Childhood Obesity in Mississippi

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As the world strives for convenience and a fast-paced lifestyle, an epidemic of poor health is on the rise. With constant life struggles, fast food readily available, and little time for preparation, citizens of the United States are not paying attention to what they’re putting in their child’s mouths. The state of Mississippi has developed the highest percentages of childhood obesity in the United States. Although this percentage has decreased in recent years, the numbers are still astounding. The children of Mississippi are slowly being poisoned by their parent’s poor choices. Due to parent’s poor nutritional education and poor health habits, the children of Mississippi will continue on the destructive path of obesity
Childhood obesity in Mississippi is rising due to a parent’s lack of healthy food choices and lack of obesity awareness. Without proper nutrition, obesity is inevitable, and quality nutrition begins within the home of the child. If a parent constantly buys processed foods and saturated fats, it limits a child to only eat what is available at home. Within a study done by BMC Pediatrics, “Parental surveys revealed that approximately 40% of children eat less than two servings of fruits and vegetables per day” (Tovar, Chui, Hyatt, Kuder, Kraak, Choumenkovitch, S., & ... Economos). Although this is a statistic regarding the United States as a whole, the percentage of childhood obesity in Mississippi is higher than the national average. Parents in Mississippi would presumably be starving their children of proper nutrition. Poor nutrition and diet in a parent will eventually be passed down to a child. According to a study at Stanford University, “64% of children with overweight parents became overweight, compared with o...

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....com/2013/how-parents-program-their-babies-and-toddlers-for-obesity/
Obese Parents to Blame for Obese Children? (2011, November 4). Issues and Controversies. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.2facts.com.holyfamily.idm.oclc.org/icof_story.aspx?PIN=ib160612&term=child+obesity
Stevenson, G., & Matich, R. (2004). Fact sheet: obesity among Mississippi's children. Mississippi RN, 66(1), 12-13.
Tovar, A., Chui, K., Hyatt, R., Kuder, J., Kraak, V., Choumenkovitch, S., & ... Economos, C. (2012). Healthy-lifestyle behaviors associated with overweight and obesity in US rural children. BMC Pediatrics, 12102. doi:10.1186/1471-2431-12-102
Venker, S. (2010, March 30). Busy Parents: The Real Cause of Childhood Obesity | NewsReal Blog. News Real Blog. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/03/30/busy-parents-the-real-cause-of-childhood-obesity/

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