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Three causes of childhood obesity
Childhood obesity and its effects on families
Parental role in childhood obesity essay
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Childhood obesity was a huge problem back then and still is now. Now a days people especially young teens are trying to get built and look good all the time, but with all the fast food restaurants that we drive by everyday it can be a little challenging in stopping yourself from ending up in the drive thru. Many things can cause obesity but mainly it is the food choices in school, at home, and lack of physical activities that can cause this to happen. First, childhood obesity can be caused by how your child is being brought up. For example, back then in the start of the year 2007 it was the start of my middle school year. My son remember that he was a little chubby, but what made me gain a little more were the vending machines. It was getting …show more content…
For instance, I remember my brother used to be obese the reason being was because he played video games and computer games nonstop. Every single day after school he would go straight to the computer to play his games and sometimes not even sleep. I couldn’t believe the damage and rough patch he was putting himself through, just sitting there for hours not moving his body for a thing. Long story short he finally got his act together and saw what he was doing and decided to make a change. “Healthy eating and exercise can make a difference for so many American children, not only for their physical health but for their mental and emotional health, psychosocial health, educational attainment, and long-term quality of life as well.” Said DeSantis, Cari. “Policymakers at all levels must actively examine opportunities for and barriers to encouraging healthy lifestyles by enhancing access to good food choices, encouraging exercise and fresh air for all our children, and ensuring that the funding streams are adequate, flexible and aligned with the outcomes we seek for our kids.” Going outside for a run for 30 min to an hour can really make a difference, especially what you put in your body can affect your whole
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.
A national epidemic is occurring, the war between food and people. In the United States, about “32% of children (from 2 to 19 years old) are obese” (Bernadac 1). As the years continue to go on the rate of obese children are increasing as well. In the past the problem did not have much consideration due to a low rate of affected children. Now families are suffering the long-term consequences of having an obese child. Some of those health effects are “Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis” (CDC 1). A problem with this type of drastic effects may have a solution; method prevention for the future generations and correct treatment for those who are already obese can lower the rate.
Although parents are not paying much attention to their children gaining excessive amounts of weight, it is a serious matter because it leads to illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and other health risks. Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States today, and it is only increasing because of the lack of awareness and the absence of a health plan for children that will interest them and allow them to have fun while staying healthy.
“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.
Some people fail to see the true impact childhood obesity can have on a child's life. Children tending to overeat; they don’t understand that something that tastes so yummy could actually be bad for them. And with the cheaper pre-processed food usually being unhealthier calorie choices, people are unwilling to buy the more expensive fruits or vegetables that are required to build a good nutritional foundation. Plus, every generation has something that rubs off on the next generation; obesity is something that repeats through multiple generations, making the problems worse. “Parental attitudes to food, along with the kind of eating and leisure activities engaged in as a family and the level of support, are prim...
When it comes to the topic of childhood obesity, most of us will readily agree that there are long-term medical affects associated with childhood obesity. The National Institute of Health states that obese children are more likely to become obese adults. Adult obesity is associated with a number of serious health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers (National Institute of Health). Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of who is to blame. Whereas some are convinced that the government and the food industry are to blame, others maintain that parents are primarily bearing this burden. The people who believe the government and the food industry are to blame are consistently at odds over the issue of who is to blame for the long-term affects from childhood obesity with the people who tend to believe parents are to blame. Medical conditions are becoming more and more frequent, childhood obesity is becoming a growing problem and until recently, the government has not aided in the fight against obesity.
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?
Some of the causes of childhood obesity are greater availability of unhealthy foods, little to no daily exercise, No safe place in many communities to play or be active. Plus companies are coming together to make their food be able to be more visualized and make people want to buy their food. Also it becomes harder to jump, hop, or even stand on one leg and they will become more clumsy. More affects of being obese are Blount’s Disease, Flat Feet, Diabetes, and Asthma. Blount’s Disease is where a growth disorder in the lower leg cause it to go inward, Flat Feet is where one’s feet has no arch which makes it painful to walk long distance, Diabetes is a inability to produce any or enough insulin. Childhood Obesity has become an huge issue around the world, in the last 30 years it has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. The percent of children obese in 1980 was 7% now it is about 18 %. Scientist have predicted that if this continue nearly 9% of all preschoolers will be obese now that is nearly 60 million children. Obesity is more prevalent in lower income families this statistic is just for kids aged 2 - 5. Obesity rates are higher in adults than kids but in the U.S., Brazil, China, and others places they see the problem more in kids than
One growing problem facing children today is obesity. When young people face weight problems it is often carried over into adolescence and adulthood. It is thought that if children are taught healthy eating habits from a young age then they will have more apt to eat healthy when they are an adult.
Although inherited conditions have been linked to childhood obesity, they are rare. However it has been noted that children with obese or overweight parents are more than likely to be obese themselves, the reason for this as described by Heaton-Harris (2007) is because of the length of time it takes to break a bad habit. Unless the parents are correctly informed of healthy diets themselves the problem will continue from an ill-informed childhood into adult hood. Other probable causes are numerous ones. Fast food and processed foods becoming more read...
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
1. Introduction.- What does it mean to be obese? When people eat more calories than they burn off, their bodies store the extra calories as fat.
Did you know that more than two thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese (Center for Disease Conrtol)? This is the growing problem in the U.S that we, as Americans, can’t seem to find a solution to. The government spends billions of dollars annually to help those with overweight/obese health issues. But the government does not directly help people by changing their diets and making them healthy enough to live without those medical expenses. This trend is also upwards and the number of obese/overweight Americans has tripled since 1963 (Smith). Americans today should be forced by the government to have a healthy diet and avoid or limit the consumption of fast food.
While you may think of obesity as just an appearance issue, I define it as an epidemic of being overly unhealthy, with many risk factors such as stroke or diabetes, it can be deadly. When it comes to the topic of obesity, most people would concur that it is an ever growing problem. Where this agreement ends, however, is on the question of, who is to blame for the epidemic of childhood obesity? On one hand a portion of people believe it is the parents fault of the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, whereas, others are persuaded that it is the fast food companies job to inculcate children with good eating habits My view however is that the prevalence of obesity throughout children in America is all at the fault of parent not teaching their kids healthy eating
As Americans, we all take our own approach to food, but most of us have the same initial feeling about it. And that is that we live and eat an unhealthy lifestyle to one that is leading to the increase of obesity and other diseases. In just 28years the rate of obesity in children has raised from 6.9% to 19.6%. We take that childhood obesity into our adulthood with us. Not only is the obesity rates increasing, but so is our chance of developing diabetes along with hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease. People want to comment and have a say about the situation. But very few people want to take action and change the way our food today is processed and made accessible to us. The major argument people have is that they do not have the money for a healthier lifestyle. But,