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Causes of obesity
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Short note on the effect of fast food
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Did you know more than 35% of adults and 17% of children and adolescents ages 2 – 19 in the United States are considered Obese (Bucci 32). Obesity is a huge growing problem in not just the United States but everywhere that needs to be controlled. The U.S is the fattest country in the world with Mexico as a close second. Fast Food and Technology are some of the main reasons you usually think of when you think of causes of Obesity, but did you ever think that Parents and Family members have a huge part in the cause of Obesity?
Family Influence can cause obesity in children by not eating healthy. If a parent themselves are obese or if the genes run in the family than most likely the child will be as well. ‘Fat cells are not the only obesity related story out there today; Scientist found a common genetic variant that increases the risk of obesity in its carriers. Melanocortin-4 receptor or MC4F is involved in controlling appetite and metabolism. 81% of people carry at least one risky variant of either FTO or MC4R’ (Loos). So without certain watch over children and making sure that they do eat a desirable amount of food, that is also healthy, a child’s MC4F could end up making that child obese.
Now think back to when you were a child. In two different bowels there are either cookies or apples. As a child what would you have picked? Children choose the types of food they need on their own, and without guidance these choices become habits. If parents are obese than there is a high possibility that their child will be as well. Eating healthy foods may cost too much for families which is a problem.
With only so much to spend on food families will buy what will fill them up, which often are not the foods that are the healthiest (Watson ...
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...Food: Obesity in American Children." Childhood Education.83.3 (2007): 190. ProQuest.Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Holliday, Heather. "Supersized Nation: Are Fast-Food Restaurants Responsible for Teens' Obesity?" Scholastic Scope. Mar 07 2003: 22. ProQuest.Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
“How Obesity harms a child’s body”. The Washington Post. n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Krey, Michael. "Technology A Factor in Obesity Problem: Milken Study." Investor's Business Daily. Aug 22 2012. ProQuest.Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Loos, RJ. “Making Sense of Obesity Genes” The National Geographic. May 04 2008: Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Mello, Michelle M., Eric B. Rimm, and David M. Studdert. "The McLawsuit: The Fast-Food Industry and Legal Accountability for Obesity." Health Affairs. 22.6 (2003): 207-16. ProQuest.Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Watson, Stephanie. “The Genetics of Obesity”. The Rosen Publishing Group Inc.New York: 2009. Print.
“For someone not to know that a big mac is unhealthy is ignorance, and ignorance is not the responsibility of the fast food industry,” (Daniel Speiser). The amount of fast food joints has largely increased which has become a problem for many people throughout the United States. Several people place the blame for the rising obesity among children on the rising fast food industries due to its convenience, price, advertising, and somewhat un-nutritional content. Some people even take it as far as court to place blame on the fast food industries and for those industries to make changes to their restaurants. The high percentage of obese children in the United States is not caused by the fast food industry. The obesity epidemic has other outside influences, the fast food industries have changed dramatically, and people should take responsibility for their own consumptions. It is time for people to stop placing the blame on others and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.
Our families could do more to encourage their children to make changes in their lifestyle early on in their lives. You can see this in a child who is raised in a family that is not concerned about the eating habits that he is developing, by the time the he enters school it may already be too late. The child could enter depression as other kids make fun of him for not fitting in the “norm”. Then back at home the family may even encourage such eating behaviors to the child. Families spend lots of time being concerned about other health aspects of their kids, but fail to see that being obese can have very powerful emotional impacts on their children.
To help out with my research on childhood obesity I am creating this annotated bibliography. I am researching the health issues related to childhood obesity as well as the long term effects.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
It is apparent that living an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as eating poorly, negatively affects one’s health. From a young age it is quickly learned which foods are considered healthful as opposed to junk food. It is a parents responsibility to supervise the intake of their child's food, however there is a higher risk than ever before of childhood obesity.
Genetics plays a major role in obesity; inherited genes sometimes contribute to the accumulation of fat in the body. Over 200 genes have effect on the weight having repercussions from physical activity, food choices and metabolism. Therefore, genes may increase the vulnerability of a person to become obese. Family eating patterns and social tendencies can also trigger obesity. Moreover, environmental circumstances such as availability of food high in calories and fat and the increase of the portions and combination selections in meals contribute to the development of fat accumulated for years in the body (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 277).
Rabin, Roni Camryn. "Fast Food a Factor in Student Obesity." New York Times. n.p., 25 Mar. 2009. Web. 29 Jul. 2013.
Obesity is a modern epidemic in America and is starting to become our society’s “norm.” According to an article in Progress in Health Sciences, childhood obesity is the most frequent eating disorder (Koukourikos). There are several factors that contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic. Should we solely shun the parents of obese children for this? No, we should not. There is not one single person to blame, but several people, along with our society. Family, friends, and schools all play a very important role in teaching children about healthy food choices and exercise. Children may have a greater risk for obesity due to genetic factors. We need to constantly remind our children how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that
Parents have always known about obesity and what the affects obesity has on people. Although parents have known about this preventable disease, they are just now becoming more aware about what is happening to their own children. Now they want to start pointing fingers as to why these young children are becoming obese; nobody wants to take the blame for putting these young lives at risk. “Greenbalt states in his article that obesity is becoming an epidemic that there is about 300,000 children each year that die because they are overweight....
Metcalf, T., & Metcalf, G. (Eds.). (2008). Perspectives on Diseases and Disorders: Obesity. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning
Childhood obesity has recently become a major problem not only in the Unites States, but all around the world. No one knows the real reason as to why childhood obesity has recently become a major epidemic, but it has been found that the environment that the children live in plays a factor in the child’s weight status. Not only that but, some people believe that fast food and their million dollar industries is the reasons why so many children are obese. Whereas others have found that it all relies on their parents, that they, the parents, are the reason why their children are the way they are. Some even say that it’s the school’s fault because they do not teach the children how to live a healthy lifestyle. Whatever it is, it need to be fixed so that we can have a healthier America. At the same time that I believe that the parents play a big role in the weight status of their children, I also believe that schools play a factor in the recent outbreak of childhood obesity.
Prentice, A. M., Hennig, B. J., & Fulford, A. J. (2008). Evolutionary origins of the obesity epidemic: natural selection of thrifty genes or genetic drift following predation release & quest. International journal of obesity, 32(11), 1607-1610.
This problem has fueled debates and court cases. Most of the time parents of obese children are obese themselves, and if it is not a medical issue it could be a mental health problem that causes them to eat everything that they eat. “Defining childhood obesity as abuse would put a tremendous burden on obese children’s parents”. (Yam)
"Is Fast Food to Blame for Obesity?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
kids, and parents are choosing to live. Obesity today is an ongoing challenge, and there are many