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.
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. It is defined as a body max index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex (USA, CDC: Basics).
Childhood obesity will always be a persistence problem because the lack of physical activity, overconsumption of calories due to lack of education. In this case the parents, school, programs targeted, to encourage/teach better food choices among children. Also the widespread availability of fast/processed food on every corner you turn, increase in sedentary activities; Children used to play outside with friends are now instead chatting online, watching TV, playing video games and over obsessive use of the internet. Children who lack competency in particular sports end up hating it and dropping it when old enough (USA, CDC: Problem). If these factors do not change we will continue to see an increase of childhood obesity.
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... live a healthy lifestyle. February 2012. http://helpguide.org/mental/childhood_obesity.htm
United States. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight and Obesity: Basics about Childhood Obesity. April 26,2011 http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html
United States. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight and Obesity: A Growing problem. November 28, 2011http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/problem.html
Anderson, Susan. Our Children Are Supersized: Childhood Obesity is Growing March 1, 2010. http://valleyhealthmag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22:our-children-are-supersized-childhood-obesity-is-growing&catid=1:children&Itemid=8
Pinder, Michelle. Personal Interview. 28 Jan. 2012
Hills, Andrew. Physical Activity and Obesity in Children. June 26, 2011 http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/45/11/866.abstract
A significant part of the children and youth of Lancaster are confronting an increasing danger. This is an issue that has short-term and long-term health complications like diseases and even social-emotional problems. This increasing issue I am referring to is childhood obesity. For instance the Lancaster New Era newspaper states that “About 18 percent of youths in Pennsylvania are overweight and, according to preliminary data, the percentages are slightly higher than that in Lancaster County” (“Pa” D5). This issue is talked about in many articles trying to get the information out there. So then why does obesity keep increasing amongst our young? The problem lies in the families who are not doing enough to help fight this ever increasing disorder. The lack of parental involvement in the health of their kids has caused the number of overweight and obese children to increase in Lancaster.
In the recent decades, obesity has grown into a major health issue in the United States within young people. With 31 percent of the United States of children being obese, the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity is not only found among adults, but it is also now found mainly among children and teenagers. The childhood is a very important period for the initiation of obesity especially in this time. Eating practices that children are taught or learn during childhood affects a person later in their life whether they know or not. Multiple studies have confirmed that childhood obesity in the U.S has been on a rise for years. One out of three children in the U.S are obese, most of them face a higher risk of having medical, social and academic problems. Childhood obesity also leads to many health problems among young people. Those problems include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and many more others. These problems cause a rise in health care costs that their families might have to pay sooner or later. The influence of parents and the media play a big role in causing these problems to happen. Some people believe that a family with an obese child should not raise child protection concerns if obesity is the only cause for concern (Callaghan, 2010). However, doctors should always be mindful of the possible role of abuse or neglect in contributing to obesity. The result of some research that was done on the symptoms of neglect shows a clear correlation between childhood abuse and obesity in childhood. A study of American school children has found that after controlling for socioeconomic status, those who were physically abused were more likely to be obese (Callaghan, 201...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discuss about childhood obesity. With CDC, this research is very useful in helping others understand what overweight and obesity is. Having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, bone, muscle, water, or a combination of all is being overweight. Obesity is just having excess body fat. It states about obesity occurring to children and adolescents that has passed since 30 years. The first stage of this phenomenon starts as a person being overweight which will lead to obesity. More than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. The result for both of these terms is a caloric-imbalance which is an amount of too few calories that is consumed and is affected by many genetics, behavioral, and environmental factors. From this source CDC gives a specific estimate percentage of children aged 6–11 years that is more overly obese. In the United States in 1980 who were obese increased from 7% to nearly 18% in 2012. Furthermore over the same period, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21%. Additionally, there is a list of health effects of childhood obesity and inform immediate and long-term health effects. Tips are also included here to prevent any other health problems relating to obesity. It does not clearly teach every step of how to prevent it, but giving out ideas on how to solve the problem yourself.
What is childhood obesity? Childhood obesity is a condition in which a child is significantly overweight for his or her age and height. In “What is childhood obesity,” the American Heart Association reports that obesity in children causes health problems (American Heart Association). A statistic is that today, about one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese, which has tripled the rate since 1963 (American Heart Association). If the rate has increased over the past fifty-two years when will it decrease? It will never decrease if healthier lifestyles are not enforced. We need to improve childhood obesity by having classes to educate parents to keep their children healthy.
Center for Desase Control. Center for Diease Control "U.S. Obesity Trends". 21 July 2011. 18 November 2011.
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.
There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015)
"Childhood Obesity." Childhood Obesity on the Rise. Mayo Clinic, 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 02 Mar.
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
“In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.” (CDC) Childhood obesity is a problem that has inundated society for many decades. Almost anywhere that you go, you’ll see a magazine article or some sort of poster regarding childhood obesity. Childhood obesity can be defined as a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child’s health or well-being. Majority of adults care about their weight because self-image is a very important factor in their lives, but when it comes down to children, many pay their weight a very minimal amount of attention. Due to the superfluous rise in the number of obese children over the past couple of decades, doctors and physicians have become concerned about this trend. This concern is raised by the various diseases and health issues accompanying childhood obesity. Childhood obesity puts children at a greater risk for developing health issues and diseases of the heart.
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?
Childhood obesity is on the rise in many countries today. There are numerous causes of obesity in America, and the majority of them can be eliminated simply by household teachings. In her book Fed Up! Winning the War Against Childhood Obesity, Susan Okie explains how childhood obesity is taking over, “The growing numbers of obese children in the United States and in many other countries are victims of an epidemic just as surely as if they were infected with a virus.” The leading causes of childhood obesity include lack of exercise, poor diet, and genetic factors.
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem here in the United States. According to Schuab and Marian (2011) “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions” (P.553). The prevalence of child obesity and overweight has increased over the last 30 years all over the United States, becoming one of the biggest public health challenges (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, & Boles, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to give a background of the obesity epidemic, a review of current policy, and make a policy recommendation.
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).
The Mayo Clinic describes childhood obesity as “serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height” "Childhood Obesity. " - Mayo Clinic.