Obesity Action Coalition Research Paper

The Obesity Action Coalition states, “Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United states”. The Obesity Action Coalition also states, “A child is defined as “affected by obesity “if their body mass index for age is greater than 95%”. There are many healthy issues that accompany childhood obesity such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma and pulmonary diseases, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, stroke, and other chronic illnesses. “Childhood obesity is strongly linked to adult obesity and increased morbidity and mortality. Successful treatment of childhood obesity can lead to major health benefits” (Wilson, 1994, p. 372). Also according to the obesity action coalition “The prevalence of childhood obesity continues

There are various factors such as media advertising unhealthy food, no place for children to be active , limited access to to healthy food , high availability of accessing sugar beverages, poor regulations in child care centers where it is cheaper to give children junk food, large portion size. If we can take steps to reduce or change these things childhood obesity well be drastically cut down buy almost half.

Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events such as thinking and emotion .Behavior is objective and scientifically measured, but according to Moore (2013) states that behaviorism:

“Is a viewpoint that assumes that it must be possible, in principle, to secure an adequate casual explanation of behavior, including verbal behavior in human beings, in terms of present and past behavioral, physiological and environmental variables, in ways that do not entail either direct or in direct appeal to casually effective antecedents from the mental dimension”

The parts of behaviorism are a key to treating obesity in children revolve around controlling, changing, and predicting a particular behavior. Moore (2013) we can predict behavior if we have independent knowledge of how organisms body has already been changed through its history of interaction with its environment. We can control behavior if we can intervene to change an organism directly, so that if responds differently to current features of its environment” (p.687).

The use of behavioral therapy ( is a treatment that helps self- destructing behavior it is also called cognitive behavioral therapy) helps in learning self- control, setting healthy goals and reinforcement control. Shields (2009):

“Based on the principles of learning, assume that behaviors leading to weight gain, such as lack of activity and unhealthy eating habits. The goals of the developmental behavior intervention is to create an environment that encourages such alternatives behaviors and discourage the behaviors that lead to weight gain” (p.142).

Using behaviorism to treat childhood obesity can be very helpful if the methods are properly used and also including the family of the child so that I can be a complete learning