African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians -- are disproportionately affected.