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Childhood obesity future effects essay
Impact of childhood obesity on the nation
Factors contributing to childhood obesity
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Childhood obesity is an important issue because of the staggering proportions that
this disease has reached in the past few years. Certain genetic factors paired with
changing lifestyles and culture has produced kids (and adults) who are generally not as
healthy as people were just a few decades ago. Widespread obesity has been the extreme
result of these changes.
I chose this topic because I have worked with children all of my life. I plan to
continue my work with children in the future, possibly in an academic administration
setting. Because schools are seen as an important player in the battle with childhood
obesity, it is important that educators are aware of the health risks and that they learn
what they can do to change the situation.
The Center for Disease Control Website distinguishes between the terms
overweight and obesity. The term overweight refers to a person with a weight that is
high compared to others his same height and technically has nothing to do with an
individual’s amount of body fat. For example someone could have a higher weight due
to having lots of muscle mass (Defining). In consideration of this, one source points out
that it is probably more accurate to say that someone is overfat when referring to a
condition of having too much body fat (Insel and Roth, 237).
Obesity on the other hand is defined as “an excessively high amount of body
fat…in relation to lean body mass” (Defining).
The prevalence of obesity in America rose 11 percentage points between 1991
and 2003, especially among African-Americans and young Mexican-Americans (James).
Another study was conducted comparing the time period of 1988-1994 to 19992000.
Between these two periods, the per...
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288.14 (9 Oct. 2002). 22 Mar. 2004 full/288/14/1728>. Smith, J. Clinton. Understanding Childhood Obesity. Jackson, Miss.: University Press
of Mississippi, 1999. 23 Mar. 2004
Details.aspx>.
“Tulane University Expert Available to Comment on U.S. Obesity Epidemic.” Ascribe &
Fitness News Service (12 Aug. 2002). 22 Mar. 2004 unc.edu/cgi-bin/external_database_auth?A=P|F=Y|ID=136|REL=HSL|URL= http://www.nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?rsrc=2>.
“U.S. Obesity Epidemic Converges With Rise in Adult-Onset Diabetes Among
Children, Says Pediatric Professor.” Ascribe Health & Fitness News Service (17
May 2001). 22 Mar. 2004 database_auth?A=P|F=Y|ID=136|REL=HSL|URL=http://www.nclive.org/cgi-bin/ nclsm?rsrc=2>.
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.
defined as an excess of Body Fat (BF). There is no consensus on a cutoff point for excess fatness
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?
Yaussi, S. (2005). The Obesity Epidemic: How Non-PE Teachers Can Improve the Health of Their Students. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 79105-108.
In the United States one out of five children are overweight or obese according to WebMD. When a child is overweight or obese, safety becomes an issue because it can seriously affect the young child’s health conditions. Obesity is now a worldwide health problem that has not only caused a lot of sparks and talk, but has also begun to rank as a serious risk, comparable to diseases.
The World Health Organization (2006, WHO) defines obesity as a body mass index (weight-for-height) equal to or more than 30. In the UK the prevalence of obesity in childhood has significantly increased over the past twenty five years. A study commissioned by The Health Survey for England (HSE) showed that between 1996 and 2001 the proportion of obese children aged six to fifteen rose by 3.5 per cent from 20 per cent to 23.5 per cent of the population in that age bracket; there is no reason to suspect that the children of England are not representative of the United Kingdom as a whole.
The present public health problem has become a great public concern and the future of these children and future adults has also been brought to attention. For example, "as obese children are more than likely to become obese adults, they are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and several cancers" (Gollust, 2014). Research has also indicated that the current generation of children are on track to have shorter lives than their parents because of increasing rates of obesity (Gollust, 2014).
Childhood obesity is a serious problem among American children. Some doctors are even calling childhood obesity an epidemic because of the large percentage of children being diagnosed each year as either overweight or obese. “According to DASH sixteen to thirty-three percent of American children each year is being told they are obese.” (Childhood Obesity) There is only a small percentage, approximately one percent, of those children who are obese due to physical or health related issues; although, a condition that is this serious, like obesity, could have been prevented. With close monitoring and choosing a healthier lifestyle there would be no reason to have such a high obesity rate in the United States (Caryn). Unfortunately, for these children that are now considered to be obese, they could possibly be facing some serious health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancers. All of these diseases have been linked to obesity through research. These children never asked for this to happen to them; however, it has happened, and now they will either live their entire life being obese, or they will be forced to reverse what has already been done (Childhood Obesity).
What is obesity? Obesity is a heath condition where the subject has an abnormally large amount of fat for their height. A person who has a body mass index of over 30 is classified obese by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
The United States needs to do something to change the amount of childhood obesity in the nation. If the government requires children to take classes that require physical activity, abolishes school vending machines, and teaches children about healthy eating, then the amount of children that are obese in the United States will decrease significantly. Obesity is defined as the increase of body fat over time to the point where it can impact health in a negative manner and decrease life expectancy. Since the 1980’s, obesity has increased dramatically in the United States. Children have been greatly impacted in the increase of obesity. This is a major problem as someday these obese children could possibly turn into obese adults. If the population of obese adults and children keeps increasing, than not only will our country have a lot of severely unhealthy people but the cost of health care will increase dramatically.
Today I will be outlining my plan to help education parents and children alike on the dangers of childhood obesity. With this plan I hope to better education parents and children on how to prevent and fight this current health issue. As a parent myself I’m very interested in this topic and help solving this situation. This plan will discuss what childhood obesity how we can help solve this problem. With the proper education I feel we all can make better decisions in our children’s lives as well as our very own.
Obesity is an issue that most people may be aware of, but I don't feel like many people actually know the ins and outs of it and how bad it really is. Although the speech that Jamie Oliver gave was about teaching children about food, I feel as if we need to teach adults about food just as much as children.
Overweight people are affected by physical and emotional health problems. A few of the most common physical problems related to obesity include asthma, hypertension, polycystic ovary syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and sleep problems (Kids Health.org). Other known risk factors are coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and some forms of cancer (win@info.niddk.nih.gov). These health conditions are becoming more and more common, society needs to promote this generation towards a healthier life style. Furthermore, schools need to better educate kids on the detrimental factors of obesity beforehand. In addition,
When one hears the word obesity thoughts that may come to mind are overweight, big, or even unhealthy. "Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30" (Obesity).
Obesity, also referred to as being overly overweight, is a condition caused when one eats excessive amounts of food leading to storing more calories than one burns. These calories are stored as fats1. Obesity can develop from several causes and is usually influenced by genetics.