As the old saying goes, “You are what you eat”. Initially, some people would say that there is someone to blame for childhood obesity, the parents. Children are becoming obese because of poor health choices and ineffective parenting. According to David Rogers, public health spokesperson for the Local Government Association, "parents who allow their children to eat too much could be as guilty of neglect as those who did not feed their children at all”. However, others will argue that childhood obesity is caused by genetic and hormonal factors. Some children who come from overweight families may be genetically obese, or is this an excuse? In extreme cases, the parents of a morbidly obese child should lose temporary custody of their child due to medical neglect, if they are not providing the proper medical treatment and diet the child needs to maintain a healthy life.
The lack of psychical activity is another growing issue. Some people are quick to blame computers, television, and other sources as the driving forces behind childhood obesity. Food for thought: Who allows the child to sit in front of the computer or television for hours? Computers and televisions have become built in babysitters for some parents Television and the Internet may contribute to obesity rates a little; however, these are not the only factors that decide whether a child becomes obese. In fact, according to the WHO survey, parents are just as much at fault for making their children obese as outside influences are. Mothers tipped the scale with 91 percent of them being primary caregivers in the telephone survey, and were the ones responsible for the foods offered to, cooked for (and chosen by) the children. A parent allowing access to so many c...
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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...
In the documentary Killer at Large, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona remarked that “Obesity is a terror within. It’s destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out…” Carmona is indeed right, with the rapid increase of obese children, America is on the fast track to producing a generation with a life expectancy shorter than their peers. One of the main factor is the media representation of obesity (Greenstreet 2008). In today’s society parents are not only worrying about televisions influence on their kid’s behavior but their weight and health, too. According to study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, that researched the role of media in childhood obesity, stated the obesity increased by 2% for every hours of television in adolescent’s ages 12 to 17. The advertisement of food and beverages present a very strong influence on the children. Most of the products being advert...
Imagine you are invited to a BBQ. You get there and after sitting down with your plate you notice a man with a child sitting at the table across from yours. You see that the man is feeding this child a stick of butter, spoonfuls of fat and washing it down with cups full of grease. Do you feel there should be consequences for this? If you do, what would be appropriate?
The mentality of parents can lead to the downfall of their children 's health. Due to the lack of provision and support that they provide as a result of their mentality, their children who gravely need it remains obese and their condition usually exacerbates. In Jan Hoffman 's article, Parents ' Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic, she makes it clear that parents who deny the condition of their children can drastically harm them even if it is unintentional. Since, parents with an ignorant mentality cannot provide their obese child with the help they desperately need to combat their obesity problems. She provides anecdotes of parents as well as the sentiments from individuals that developed obesity as a child and needed an intervention,
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.
A lot of children are overweight and obese too, unfortunately. Childhood obesity is especially sad because, for the most part, the parents are at fault. The child, especially when they’re young, have no control over what they eat and couldn’t try to be healthy, even if they wanted to. “In 2013, 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight of obese.” (Obesity and
The Institute of Heartmath, (2012), childhood obesity and emotional eating, http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/articles-of-the-heart/childhood-obesity-and-emotional-eating.html [accessed 05 Nov 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
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).
Increasing at an alarming rate, nearly one in three American children will be considered to be overweight or obese. Even though facts have shown that genetics is not a cause of childhood obesity, many people still believe that childhood obesity is the parent’s fault. In this paper readers will discover causes and facts of childhood obesity.
Parents are not teaching children how to eat healthy. They feed them cheeseburgers, chicken fingers, and fries. Kids are not being exposed to a regular diet of health fruits and vegetables. Now some people are just naturally overweight, but being “overweight” is not the same as being “obese.” Someone who is overweight has reached a maximum weight limit for their height. When someone goes beyond this maximum limit, then they are considered “obese” (Kiess 1). Research shows that “obesity is generally defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue” (Kiess 1). The increase in childhood obesity today is mainly the fault of the parent because they are unable to tell their children “no” when it comes to junk food (Kiess 104). Parents are the one buying all the food that comes into the house. They are the ones buying the sugary drinks and chips. They are the ones allowing the children to “have what they want.” Because parents are not teaching their children how to eat healthy, we will continue to see childhood obesity increase. Unfortunately, overweight children will be the ones who suffer because statistics show children who are overweight are more likely to become obes...
“The idea that food can affect children’s behavior gained popularity in the early 1970s, when… Benjamin Feingold claimed that the behavior of many of his young patients improved when he placed them on special diets...” (Schardt 2000) [Online]. But sometimes “The results varied widely from one study to another…” (Schardt 2000) [Online]. This tells us that not every child is the same or can have the same diet.
Even after accounting and correcting for maternal obesity, initial weight-for-height z-score, gender, socioeconomic factors, race and marital status, the children are still at a higher risk of developing obesity if they have low cognitive stimulation. They also noted the influence of parental obesity on the development of obesity in their children as a result of genetic and environmental influence like the preference for high fat foods and decreased physical activity. Strauss and Knight (1999) mention the negative findings, lack of observation between emotional support and development of childhood obesity, and limitations, lack of the height, weight, and education of the fathers, for their study. Topics such as the consequences of childhood obesity and implementation of health initiatives into a child’s home environment are covered by Strauss and Knight (1999) in their
NUTRITION: Middle Childhood (6-11 yr. olds) “Eating an evening meal with parents leads to a diet higher in fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk products , and lower in soft drinks and fast foods” (Berk, pg. 227). Children at this stage of life need a well-balanced diet to provide energy for learning development and physical activities (Berk, pg. 227). Obesity is caused by lack of knowledge of what healthy foods to buy, food high in fats being low-cost, and family stress which can cause overeating (Berk, pg. 229).