Have you ever stood in a line and noticed a family with several overweight children and wondered, what could have been done to prevent this? It’s a common sight to see these days. Most children now days are barely able to participate in daily activities because they have become so overweight. More and more children are developing diseases as a result of their obesity that will cause serious problems in their life. The weight of a person often impacts not only their health, but also their self-esteem. All of these issues are becoming more and more serious, and not enough has been done to stop or prevent it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “approximately … 12.5 million children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are obese” (“Overweight”). The center also stated “Children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are 5 times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Adolescent”). What most people do not realize is that although these issues have gone entirely too far, there are many simple ways to prevent them. The diet and amount of exercise a child gets early on in life can affect them throughout the rest of their lives, and it often plays a part in determining whether they will be obese in the future of their life or not.
Parents’ carelessness recently in regards to their children’s health has really put their children’s health at risk. Children are now becoming ill with diseases that once did not affect children at all. Type-two diabetes was once considered a disease that was only possible for adults to acquire, but now that the obesity epidemic has become so severe, it is an unfortunate reality for children as well. Parents have allowed their children to becom...
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...y choices and make sure to remind them of how these choices will impact their future. With encouragement both at home and at school, children can begin to take a step in the right direction toward a much healthier future and more prosperous life.
Works Cited
“Adolescent and School Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 July 2013. Web. 6 Nov.
2013.
“Let's Move.” Learn The Facts. N.p., 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
“Overweight and Obesity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 January 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
“Public Health Genomics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 May 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
“Stanford Hospital and Clinics.” Stanford University. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
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.
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...
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.
Childhood obesity has been on the rise in the last couple of years. In the 1970’s childhood obesity was never a concern to the public until the number increased over the years. An alarming rate of 31% of all adults have been obese since they were children and the rates of childhood obesity don’t fall too behind with an 18% of children being obese. That makes almost half of obese adults and children. A child that is obese has a 70-80% higher chance of staying obese even through their adulthood if no action is taken. Childhood obesity is not something children are in control of, these children suffer from different outcomes since they can’t look after themselves and heavily rely on someone to aid them when they need it. These numbers can be drastically altered in a positive way by educating both children and parents about healthy, nutritious foods to consume, supplying schools with better lunch and healthier vending machines with healthy choices and promoting after school activities to keep children active and away from electronics.
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.
About nine million children are obese among those who are more than six years of age. (Alderman, Jess, et al.) In order to diagnose a child with obesity, one must calculate the child’s body mass index(BMI). The child’s BMI, which is factored by weight and height, is compared with children of the same sex and age across the country on a specific chart. A child is considered obese if they have a BMI higher than 95% of the population. Since 1980, the amount of overweight children has multiplied, and among adolescents, the number has nearly tripled which will most surely increase the likelihood of health problems leading in adolescents and into adulthood. Children are "gaining weight to a dangerous degree and at an alarming rate" regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, or geographic location...
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.
Childhood and adolescent obesity is a problem of significant concern. Whether obese or at risk, excessive fat is based on the ratio of weight to height, age, and gender of the individual (Ul-Haq, Mackay, Fenwick, & Pell, 2013). Today’s youth are considered the most inactive generation in history thus, childhood and adolescent obesity is more prevalent than ever before. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) documents the obesity rate in children ages 6-11 in 2012 at 18% (an increase from seven percent in 1980), and adolescents at 21% (an increase from five percent in 1980). The obesity rate in children has more than doubled and quadrupled in adolescents over a 30-year period (CDC, n.d). The factors responsible for childhood and adolescent obesity are related to childhood lifestyle, family influence, and community factors (CMA Foundation, 2008). The Healthy People 2020 goal, NWS-10.4, is to “reduce the proportion of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years who are considered obese from 16.1% to 14.5%” (Healthy People 2020, 2013). Overweight children and adolescents are at increased risk for severe medical issues that can last a lifetime. Interventions to reduce the incidence and improve the health of young people involve solutions at the primary (low risk youth), secondary (at risk youth), and tertiary (obese) levels (Sweeting, 2008). Parents, caregivers, and medical professionals can work together in diagnosing if the child is becoming obese or if the child is having a growth spurt (Ul-Haq et al., 2013).
The present public health problem has become a great public concern and the future of these children and future adults has also been brought to attention. For example, "as obese children are more than likely to become obese adults, they are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and several cancers" (Gollust, 2014). Research has also indicated that the current generation of children are on track to have shorter lives than their parents because of increasing rates of obesity (Gollust, 2014).
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).
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...
Childhood obesity is a health problem that is becoming increasingly prevalent in society’s youth. For a number of years, children across the nation have become accustomed to occasionally participating in physical activities and regularly snacking on sugary treats. In result of these tendencies, approximately one third of American children are currently overweight or obese (Goodwin). These grim statistics effectively represent all the lack of adult interference, in regards to health, has done to the youth of America. The habits of over consuming foods and under participating in physical activities are all too common in the children of today. Children cannot solve this issue alone, though. These young people need to essentially be given the opportunities to make positive health decisions and learn about good, nutritional values.
In our society today, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is increasing. Diabetes is caused by many factors, like genetics, inactivity, and obesity. With obesity on the rise in our country, so is diabetes, especially in young children. With the fattening and unhealthy foods provided by fast food chains and grocery stores, children are the ones that diabetes affects the most, causing them to have higher chances of being diagnosed with diabetes. According to Kim and Lee (2008), the rates of childhood obesity have tripled over the past three decades.
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes is said to account for nearly two of every three deaths in the U.S. Though there is a possibility of these diseases being prevented with a healthy lifestyle, there is no way to actually prevent the onset and progression of these conditions. Sadly, young children are being introduced to these unhealthy lifestyles and taking them right into adulthood; thus becoming walking billboards for the diseases. These diseases compromise health, shorten life expectancy, and cause enormous suffering, disability, and economic ...