In the article “Childhood Obesity May Be Linked to Parenting Styles,” Laura Clark discusses a study of Canadian children and the finding that stricter parents have an effect on the obesity of the children. The study included 37,000 Canadian children and studied mainly two parenting styles: authoritarian and authoritative. Authoritative parents were considered to be parents who were more lenient and understanding when the children misbehaved and would set distinct rules but discuss the behavior instead of punishment. Authoritarian parents are stricter when the children break rules. When the authoritarian parents tell the kids they can’t eat certain food, the idea is the child wants the food even more. According to the study, parents with authoritarian parenting styles are “30% more likely to deal with obesity by ages two to five” (Clark). The study also found that children six to 11 were 37% more likely to be obese. Clark claims these new findings could improve childhood obesity in the future.
The article cites very little of the actual facts of the study making the claims harder to accept and more susceptible to critique. The study itself seems to have overlooked some added external effects and made some assumptions critical to the issue. One factor discussed in class is the size of the study and the people comprising the study. The study size is a decent study size of 37,000. However, the study does not specify some serious factors, such as family size, the structure of the family, the age of the participants and how long the study followed children.
Discussions in class as well as the academic article, “In the Name of the Children: the Gendered politics of Childhood Obesity,” both have views on childhood obesity and the a...
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... companies produce which are usually full of fat and sugar. As well as how the food industry influences obesity in America, so does society. More families today avoid eating at the dining room table and choose to gather around the television. Video games and computers have encouraged children to stay inside and a lack of exercise.
With all of these factors and reasons for childhood obesity, parenting styles significantly changing obesity is unlikely. In “Childhood Obesity May be Linked to Parenting Styles,” the assumption that obesity would be decreased if parents were less strict about children’s eating habits and less restricting is not effectively proven. If the study had looked at parenting styles along with socioeconomic status and the specific roles of parents, this could be relevant to the obesity rates in the Unites States if performed in the United States.
Many would argue that children should not focus on their weight because children should lead a youth with little worries, yet obesity affects a child much more than people with that argument think. Being overweight can cause increased risks for several serious diseases and even can result in decreased mental health on account of low self-esteem and social discrimination. Children who are overweight also are at least twice as likely to have heart disease, diabetes, and orthopedic problems (Internicola, 2009). Sadly, children are being pressured into unhealthy lifestyles even more so than adults are.
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...
Did you know that 35% of the United States population is considered obese? Also, 66% of the population is considered overweight or more? (Saint Onge 2014) Even more frightening, in 2012 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than one third of children and adolescents in America were overweight or obese (CDC 2014). The media sources used investigates the political, scientific, historical, and cultural reasons behind the childhood obesity epidemic in America. Obesity is a rapid growing epidemic in America and these sources present the facts causing this epidemic. As well as how the children of the American society are being wrongly influenced by the media, especially advertisments. (Greenstreet 2008).
Hype words like ‘epidemic’ have been used to stress the relevance of obesity in today’s generation. The situation has been mainly accredited to poor parenting as well as the accessibility of high sugar and low quality food in developmental stages. However, this issue is not limited to cost and upbringing. It is crucial for parents to be aware of the media that exists encouraging children to partake in challenges similar to what is seen on Man v. Food.
The Encyclopedia Britannica emphasizes the increasing significance of the epidemic of childhood obesity and its complex biological, social, and health in today’s American Children with just increases year over year since the early nineteen eighties from just fewer than twenty percent from the adolescent and childhood life stages into adult transition. {Britannica} One out of every three children in the U.S. are obese, with the majority facing higher risks of developing medical, social and academic problems as a result of this health crisis. Over the past ten years, the United States rates of obesity in children have been on a steady incline. Various public health problems like obesity paired with attempted solutions to its consequences dating back years but hidden by all with differing views on exploring certain areas of life experiences. Parents’ early interventions with proper training slow the disease increase trend. The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health asserts the prevalence of early diagnosis and treatment in children will help improve transitional health into adulthood by encouraging main factors in adult health complications when a cycle of weight loss followed by weight gain begins. {Gale} Parents are not provided enough conventionally accessible education to support children in prevention of the disease. We need to focus our efforts on teaching children how to lead consistent and healthy lives and eradicate this excessive weight disease by an overall healthy lifestyles starting with parents, by setting the groundwork for culture principals while providing guidance which will lead to healthy weight development into the adolescent and latter adult years. The CDC estimates studies show kids before school age ar...
Unhealthy foods are what make the money for schools and that is why they serve them for students. (Schlafy) Schools feel like they need the extra money in the budget, even though it is at the student’s expense. Data shows that nearly 60% of all middle schools in the US serve soda from vending machines. (Schlafy) Soda is very high in sugar and is not at all good for children, but it is still sold in school vending machines. The ways food in schools is now are way too high in fats and sugars. This is not good for the children and very bad in the long run. Elementary schoolchildren have an estimated $15 billion of their own money that they can use to buy whatever they want in schools, and parents have almost another $160 billion to give students for food money. (Schlafy) Big businesses see this as a big source of profit and therefore encourage children to buy their products, and want them to be offered in school because of th4e likelihood of children buying the business’s product. All in all, obesity in the US is greatly influenced by the foods offered in schools
Childhood obesity in particular poses a large problem because it increases the likelihood of these children developing diabetes and heart disease, staying obese into adulthood, and therefore being more prone to chronic diseases. According to Healthy People 2020, 81.8% of adolescents do not reach the optimal amount of physical activity recommended for them. This is one of the factors that has led to 1 in 6, or 16.2%, of children and adolescents being obese (Nutrition). A research conducted on children and adolescents from 1999-2010 showed that 21.2% of Hispanic American children and adolescents were obese compared to 14.0% of non-Hispanic white children and adolescents (Ogden). In a 2004 study researchers examined the risk factors for obesity in Hispanic American 5 and 6 year olds. They took height and weight calculations of 230 kindergarteners from two public schools and interviewed and measured several mothers. They defined overweight as height for weight measurement at or above the 95 percentile for other children their age and a BMI of 25-29.9 as overweight for mothers and 30 or above as obese (Ariza). The growing prevalence of overweight children makes it clear that the problem is rooted in environment not just genetics. The risk factors focused on in this study were demographics, acculturation, physical activity, infant/toddler feeding practices, current eating habits, the mother’s attitude toward and belief about obesity and psychosocial family elements (Ariza). The researchers proposed the more acculturated to Western ideas the family was, the more overweight the children. Demographics asked about where mother and child were born and the education level and marital status of the mother. Physical activity asked how much time was spent participating in physical activity and watching TV. Infant/toddler feeding practices focused on the length of time breast-feeding and introduction
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.
Childhood obesity is a consequential medical condition that effects the youth and adolescence of society. This disorder creates health problems that were once only seen in adults, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Although childhood obesity is a world wide issue, the percentage of overweight children differs, especially throughout the United States. Today, the greatest population suffering from this disease are African American children who reside in the southern part of the country. Parents, as well as children, continue to support unhealthy lifestyles even though they are well aware of the life-threatening diseases caused by obesity.
...ies (Glanz, 2001). Societal expectations and norms have gone more to the healthier side of eating and physical activity passed on people's perceptions. Childhood obesity is a main concern in the public health world and is matter that must be handled by not only the parents of the children, but policy development industries and health promotion organizations in order to increase their health and decrease the national obesity rate.
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
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)
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...
Zive, Michelle Murphy. "Parents Should Play a Role in Fighting Childhood Obesity." Obesity. Ed. Andrea C. Nakaya. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Is fast food to blame for the growing obesity in America? Obesity affects more than half of the population. With so many Americans gaining weight and so many health problems the matter has to be addressed. There is no one would argue that obesity, especially the children is considered a problem. In any case the cause of childhood obesity is fought about daily. Many people will say that fast food restaurants are to blame. In my research, I will explain the argument that who is to blame for the obesity in America: fast food restaurants or common laziness from the obese society.