Remember those mornings watching cartoons with a breakfast with a sugary bowl of cereal, hours and hours on the sofa eating chips and playing video games, in the afternoon movie time with the family next to a mega sized soda and popcorn, at night frozen dinners followed by numerous hours surfing on the internet and finally bed. Altogether, this blend of inactivity and voracious feeding, which is shared by many American children, has helped an epidemic grown overtime major cause of death in America: obesity. Childhood obesity has reached pandemic proportions in America. As a result overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and some kind of physical activity. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy eating patterns. Obese children have easy access to sugary drinks and less healthy foods on school campuses. At home, obese children have limited access to healthy and nutritious affordable foods. The fast food industry also plays a big role in a child’s nutrition by not only increasing portion sizes but also advertising more unhealthy foods. In addition to advertising, TV viewing is a contributing factor to childhood obesity taking time away from children in physical activities. When it comes to physical activities, children today get very little and sometimes no exercise at all. Nowadays walks to and from school have been replaced by car and bus rides, and gym classes plus after school sports and activities have been eliminated at most schools in America. It is an epidemic that is quickly growing and destroying the lives of many innocent kids in the United States. First Lady Michelle Obama states that “The ...
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...nalist Katherine Kam states that “Eating disorders in children and teens can lead to a host of serious physical problems and even death.” In conclusion, child obesity can also be caused by psychological and mental problems.
Child obesity has grown and continuous to grow in the U.S. causing many deaths among child. Children should eat healthy and have some kind of physical activity in their daily lifestyle, but for that to happen parents must be educated with the right nutrition facts. Child obesity can be prevented in the U.S. with many different methods. Most researchers and doctors agree that exercise and an appropriate nutrition are essential for obesity and a healthy lifestyle. Schools should focus on behavior modification, improved nutrition, and increase physical activities. Childhood obesity will not only affect the children, but it will also affect America.
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.
The overall rate of obesity for children comes in at 17 percent, or about 12.5 million obese children in America today (Doheny 1). The number of children who are obese is growing at a fast rate. Most cases of childhood obesity are caused by eating too much and exercising too little. Extra weight puts children at a risk of serious health problems; such as, diabetes, heart disease, and asthma (Smith 1). Although obesity can be prevented, it has become a growing problem among children due to several factors that lead to health problems.
In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.
... and exercising regularly. Parents should limit the amount of fast food that their child is consuming. Parents don’t have to completely get rid of fast food, but they should limit going out to eat to once a month. Parents should pack their child’s lunch containing all the main food groups and pack some snacks so they can eat that throughout the day instead of buying snacks for the vending machines. Parents should limit TV and computer time and instead gather the whole family to play outside for at least an hour. Parents should enforce a healthier lifestyle at home so that obesity could be avoided. What children learn at home about eating healthy, exercising and making the right nutritional choices will have an impact on them and affect other aspects later on in life. Focusing on these causes may decrease childhood obesity and lead to a healthier society as a whole.
It is imperative that society coalesces to help prevent childhood obesity. No child or parent wants to suffer through any type of heart condition or disease, whether it be now or later on in their lives. Experts have seen the rising obesity rate as a wake-up call to take the “epidemic” of childhood obesity very seriously. Because of the fact that childhood obesity is interconnected with so many health issues it significantly affects lifespans. Childhood obesity can be prevented and needs to be in order to ultimately save the lives and future lives of children.
However, there is more at stake here than what these two groups ultimately believe to be true. The percentage of obese children in the United States has risen from 5% in 1980 to almost 20% in 2012. Factors such as food choices and fitness levels are contributing greatly to this problem. Obese children eventually become obese adults and bring along with them many adverse medical conditions. These medical conditions such as diabetes are known to be severe and place a shorter life expectancy on the people it affects. Ultimately, what is at stake here is childhood obesity is on the rise in the United States due to people’s failure to eat the proper foods and as a result of children followin...
Public health nursing focuses on promoting the health of a community. This position requires attention to measures such as conducting community assessments, identifying vulnerable populations, ethical practices, community education, epidemiology, and more. One such issue addressed by public health nursing is childhood obesity. Obesity has been, and continues to be, a major global health concern. As a public health nurse, identifying populations, assessing risks, and educating a community all contribute to finding a system that helps address this concern. With rates increasing, especially in adolescents and children, this health issue is a serious epidemic effecting the world.
... now commonly associated with obesity. The author also goes into details about health risks such as gallstones and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. Yung also mentions psychological and social consequences that are associated with childhood obesity. According to Yung (2009), childhood obesity has significant impact on the emotional development of the child or adolescent, who suffers discrimination and stigmatization, as the obese individual is often associated with negative characteristics, and commonly regarded as a glutton and greedy, weak-minded and ill-disciplined. Yung also goes on by saying that the negative factors work against a child with weight problem, they tend to have fewer opportunities in school, and smaller social circle. I am going to use this article to support my research by using the details on the different health consequences Yung mentions.
According to a 2010 report by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past thirty years. As well as having an impact on health, studies have cited a relationship between obesity and poor school performance as well as a child’s readiness for learning and education. This can be correlated with studies finding “obese children have a greater risk of social and psychological problems, such as discrimination and poor self-esteem” (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, para. 2). It has also been documented that obese children miss more days from school than the general student population and “many will lack the energy to sustain the concentration needed to process new information” (Yaussi, 2005, p. 106).
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).
In the United States one out of five children are overweight or obese according to WebMD. When a child is overweight or obese, safety becomes an issue because it can seriously affect the young child’s health conditions. Obesity is now a worldwide health problem that has not only caused a lot of sparks and talk, but has also begun to rank as a serious risk, comparable to diseases.
Within the past three years obesity among children has tripled. Childhood obesity is considered the number one health threat in America. Childhood obesity has become a major issue facing America. And today over “nine million” (Selicia 4, May) United States children are overweight and obese. Sadly “2 million” (Tanner 2005) of these children are at risk for type 2 diabetes. Obesity has become a burden to the United States economy and it is costing America “$147 billion” (Holden, 2010) a year.
We want to solve the problem by helping kids and adults each healthier by making healthier lifestyle choices when it comes to eating. We also want to also increase physical activity of children and adolescents. I believe with the proper diet and exercise we can help decrease the obesity issue in this country that has grown so much in the past two decades. These steps are vital to helping prevent childhood obesity and even kids who currently suffer from childhood obesity. Since the 1970’s approximately 15 percent of children and adolescents are now overweight. "Prevent Childhood Obesity-Get Your Kids Moving!" Prevent Childhood Obesity-Get Your Kids Moving!
Child obesity is a problem in America today. Children who are obese continue to struggle with many things in life that may affect them in the future. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “obesity most often develops from ages 5 to
In the future these people will end up suffering from some sort of disease or illness. The children are not being concerned that their are short and long term consequences. “Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease”. A short term consequence of obesity is high blood pressure which can soon turn into a long term consequence. If a person continues to eat unhealthy and doesn’t balance out their food, that person will end up suffering from many other diseases. A long term consequence that can lead to death is cancer. In an article it says, “Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder..”. These types of cancer can be very harmful and affect someone's life