Who Is to Blame for Childhood Obesity?

As the obesity rate in America increases, people are pointing fingers at the fast-food industry. Teenagers, with the help of their parents, have filed lawsuits blaming fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s for their own health problems. However, parents, not the fast-food companies, are to blame for the amount of overweight children that are present today. They are the ones who teach their children eating and exercising habits, they are the ones who let their young consume unhealthy foods, they are the ones who allow their children to watch television and play on the computer for hours on end, it is obviously the parents fault for obesity in youth.

In the past three decades, rates of childhood obesity have increased precipitously. Between the years and 1980 and 2000, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 6.5% to 19.6% among 6 to 11 year old children and 5.0% to 18.1% among 12 to 19 year old adolescents x(National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2010). This condition is accompanied by many physical and psychological consequences for these children. There are two common postions in the debate about the causes of this condition. One belief of the cause of childhood obesity is that it is a question of “personal responsibility” or in the case of children, of “parental responsibility.” That is, increasing rates of obesity are due to

The question that has been debated for years is who is responsible for the children’s weight. In the articles that where researched during this paper the parents were responsible. The reason that they were responsible was because the decisions that parent make about their family and the lifestyle that they live affects their child’s health and it can also affect their health in the future. When you move out of your parent’s house you tend to mimic things that they did such as if they always bought Tide as their laundry soap when you got out on your own you probably bought Tide. Now when you were in a pinch one time you may have tried another brand because it was cheaper but for the most part you revert back to what you know. As a parent you should want your children to be as healthy as they can be a lot of parents that where talked to while researching the subject of childhood obesity seemed to just not have the knowledge about obesity.

In 2014, two parents were arrested because their son was obese. The boy weighed 210 pounds; however, his parents did not consider his weight to be a problem. They did not think that being obese was a big deal. Like this case, these days, the rate of childhood obesity is increasing greatly, and childhood obesity is becoming a serious issue for children. Childhood obesity has many poor aspects for children. For instance, it is unhealthy for children’s bodies, and it also negatively influences their future bodies. Also, it causes bullying at school because of childhood obesity and truancy that are related to mental issues. Scholars assert that childhood obesity is the fault of parents; however, some scientists claims that it is due to genetics or diseases, such as an internal predisposition and hypothalamic disease. Despite these claims, the evidences shows that childhood obesity is a result of a lack of parental care, and parents should be held accountable on childhood obesity.

The parents usually, and hopefully, play the leader role. No one formally assigns them to that role, it just happens because that’s the way that it is. It’s a big role for parents to play in this situation, basically everything except the receiver, which the child is. Children need so much guidance when it comes to obesity. They don’t think of the consequences that happen from an unhealthy lifestyle. And if that’s all that they’ve ever known, it’ll be hard for them to change that. Other kids probably won’t provide obese children with positive communication and support, so it’s crucial that the parents do. Parents should provide their children with positive communication. The children still need discipline, especially with their food choices, but in a positive way. Obese children are so emotionally unstable the way it is, they don’t need their parents disapproval and harsh words on top of that. So basically, communication is key in childhood obesity. Children need to learn how to live healthy. Parents need to not just tell their children, they need to show them. By providing obese children with the physical and emotional guidance that they so badly need, parents can help their children live a happier and healthier life. And if every parent across America can work on this, then together we can help to beat childhood obesity in

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.

The way adults bring up their kids will reflect the life that they will live later. It is extremely important that our youth understands what chronic diseases are and how severe obesity can be. Not only do children need to understand the intense health issues that obesity has, but also the social impact that it can deal with. Many kids deal with severe depression, self esteem issues, and may deal with being bullying due to that fact that they are overweight. In the “Weight of the Nation,” there are a few kids who are interviewed and explain that often feel like out casts when they are school and will hide in the background so that no one has to look at

In the United States, Obesity is one of the most common physical features for both men and women. Obesity has become one of America’s main health crisis, due to poor eating habits along with lack of exercise leads the cause of obesity. Many people do not participate in sports activities or is capable of working out every day. In result, their body is not able to lose the amount of calories of the harmful food. This debate consist of rather it is lack of exercise, or the most popular subject too much fast food. Majority of obese people are known for eating out a lot and not being aware of the amount times they eat.

After reading and analyzing Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor’s article, “Who’s to Blame for Childhood Obesity?”, I established that I was in agreement with a great deal of their findings. I was alarmed by content in the article revealing that publicly the junk food industry “sympathizes” with America’s obesity crisis yet behind the scenes they hold an entirely different agenda: profit. I was deeply saddened to learn that lobbyists hired by these influential companies wield so much power in governmental decisions and legislation. These lobbyists diligently seek to protect the interest of the junk food industry, yet, in the meantime, who is diligently seeking to protect the best interest and health of the American public, explicitly our

Although, parents are not the only cause of childhood obesity, they play a giant part in the fight against it. There are many other contributing factors like advertisements sending the wrong message about nutrition, and using toys, and cartoons like Ronald Mcdonalds to lure children. To put an end to this, parents can start educating their children, and themselves about nutrition, they can decrease the amount of trips to fast food venues, and start preparing meals at home. We can all start breaking bad habits, and start leading healthier

Childhood obesity has now reached an epidemic in several parts of the United States. As a result, children now have a higher risk to have numerous chronic and acute medical problems. Several of the long-lasting medical problems a child might face as a result of obesity could eventually result in death. In addition to chronic medical problems, childhood obesity has severe psychosocial effects on an individual such as low self-esteem and depression. Childhood obesity is a serious problem that is caused by a numerous amount of factors that can eventually lead to severe health complications.

First, media coverage of childhood obesity can be seen from organizations such as the Childhood Obesity Foundation. The organization’s purpose is “…to lead a societal shift toward healthy eating and active lifestyles to promote childhood healthy weights and the resulting physical and emotional impacts” (Childhood Obesity Foundation 2015). The mission statement promotes the idea that childhood obesity could cause unhappiness and sickness for children, and that society needs to change in order to address the issue. A section on the website addresses the current obesogenic environment of society, which it describes as “…places that encourage people to eat unhealthily and not exercise enough” (Childhood Obesity Foundation 2015). The foundation frames society as a negative environment that encourages unhealthy behaviors, requiring changes to a more health-focused society. Furthermore, the website has a section regarding the complications of childhood

Forty years ago in America childhood obesity was rarely a topic of conversation. A survey done in the early 1970s showed that 6.1% of children between the ages 12 and 19 were overweight. Eight years later the same survey was done and 17.4% were considered overweight (Iannelli). “Childhood obesity epidemic in America is now a confirmed fact since the number of overweight or obese children has more than tripled during the last 30 years” (Childhood Obesity Epidemic). “Over the last 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in children aged 6 to 11 years has tripled from 6.5% to 19.6%” (Childhood Obesity Epidemic). As a nation statistics should be alarming. Why are American children today so obese?

It’s been shown that children with obese parents are more likely to become obese. Heredity contributes between 5-25 percent risks of obesity. Other risks can be attributed to the environment and behavior. Obesity is generally linked to over eaten but in most cases its heredity problem children should be careful because genes can also pass to their offspring. The problem cannot be corrected but you can prevent it. Children should be given an appropriate diet and should be deterred from overeating. Child obesity can be predicted at an early stage and children should be aware of the consequences of obesity.

Parents are at fault for childhood obesity. The job of a parent is to teach a child wrong from right, including their