Essay on The Impact of Child Obesity on a Child's Life

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

The new generation continues to increasingly fall under obesity’s evil spell. Although many Americans recognize that their children are obese, they fail to accept that this is an epidemic that should be controlled and given dramatic attention to. Research suggests that childhood obesity in the United States has doubled in the past decade. Despite the fact that we have necessary resources to control these statistics, Americans continue to expose their youngsters to unhealthy and fattening meals. It is no joke that America is the fattest nation in the world. Thus, preventing this serious issue should be perceived as a life-or-death situation where if we fail to control it, many more overweight children will grow up to be obese adults in the future.

Childhood obesity is a huge problem facing America today. It’s like an epidemic, spreading across America at alarming rates. Just in the past 30 years, childhood obesity rates have more than doubled among children and quadrupled among adolescents. Today, it has been estimated that one in every six children or adolescents is obese ("Childhood Obesity Facts”). And if things don’t change soon, those numbers will just keep rising. This isn’t a problem that we can leave up to children to deal with themselves. Parents and adults need to take responsibilities for children’s health and futures. Children or adolescents who have a body mass index of over 30 are considered to be obese. Too much body fat can lead to many negative

America, like any other country, has its assortment of problems: immigration, debt, or foreign affairs but one issue that is rather hard to overlook, literally, its obesity epidemic. The extra pounds have become a sight all too common in America’s society, “men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity does not just affect adults in this way either, the kid population has been getting bigger, according to the numbers on a scale “the proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled.” (Kolbert). This issue has been a major concern to doctors and scientists for decades and in recent years, has even has the American Medical Association recognizing obesity to be a disease (Pollack). That is a highly debatable statement because obesity itself is a preventable lifestyle. Obesity is avoidable and curable to all (or at least most) of its sufferers. For some citizens, obesity is not a choice, rather genetics, but for the majority of the population, obesity is caused by an unhealthy diet and lazy lifestyle, and for these certain individuals, through a lot of work and discipline, the return to a healthy lifestyle is not as impossible as it may appear.

The first lady Michelle Obama took the initiative to inform about the epidemic of obesity among children’s because “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity in America have triple, and today nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese” (Let’s Move). The percentage of young children ages six through eleven years have increase in eleven percent that means that children obtaining more weight, also among teenagers ages twelve through nineteen years old who have been obese and this number has increase from five percent to nearly twenty one percent over the

In 2012 CDC statistics show that “over 35 percent of adults and 32 percent of children in the United States of America are recorded as obese (30kg/m2), the obesity rate has doubled since 1971.1” Not only is epidemic growing in numbers of victims but also in expenses. The United States spent 147 billion dollars in 2008 on medical expenses costs and that does not include the programs that fight against the problem. “In 2003 over 300,000 died due to obesity related health problems, diseases and cancers.6” One of the most important battles we wage on American soil is the war for citizens to be fit, and it nearly always starts in the childhood. Since 1971 the problem of childhood and adult obesity started to grow annually due to many reasons related to our ways of living. Now the food industry, including fast food has been getting more and more unhealthy due to unnatural modifications. What Americans eat is not organic anymore and is taking its toll on American lifestyle. The fast food industry has been making advertisements and foods focused upon youth. Since the original commercials directed towards children, it has nearly tripled since the rise of technology. Technology has been growing rapidly as obesity is, statistics show that with the advancement of technology, the population starts to slow down, stop exercising and eating healthier foods. As long as there is childhood obesity, there will be adult obesity, with effects on children causing obesity, there will be a

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

A drive down the road in any given American city and one can observe at least one reason that the United States is struggling with obesity. One would be hard pressed to find a community that is not teeming with fast food restaurants. However, it might surprise some that the obesity epidemic in our country has reached the most vulnerable population of all and they aren’t even capable of driving themselves to these bastions of unhealthy food. The childhood obesity level has reached 34% of children in the United States (SHUMEI, 2016).Obesity is caused by consistently consuming more calories than are needed for the level of physical activity one has on a daily basis. Although there are several indicators of obesity, the CDC and The American Academy of Pediatrics use the body mass index (BMI). Childhood obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex (Perpich, 2011). Childhood obesity has been linked to an increase in Type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma, hypertension, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and even affects children in psychosocial terms with low self-esteem and fewer friends than their non-obese contemporaries (Hispanic Health Care International, 2011). There are a variety of causes that work together for contributing to childhood obesity from the income level of the home to gender to even the location of the child’s home. Although there are many factors that can cause childhood obesity, we

Childhood obesity has placed the health of an entire generation at risk. Obesity in America is a big problem that has been growing over the years. “An estimated 12.5 million children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (Loop 2015). As the number of children being affected keeps growing, parents or guardians do not change the habits that lead their children to become obese. “Among children today, obesity is causing a broad range of health problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood” (American Heart Association, 2014). Not only is obesity causing health problems more than before, but it also causing a big problem in America. More and more children every year become obese and it keeps growing. Even though some people believe the lifestyle of a person is not to blame for the childhood obesity problem in America, the technology, the parenting style , and the media of the outside world are huge factors that contribute to childhood obesity.

A problem that is plaguing America and needs to be addressed with a policy change in school systems across the country is obesity. Obesity in America has been declared an epidemic, and the most alarming rates of obesity exist in younger demographics, which generally dictate that these children will continue into adulthood as obese adults (Jacobson, Kim, & Tortolero, 2009). This will add to the massive costs to society that obesity contributes from loss of employee hours to hospital care from the many diseases that are developed as a result of obesity. Therefore, this issue needs to be addressed early in life with school-aged children as it is far more difficult to stop obese adults from engaging in negative behavior that facilitates or worsens their obesity while legislative action can be taken to develop rules and regulations that can be implemented in school districts across the country.

Because this is beginning to breach into the youngest generation of this country, there needs to be something done to ensure American children are aware about the potential consequences of obesity and how to prevent it. In order to expand childhood knowledge about preventing obesity, children need to be educated about nutrition and physical health. In an article detailing ways obesity can be solved, Richard Attais said,

Childhood obesity is a disease where excess body fat affects a child's health or wellbeing. With the number of children affected by the disease increasing, it is important to understand the consequences. Not only will obesity influence a child’s physical heath, but it can also affect their emotional and social health as well. Acknowledging that obesity is a preventable disease should help lower the number of children affected by it. It is not about dieting; it is a lifestyle change that should be adopted and practiced by the whole family. Being obese increases a child's risk of being an obese adult. I will argue that parent education regarding the physical and emotional effects of childhood obesity can protect the lives of children.

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.

Today in the 21st century we have experienced an amazing amount of increase in technology, science, engineering and many other things. One of the things that has increased the most is technology, we are so advanced in technology that now organs can be transported in a machine that will keep them going, this means that organ transplants are transported safely and there is no time limit to the amount of time organs can last. Technology has grown so much that colonization in mars is very likely to happen soon. But as technology grows there has also been a huge amount of increase in weight. Obesity is something that many people in the United States suffer from, currently according to the CDC more than 36.5% of adults and 17% of children suffer from childhood obesity. These numbers keep growing year by year, and if these numbers continue to rise, obesity can have a huge impact in peoples life especially children’s. Children who are obese can suffer from high blood pressure, breathing problems, joint problems, cardiac disease, and low self-esteem and according to the CDC “obesity and disease risk factors in adulthood are more likely to be more severe in children who suffer from childhood obesity,” meaning that when children grow to be adults they are more likely to suffer from obesity and have more severe diseases than those children who do not suffer from obesity in their early childhood. This can have a great impact in their adult life because it can prevent them from doing