Childhood Obesity Essay

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.

Topic: Childhood obesity in the United States Thesis statement: Childhood obesity nowadays is a big issue in our society, so it is necessary to know the factors that cause obesity to develop in children, while looking for a solution and ways to prevent childhood obesity. Search strategy and evaluation of resources: I began my research by going into the ASA databases and borrowing from the Ebsco e-book collection a book called Childhood obesity in America. I read it and get a complete overview of what exactly is childhood obesity. This book has plenty of information related to my topic, so that is one of the reasons why I chose this book as source of investigation. In fact, the book discusses very deeply about the factors causing the development of childhood obesity and can be shown with the following example: “Moods like

Childhood obesity is considered to be a serious issue among our youth. Obesity can cause many types of physical problems, which most are aware of, but it can also cause some undesirable internal feelings within children and adolescents who suffer from it. Self-esteem, or self-worth, is important as it helps develop personality and is a major ingredient to our mental health status (Wang, F. and Veugelers, P. J., 2008). Some have said obesity may even have a negative effect on cognitive development, as well. There have been studies performed to research the effects of obesity on children and adolescents, which I am going to review.

Howlett, Davis and Burton discuss how childhood obesity is a wide-spread problem with life-altering consequences as well as how it is more apparent among low-income consumers. The authors reference the World Health Organization often citing many statistics to help support their topic. They also discuss how the location of stores and prices of food can play a role in childhood obesity. They emphasis the fact that unhealthy foods are much more inexpensive than healthy foods as well as how convenience stores or restaurants such as fast food restaurants are much more plentiful than their counterparts. Due to this, low-income consumers are likely to purchase unhealthy foods rather than healthy foods as it is considerably more cost efficient. Through

Childhood Obesity has become one of the leading causes of death in our nation today. Sadly, our society in whole is one of the heaviest. Putting an emphasis on the fact that “obesity rates among children of all ages are dramatically higher then they were a generation ago” (Green). Society has made it, with little to no trouble, that kids can get what they want, when they want it. Children are unaware of the harm and trauma they are putting their bodies through at such a young age. Childhood obesity effects the lifetime of a person, and can potentially make that lifetime shortened. Little do children know, once they put on so much weight, it seems to be nearly impossible to take it off. Childhood obesity can rapidly reduce if we alter influences, education, media, the fast food industry, and most importantly, themselves. Also, “According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2004), over 16 percent of children and adolescents from six to 19 years of age are overweight and/or obese. This number has more than tripled since 1981” (Green). As a society, we need to put a stop to the influences and causes of childhood obesity because it can take over our society and cause serious issues for ourselves, and the world we live in.

The importance of maintaining a healthy weight is to reduce the risk of becoming overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese can affect children’s health for the rest of their lives. It causes a health issues and decrease longevity. For example, “when obesity occurred by 20 to 30 years of age there was an 20% reduction in longevity resulting in 17- 20 years less life span” (Lifshitz, 2008). Childhood obesity is associated with adult obesity and can be link to several factors such as genetics, lack of exercise, poor dieting, and the environment you live in.

Within the past 30 years, the rate of overweight and obese children has been growing at an alarming rate. The cause of this increasing problem is due to lack of physical activity, poor eating habits, and genetics. Childhood obesity can also lead to conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and bone problems later on in life. The prevalence of obesity varies among ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age.

The United States, the busiest country on over the world, is being threatened by the obesity, especially children. Compare with the past 30 years, in 2012, the number of children are obese increases doubled (Childhood Obesity Facts). The major elements that lead to the childhood obesity not only come from the invisible factor are family’s gene, but also the environment grow them up as school and the influence of technology in the modern society. But if the parent and school have a positive behavior on children’s eating habit, and also control the time using the technology of children, they can contribute to preventing this situation.

An increase in the average weight of children has been observed throughout the past several decades. This is due to many varying factors, such as diet, lack of knowledge of general health for both parent and child, and social class standings. Child obesity is defined by the BMI, or body mass index, percentage in relation to the child’s personal weight and height. Studies have shown that the main causes of childhood obesity are attributed to the parents’ diet for their child, the amount of exercise the child participates in, or lack thereof, and the amount of the child’s consumption of particularly unhealthy foods. Major health concerns include the development of heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea and social discrimination due to the child’s possible extreme health issues.

As a 200- pound third grader from Ohio has been taken away from his mother and placed into a foster care for being severely obese. Did the state go too far? Social workers worked for years with the boy’s mother to get control of her son’s weight but she did nothing. County spokeswomen said “medical neglect” for the reason her eight year old son was removed from his Cleveland home (Jaslow). Childhood obesity has more than triple in the past thirty years (USA, CDC). Because Childhood obesity continuous increase at an alarming rate in America, Pediatric Nurses must work with mainstream society to promote healthy eating, help implement a free class for parent’s to teach their kids on healthier lifestyles, and increase physical activity.

Many children living in the world are well nourished and consume foods that contain sufficient amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat and micronutrients in order to meet their nutritional requirements. However, there has been a downfall of recommended dietary standards considerably fallen short within children’s diets. Furthermore, an insignificant diet as well as physical inactivity, results in an energy imbalance and can lead to a major social issue of childhood obesity. The World Health Organization defines childhood obesity as a ‘serious medical condition consisting in excess body fat that affects children and adolescents.’ To address this problem, assessing the factors that have been suggested as contributing

Childhood obesity can have complications on a child's physical social and emotional well-being and development Obesity during childhood has both instant and long-term health effects Immediate effects of childhood obesity is the increased risk of impaired glucose tolerance insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the way a child's body uses sugar (glucose) Obesity along with a sedentary lifestyle increase a child's risk of type 2 diabetes (Mayo Clinic) Children who are obese also have a higher risk of joint and bone discomfort sleep apnea which is a potentially serious disorder where a child's breathing repeatedly stops and starts when they are sleeping or asthma as well as some psychosocial

According to The State of Obesity (Trust for America’s Health, 2014), in the United States today, 31.8% of children are obese or overweight, 16.9% of that number are obese. Nurses are at the forefront of promoting health, so what can they do to eradicate this prevalent disease? Research by Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal (as cited in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014) states that from 1980 to 2012, the percentage of overweight or obese children more than doubled, totaling to greater than one third of all children and adolescents as overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping the nation and becoming a severe problem. Besides the obvious risks of cardiovascular disease, bone and joint issues, low

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.

Childhood obesity may not seem like a serious problem, but it is a serious medical condition that can have major effects on a child. Although genetics play a role in determining a child’s weight, it is usually due to a child’s amount of exercise and the consumption of healthy meals. Doctors are concerned with the issue, as we all should be, and they are creating new programs that are geared toward helping children learn how to follow a healthier lifestyle. There are some promising outlooks with these programs, and most doctors agree that parents should help their children create a more active and healthy lifestyle. They also agree that the government should provide more attention to the issue as well. Since the growing problem of childhood