Obesity is a chronic, metabolic disease caused by multiple and complex factors, including increased calorie intake, decreased physical activity and genetic influences. The exact level of obesity is determined by reference to the Body Mass Index (BMI). A score of 30+ on the BMI indicates obesity. A score of 40 indicates severe obesity. Caused by a complex variety of factors, obesity is a major risk factor for serious health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer Childhood obesity has been rising at the same rate as obesity in adults. It is estimated that approximately 1-25% of children between the ages of 6 to 12 are overweight (Strauss 2845-2848). About 80 percent of overweight teenagers will remain overweight as adults. The increase in adolescent obesity (about 40 percent during the last 15 years) will have serious consequences in the future. Diseases Caused By Obesity: Being overweight predisposes a child to heart disease, gallstones, adult onset diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and full-blown obesity later in life. Obese children have more problems and upper respiratory diseases. And that is only one side of the story. They often suffer major social and psychological problems. The rapid increase of serious depression, eating disorders, drug use, and suicide among teenagers is frightening (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1st Jan 2001, Obesity In Children And Teens, http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/79.htm). Factors Causing Obesity: There are many underlying factors that may contribute to childhood obesity including genetics, diet, physical inactivity, psychological problems, and other health issues but one of the major factors contribut...
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...d those over age 45, is being diagnosed more often in children and adolescents. The CDC estimate that overweight and physical inactivity account for more than 300,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S., second only to tobacco-related deaths. This leaves us with the conclusion that childhood obesity should be controlled and we being supreme beings should not become a target of negative impacts of technology and sedentary lifestyles.
Works Cited
Strauss RS, Pollack HA. Epidemic increase in childhood overweight, 1986-1998. Journal of the American Medical Association 2001:286(22), pp. 2845-2848.
http://www.county.oxford.on.ca/healthservices/ocbh/pdf/childhood_obesity_handout.pdf
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/79.htm http://www.lisadunningmft.com/Lisa_Dunning_Hermosa_Beach_family_therapist_cause s_obesity_children_article.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discuss about childhood obesity. With CDC, this research is very useful in helping others understand what overweight and obesity is. Having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, bone, muscle, water, or a combination of all is being overweight. Obesity is just having excess body fat. It states about obesity occurring to children and adolescents that has passed since 30 years. The first stage of this phenomenon starts as a person being overweight which will lead to obesity. More than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. The result for both of these terms is a caloric-imbalance which is an amount of too few calories that is consumed and is affected by many genetics, behavioral, and environmental factors. From this source CDC gives a specific estimate percentage of children aged 6–11 years that is more overly obese. In the United States in 1980 who were obese increased from 7% to nearly 18% in 2012. Furthermore over the same period, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21%. Additionally, there is a list of health effects of childhood obesity and inform immediate and long-term health effects. Tips are also included here to prevent any other health problems relating to obesity. It does not clearly teach every step of how to prevent it, but giving out ideas on how to solve the problem yourself.
Exercise, food, technology, and money all play a role in causing childhood obesity. Lack of exercise among adolescents has been proven to be the leading cause of childhood obesity. According to a May 2012 Institute of Medicine report, only half of America’s children and one in four teens get enough activity to meet current guidelines (Doheny and Noonman 1). The recommendations call for children to participate in at least 60 minutes of vigorous to moderate physical activity every day (Hendrick 1). “Only four percent of elementary schools, eight percent of middle schools, and two percent of high schools provide daily physical ...
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.
On a positive note however, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association using NHANES, “In 2011-2012, the prevalence of obesity in the United States was 16.9% in youth and 34.9% in adults. The overall prevalence of obesity among youth remained unchanged compared with that in 2009-2010 (16.9%),9 and there was no significant change since 2003-2004.” (JAMA). In as early as 2004 programs started to appear around the country that had begun to reach and educate and promote better healthy lifestyles for both adults and children. These programs have sprouted across the nation but as you can see it has only plateaued, and has yet to start to decline. Children still remain at an alarming high obesity rate that can furth...
One thing that obese people must put up with is being unhealthy, not just physically unhealthy, but mentally unhealthy as well. This unfortunate reality is present in all ages. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute did research on the health risks of being overweight and obese. They discovered that in adults, the health risks of being overweight include, but are not limited to, “coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, type two diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, sleep apnea, gallstones, and reproductive problems.” Overweight children, on the other hand, are less prone to these health conditions unless they remain heavy through adulthood. Since obese or overweight kids are very likely to stay that way over time, in the end they may be subject to the same health problems as corpulent adults (1). Moving on...
According to Olshansky et al., 2005 (as cited by Levi, Vinter, St. Laurent, & Segal, 2010), if this trend is not halted, many are predicting that for the first time in history, there will be a decrease in the life expectancy of our children. Healthy people 2010 identified overweight and obesity as 1 of 10 health indicators and called for a reduction in the percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese; the United States has made little progress in achieving this goal. Ironically ...
Today, approximately 25 percent of children and teenagers are obese and the number is on the rise. Since the 1960’s childhood obesity has increased by 54 percent in children ages six to eleven. In children twelve to seventeen it has increased by 39 percent. (Silberstein, 1) Childhood obesity is so prevalent among these age groups that it has reached epidemic proportions.
“In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.” (CDC) Childhood obesity is a problem that has inundated society for many decades. Almost anywhere that you go, you’ll see a magazine article or some sort of poster regarding childhood obesity. Childhood obesity can be defined as a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child’s health or well-being. Majority of adults care about their weight because self-image is a very important factor in their lives, but when it comes down to children, many pay their weight a very minimal amount of attention. Due to the superfluous rise in the number of obese children over the past couple of decades, doctors and physicians have become concerned about this trend. This concern is raised by the various diseases and health issues accompanying childhood obesity. Childhood obesity puts children at a greater risk for developing health issues and diseases of the heart.
Obesity is not a disease. It is a condition where our body stores excessive fat and affects our health or well-being. Childhood obesity is a major cause for disease and health risks which may be lifelong. Childhood obesity is becoming a threat to society because of its prevalence. Obesity reduces life expectancy. Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States. The number of obese children has increased and doubled within two decades. (Helping your overweight child." Pamphlet by: National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, 1997, p. 2+.) The childhood obesity epidemic requires more prevention focused on the first five years of a child’s
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Within the past three decades, the childhood obesity rate has increased three-hundred percent (Crouse par. 3). This also means that ten percent of children worldwide are overweight or obese (“Childhood Obesity” par. 33). According to the Centers for Disease Control being overweight is defined as, “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water or a combination of these factors.” On the other hand, they define obesity as having excess body fat (“Child Obesity Facts” par.1). A child is determined as overweight or obese when total body weight is more than twenty-five percent in boys and thirty-two percent in girls (Green ??). Childhood obesity is not just something that influences someone’s life as an adolescent, it causes health risks including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint problems, diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, liver disease, and gallstones (Torkos 42, Galea 62). A study of five to seventeen year olds showed that seventy percent of obese youth have a high risk of cardiovascular disease (“Child Obesity Facts” par. 2). These are diseases that we once associated with growing old, not growing up (Galea 62). Medical risks are not the only problems that childhood obesity can cause. Society has a strong bias against people or children who are overweight. 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...
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