The Epidemic Of Childhood Obesity Essay

Have you ever wondered what are the major causes of obesity? The CDC (2017) states that one out of every five children in the U.S. are overweight or obese, and this number is continuing to rise. Wilson (2016) states that many children who are obese develop health complications, such as joint, gallbladder, and sleeping problems. The majority of children who are obese as kids tend to be obese as adults. Reason being, many children develop bad eating habits by learning from their surroundings. When it comes to such an important topic as obesity there 's not only one cause, but several causes of why obesity is such a huge problem in America. Childhood obesity has greatly increased over the years and there are three main causes that have caused

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 has increased dramatically in the past few years. It is a result of an imbalance between how much a child eats and how much a child keeps their body active to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Common factors that are influencing childhood obesity would be the lack of self-control, environmental, and genetics. In order to combat these rising numbers of childhood obesity, people as a collective force must target problem areas within homes, schools, and their surrounding community by educating each other.

Childhood obesity is becoming an increasingly severe problem in today’s society. This portfolio aims to explain different causations of childhood obesity, and evaluate the interventions that have been put in place to combat the issue.

Definition of Childhood Obesity: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), a child with a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile and below the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex are considered overweight. If a child or teen has a BMI over the 95th percentile they are considered obese (CDC, 2015).

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 in America has been a big topic in the last decade. Within the United States and the high drive society we have, more people every year are eating improperly. The improper diet we are feeding our children is slowly killing them. Chicken, broccoli, and carrots are getting substituted for McDonalds and Burger King. The numbers do not lie every year more and more children are becoming obese, big question is why? How can we combat this epidemic? And how can we reverse these trends? Obesity leads to many problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, coronary vascular disease, heart attack, stroke, and even some cancers. This is why through statistical analysis, proper diet, and proper exercise we can combat this slippery slope that is slowly killing our children, obesity.

viii. Fast foods are high in calories, provide less fruits and vegetables, and are packed with sugar, fat, and sodium

The obesity epidemic holds the responsibility to annihilate many of the health benefits that have contributed to the increased durability recognised in the world today. In 2014, approximately 41 million children under 5 years of age were affected by overweight or obesity. Today, progress in extinguishing childhood obesity has been gradual and conflicting. A greater number of children are, even from before birth, on the brink to developing obesity. Children who are not yet at the bodymass-index (BMI)-for-age verge for the early staged of childhood obesity or overweight are at an all high of developing obesity.

obesity is okay and that it is not that big of a deal, they are wrong. There

Obesity has been a major health issue in the community for the past three decades, and has recently become a spreading concern for children (Black & Hager, 2013). Childhood obesity leads to many health and financial burdens in the future, and has become a public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016), childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Black and Hager (2013) state that pediatric obesity is a major public health problem that effects a child’s mental and physical health. Having childhood obesity also increases the risk of developing adult obesity and many other chronic illnesses. Childhood obesity will be further explored in the following sections and will include: background, current surveillance methods, epidemiology analysis, screening and diagnosis, and the plan of action.

Obesity rates in the United States are alarming, with more than one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children qualifying as obese with a Body Mass Index greater than 30.0 (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015). Even more frightening is the growth rate of this crippling health epidemic; between 1980 and 2014, obesity has doubled for adults and tripled for children (CDC, 2015). The physical consequences of rising obesity rates in our country include an abundance of physical ailments including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, elevated cholesterol, and even some cancers. Additionally, obesity-related health care costs to our country are estimated at $147 billion annually, plus the costs of productivity lost at

Childhood obesity has increased drastically over the past years and has become a high health risk to children. In fact, childhood obesity has doubled in numbers in the past thirty years (Childhood Obesity Facts). Obesity occurs when an individual becomes overweight and doctor’s diagnose a patient by using the body mass index or BMI scale. Obesity causes many diseases in children which cannot be cured without a doctor, in result, childhood obesity drives high health care costs. Since little effort has been put forward to prevent childhood obesity the existence of this disease has begun to skyrocket in numbers. The number of children who suffer from obesity have greatly increased over the years so, people have to come up with a solution to prevent obesity. However, it will take more than just one solution to prevent childhood obesity, it will take many. Without the prevention of obesity future generations could be in serious trouble with health issues. Childhood obesity should be prevented by showing the youth that healthy will benefit them in life, therefore, parents start by guiding children in the correct direction with their eating habits, limit their fast food intake, and fight the market for unhealthy foods so that children are not exposed to unhealthy options.

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.

Many children are currently suffering from obesity all around the world (Zuraikat 2010). Often times if parents don’t have a good nutritional balance then their children will become obese as well. Adults might not care what others think of them, but most likely their children will be bullied in school. There is a lot of discrimination around the world till this day towards obese people (Zuraikat 2010). Believe it or not if two people go apply for the same job position often times the one that looks physically better will get the job. For this reason, it is significantly important to maintain a well-balanced nutritional diet starting at a young age. There are times when children are consuming high portions of fat