Childhood obesity is becoming more and more common as the years go by. The physical health issues of being obese are bad enough for the child, but what about the emotional toll of being obese? Most obese children have to deal with more than just losing their excess weight. Having childhood obesity can lead to having depression, a low self-esteem, and social stigmatization. The emotional toll of having childhood obesity is very damaging on a child's life.
Obese children tend to be unhappy because they often have bad health, bad social relationships, and low self-confidence. Mayo clinic staff (2012) defined childhood obesity as: Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height. Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start children on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem and depression.
The quality of life suffers, as it is difficult to enjoy exercise or move. Another result is lack of self-esteem, this can lead to depression, eating disorders, and crash diets. The country is also affected, because it becomes very expensive for the government to provide advanced medical care such as heart transplants. Unhealthy citizens are also less productive, and their children learn poor eating habits. However, in order to understand efforts that can be made to prevent childhood obesity, it is essential to know how parental and home environments affect obesity prevalence, the role television and media play, and the care cost of childhood obesity.
Some of these conditions include fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, skin conditions, impaired balance, and orthopedic problems. Most of the health problems associated with childhood obesity can be prevented and can disappear when a child or adolescent reaches their healthy weight but some will continue to have negative consequences on them throughout their adulthood. In some cases, these health problems will result in death. On top of the many serious health issues associated with childhood obesity, childhood obesity can affect a child and adolescent’s social and emotional health. Obesity can be described as being one of the most stigmatizing and least socially acceptable conditions associated with childhood.
People characterize them as ugly, lazy, and lacking willpower (Torkos 42). These stereotypes can cause an overweight child to have low self esteem which can lead to a much more serious problem, depression. The childhood obesity epidemic needs to be prevented, and the only way to do that is addressing the main causes. Childhood obesity has become a major problem in recent years due to lack of daily physical activity, inappropri... ... middle of paper ... ...gazinesDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&displayGroupName=Magazines&limiter=&source=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&action=2&catId=&activityType=&documentId=GALE%7CA341533028&userGroupName=wsalemhs&jsid=7299b8c16b5cc9feebb1d4ebb00b4ab1>. Smith, Elizabeth.
Obesity causing depression on adolescents is an important topic because depressive symptoms are the beginning phase to depression. These young adults who are clinically obese feel like outsiders and do not feel like they belong in society’s norm. They suffer from daily teasing and put-downs and from other kids because of what they physically look like. Their weight causes them to be rejected from others as well as themselves. Having this happen day after day will lead to a feeling of hopelessness and gradually leading to the early stages of depression.
Child obesity does not let people succeed as a child because some people feel embarrassed. II. Child obesity is when a child is over their average weight and are lacking on eating the healthy foods they need. III. Fast Food Not The Reason?
Doctors agree that there are two primary factors in creating obese children: children and teenagers adhering to unhealthy eating habits and getting less and less exercise on a daily basis. Undoubtedly, the mixture of fast food diets along with sedentary lifestyles is creating a generation of children who are facing a serious health crisis. Children who are obese also must confront the many psychological issues that being overweight creates. Overweight children often have low self-esteem, which is made worse when they are unable to participate in normal activities such as sports or on the playground. Teen eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia develop in response to feelings of body inadequacy.
Because of these bad choices in food, eating too much and lack of exercise these children will become obese at a young age. They will end up having different types of diseases later on in life. Since what you first learn about making good, bad, right or wrong choices is taught to you by your parents. Tiffany Rush-Wilson says in her article The Crisis of Childhood Obesity that due to this health crisis, we know have a generation of children that are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. Obesity is defined as a condition in which a person’s weight is more than 20% greater than is recommended for his or her height and age.
As a child what would you have picked? Children choose the types of food they need on their own, and without guidance these choices become habits. If parents are obese than there is a high possibility that their child will be as well. Eating healthy foods may cost too much for families which is a problem. With only so much to spend on food families will buy what will fill them up, which often are not the foods that are the healthiest (Watson ... ... middle of paper ... ...Food: Obesity in American Children."