Why The Obesity Epidemic Is Through Nutritional Education

Many Americans are suffering from nutrition issues. There are approximately 12.5 million children and adolescents aged 2-19 years that are obese (CDC). The proper health and nutrition for children is very critical to their growth and development. The media and its promotion of junk food is one way that affects obese children. Within this paper, I will discuss the long and short term

In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than tripled. The pervasiveness of obesity has increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 20% in 2014 among children aged 6 to 11. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 increased from 5.0% to 18.1% during the same 30-year period. With that said, America is experiencing a very serious health issue concerning its youth. Obesity results from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity. In addition, obesity is mediated by genetic, behavioral, cultural, and environmental factors. The health impact from childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects, negative consequences that include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States. With families always on the go these days it has become easier to grab something to eat at a fast food restaurant than to cook at home. Parents have also instilled in their children that they don’t always need to eat healthy. Children would rather eat junk food than eat fresh fruit or vegetables.

Obesity is a market driven disease that has affected the US the most negatively in the past 3 decades. Obesity isn’t just a health issue, but it is a national defense issue that will become a serious issue in the soon arriving future. The less that people act now, the less people we will have to worry about in the future. However, there are a few solutions to minimizing obesity in children and adults that will make major changes that many will not appreciate, but they will take a joint effort from schools and parents. The future of the US is in danger if we cannot control our youth’s dietary and physical fitness

In a article entitled Childhood Obesity, Han, Lawlor, and Kimm (2010) stated that childhood obesity can adversely affect almost every organ system and often has serious consequences, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance or diabetes, fatty liver disease, and psychosocial complications. Children between the ages of 14 and 19 who are characterized as overweight or obese show signs of increased adult mortality from different systemic diseases. Studies also showed that high childhood and adolescent BMI is associated with increases risk of cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disorders, and specific nutritional deficiencies (Han, Lawlor, and Kimm, 2010). If this health issue is not made aware of and handled, our society could see our children plagued with many health issues that are usually only seen in adults and they may die at earlier ages than their parents. Childhood obesity is a trend that needs to be stopped for the sake of our children’s health. Our goal should be teaching children how to make intelligent choices about eating and exercising (Han, Lawlor, and Kimm (2010). This can be hard when we live in a society where overeating is seen as normal and many adults also lack the knowledge of how to eat healthy. Finding ways to inform adults about healthy eating and habits can help children do the same. It is known that children learn a lot from their

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. The obesity epidemic on the rise and something must be done to solve this issue. About seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

In order to curb childhood obesity rates schools should focus on teaching children the importance of eating healthy. Obesity is largely caused by eating unhealthy foods, and unfortunately many children do not know what is bad for their bodies. Schools can help children with this problem by offering a nutrition class to all students. A class like this would greatly help children to fight obesity by teaching them to make healthy food choices. The class should focus on helping children to be confident with their own bodies, as well as helping them to make healthy food choices. This would help children to know what is good for them, and what

Obesity is a nutritional disorder among American children and teens. Obesity occurs in 17% of the world’s population (1.3 billion children worldwide). If children do not change their customary ways of living, and continue their injurious diet, there will be a major increase in the percentile of annual obesity rates. Childhood obesity

Many Americans are struggling with keeping a healthy weight, and this problem even is seen through this country’s children. Schools should educate children about obesity and the consequences it has on their bodies. Overweight children are more common in today’s society because of the bad choices parents and schools make toward feeding their children. When the time comes to make healthy decisions, children can make bad choices because of the influences brought on by their environments. Children need to be taught how to eat healthy and perform more exercises. Since children are in school many hours a day, the schools need to help end this problem by preparing healthier meals, encouraging students to exercise, and educating the students about the health problems related to obesity.

As the common saying goes, our habits make us. That’s why it’s important to make sure any child has the opportunity and the resources to make healthy habits. Childhood obesity is a big problem. Almost half of all children and adolescents are overweight or obese (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.” Childhood obesity has its roots in poor education and meal options, and can effect someone’s health, confidence, and well-being for life.

The first food policy goal is to prevent human health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more other disease caused by unhealthy diet. A first step to achieve this goal is to make our children healthier eating habits. Providing and enabling environment (in schools, in families, in mass-media) for learning of healthy preferences are necessary to ensure a future generation less exposed to disease risk. According to the article, the food industry supports this approach for healthier foods, especially those marketed to children. It “has begun offering hundreds of organic products as well as new processed food with less fat, sugar, salt, and additives” (819). In additional, a new federal school lunch dietary guidelines add major

In the age of television and fast food, diet and nutrition for children seems to be severely taken for granted. We are now seeing the effects of fatty foods and a sedentary lifestyle. It is becoming more and more common to see overweight children or obese children. What was once unheard of in children is now a reality so many families live with.

Obesity: a common underlying issue on today’s society, yet then again it is an issue profoundly in front of our face. One could inquire the reasoning behind a hamburger, greasy and fat, being less expensive than a nutritional healthy salad, and one could honestly answer in saying that they would not know. It is easy for parents to go grab a kid’s meal, cheaper too, which the option of cooking and/or eating something healthy is soon weighed out as an option of being time consuming. It is very apparent that children are more overweight and obese in the present than in the past. Childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years (Childhood obesity causes & consequences 1) Along with the physical change, there are many health risk that can be involved when a child is obese. Immediate health issues include: risk factors pertaining to cardiovascular disease, increasing chances in having pre diabetes, and higher risk of having bone joint problems (Childhood obesity causes & consequences 1). In the long run, the obese children will become obese adults, therefore greater risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer (Childhood obesity causes & consequences 1). Since children are heavily dependent on their parents and guardians, parents play a vital role in the development of their child; so it is the parents’ responsibility to insure that their child is a healthy weight by taking

In order to stop the rising rates of obesity, there has to be some steps taken to ensure that parents are educated about such programs that will teach them about the effects of different foods and what is actually considered healthy for young children to eat. Sarah Barlow and the Expert Committee (2007) state that the parents being the primary caregivers should track unhealthy eating habits and assess the medical risks in children when children are consuming unhealthy foods. Many of the junk foods that are bought today in stores are usually packed with additives and high amounts of sugar thus the over consumption of these certain foods will have many negative health risks. As Pearson et al. state, “While the causes of childhood obesity are complex, one of the contributing factors is the over-consumption of energy dense foods, that is, foods high in fat, salt and sugar, such as most snack foods” (Boots et al., 2015, p. 94). Most foods that are made today are mostly process and packed high with unhealthy fats, sugar and sodium contents. These ingredients are the reason obesity occurs in children, due to the fact that children typically love candy and other foods that are not nutritious for the body. Such unhealthy diet choices may lead to obesity and may also cause diseases to enter the body. Pearson et al. and Emmett and Jones both associate the risks of poor diet towards diseases and obesity, which can be seen in numerous children today. The consumption of such foods that

The wellness of children is always a debate regardless of where you go. What foods are considered nutritious? Who is responsible for making these choices for our children? I have paid attention to the types of foods that are made available to my children over the past few years and I am not impressed. Three out of four days the menu has fried foods, such as mini corn dogs, popcorn chicken and chicken tenders. The vegetables are always frozen and fruits come from a can. These options may fit the food pyramid but I am wondering why our children can’t be given fresher options. Food options like these do not help the increasing obesity problems that our children are currently experiencing. This paper intends to show how