Childhood Obesity in the United States

Date accessed 24 October 2017. Baidal, Jennifer. “Protecting Progress against Childhood Obesity - The National School Lunch Program — NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1409353. Date accessed 30 October 2017. "Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011): ERIC. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Snelling, Anastasia M., and Teha Kennard,. "The Impact Of Nutrition Standards On Competitive Food Offerings And Purchasing Behaviors Of High School Students."

Obesity has increased drastically in today’s society. Alarmingly, present day generations show childhood obesity to be a growing crisis. Viewed as an epidemic, childhood obesity is sweeping across the United States and creating a public health crisis (Henry). Obesity in young children is contributed by different factors. Many are based off of lifestyles and peer pressure in schools and in households.

I believe schools, with the intervention of governmental agencies like the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment (SND... ... middle of paper ... ...on: Creating School Environments And Policies To Promote Healthy Eating And Physical Activity." Milbank Quarterly 87.1 (2009): 71-100. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Feb. 2014 Townsend, Nick, Simon Murphy, and Laurence Moore.

Health Vs. Revenue- A Humanitarian Concern America has always been looked at as one of the powerhouses of the world but the Childhood Obesity epidemic has been troubling this powerful nation for a long time. According to the UnitedHealth Group and the United Health Foundation, Childhood obesity has tripled over the last thirty years leaping from 5% to an unimaginable 20%. Researchers from the American School Health Association (ASHA) have stated 32% of American children and teenagers are considered to be obese. As many believe, one of the main roots of this national crisis has to do with how public high schools in America, particularly in a bucolic area, contribute to this grave issue. In earlier times, schools were pivotal for setting up the foundation for a student’s glorious career and helping them both physically and mentally, but in today’s world they are responsible for increasing this pernicious ‘state of body’.

A Big, Fat Problem Everything appears to be expanding and growing larger in America, including the children. As we look around, there are numerous amounts of people-young and old- who are overweight or obese. Every single year the rates of overweight children steadily increase along with the healthcare and financial costs to support them. Nowadays, one third of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese. To diminish this concerning issue, schools should implement and execute policies to help combat and prevent childhood obesity in order to avoid future repercussions.

There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.

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.

December 27, 1998. "Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating." Journal of School Health. Washington D.C. January 1997, Vol. 67, No.

The prevalence of childhood obesity has been increased to 30% in the past 30 years. It has been increased to an alarming rate .The percentage of obese children from 6 to 11 year of ages has been increased to 7% and teens ages 12 to 19 years of age increased to 55 to 18% over 20 years since 1980 to 2008.Obesity rate doubled among children and tripled among teens. It has become a serious epidemic health problem, estimated to be the fifth leading cause of mortality at global level (Central for Disease Control, 2012). Eating healthy diet prevents obesity, maintain healthy weight and also prevent from obesity related disease in children. A poor diet can lead to energy imbalance (e.g., eating more calories than one expends through physical activity) and can increase one’s risk for overweight and obesity (Central for Disease Control, 2012).