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Obesity:
The “Growing” Problem
Stuart Lyster
English 111, Semester 1, Class 3A
Mrs. Erskine
December 19, 2012
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As society advances, the days of eating healthfully and playing outside seem to have
vanished. Technology progression yields a more sedentary, lazy lifestyle. Food has become
machine manufactured for customer ease and the nutrition value is exponentially declining. Not
only is America’s adult population becoming more and more overweight with each generation,
the child population is beginning to do the same. Diet and exercise, rather than simply diet alone,
play a major factor in the well-being of today’s youth. If the sedentary ways of children today
are combated, the obesity rate will decline without even confronting the eating habits of children.
“In the fight against childhood obesity, getting kids moving is one of the most effective ways to
combat the problem” (Armour). Changing the inactive lives of children would require obliging
all of the youth population to participate in activity. If schools implement this concept into
physical education and schools sports, the corpulent issue will begin to shrink; literally.
Changing the way physical education in schools is run would help reverse the growing
weight issue. Currently, schools are not providing the proper physical education necessary for
today’s youth. in order to improve the dietary routines of children, schools need to provide
information on nutrition and physical activity to raise awareness ("Secondary School Health
Education Related to Nutrition and Physical Activity--Selected Sites, United States, 2004"). The
classes are slowly becoming shorter and thus less effective (Aponte). Children need enough time
to not only learn about the proper nutrition for a healthful lifestyle but also get enough activity
and exercise for that healthy regime every day. Eberhart Elementary school in Chicago only
allots forty minutes a week for students to participate in PE activities as opposed to the
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recommended thirty minutes a day for elementary children. The schools in Illinois do not even
have a physical education curriculum and double their gyms as cafeterias for space (Armour).
If the requirements for physical education in schools were to be evolved, the students would
be able to obtain the necessary physical activity recommended by doctors for a healthy lifestyle.
Changing school curriculum to accommodate for the thirty minutes a day for elementary students
and forty-five minutes a day for high school students would repair the lack of activity in the
current youth. This means also changing many school’s programs to expect high schools
students to complete four years of physical education rather than simply two during their high
school careers. Curriculum for these programs would have to be changed as well. According to
Beth Kirkpatrick, “To make the best curriculum, activities must utilize fitness, posh efficiency,
and muscle development” (Aponte). PE classes cannot simply appoint the apportioned time and
waste it; the classes must utilize the time given to let students obtain the necessary activity for
the day because many do not get activity outside of school. If every child that attends school
receives the essential activity for a healthy life style, the obesity problem will gradually shrink as
the younger generations walk off the pounds.
Private schools like Norfolk Academy go above and beyond physical education during
school. Their students are required to participate in a sport year round. The sport does not have
to be school sanctioned, but one must be carried out for the entire school year. This goes above
and beyond simply requiring the bare minimum from students. 150 minutes of physical activity
is recommended for children in order to reduce the risk of obesity (Cawley). This would mean
rather than simply designating the thirty minutes a week in PE, the thirty minutes of activity
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would be used to their potential on a sports team. This is because less than half of PE time in
schools is considered vigorous activity necessary for the prevention of obesity (Cawley).
Daily strenuous exercise is the only way to reduce body fat according to NIDDK senior
investigator Kevin Hall, Ph.D. (""Biggest Loser" Study Finds Modest Diet and Exercise Can
Sustain Weight Loss"). Requiring sports rather than the minimum PE demands to prevent obesity
would give students the activity needed to reverse the obesity as well. The obesity rate in
children has increased from seven percent in 1980 to almost twenty percent in 2008 ("Childhood
Obesity Facts"). With this growing problem, simply requiring the minimum physical activity
will not reverse the effects of obesity in today’s society because of its rapid progression.
The other option is to merely forget the evident problem and continue on with life as normal.
People can stay deskbound all day, eating the same processed foods, letting technology do
everything for them. Waistbands can continue to grow as this inactive life takes a toll of the
upcoming generations. Schools are more concerned with boosting test scores as result to the No
Child Left Behind act than letting kids get the necessitated activity to uphold an active routine
(Armour). Pate, associate vice president for Health Sciences at the University of South Carolina,
is all for boosting grades in students, but knows that a compromise needs to be made so children
can boost their activity as well (Armour).
School systems are not all on the same page as Pate. They are not as concerned with how the
children measure up physically; they solely trouble themselves with how the children measure
up mentally. With the concern for crowding the classrooms, many schools do not want to
improve PE times in order to preserve classroom time. The schools are concerned that test scores
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will decline (Cawley). However, studies show that giving children time to play does not hurt test
scores (Armour). The choice many schools choose is to risk the physical health rather than the
mental capacities of their youth. Without making any changes to the lifestyles children maintain,
the obesity problem will not only be neglected, it will continue to grow. Even the simple changes
can make huge impacts. Studies show that people can “sustain their weight loss and avoid weight
regain by adopting more moderate lifestyle changes—like 20 minutes of daily vigorous exercise
and a 20 percent calorie restriction” (""Biggest Loser" Study Finds Modest Diet and Exercise
Can Sustain Weight Loss").
It is evident there is a “growing” problem in the lives of this generation’s children. The
question remains, what will be done about it? Physical education can be amped in schools to
provide activity for the children that do not receive any outside of school hours. Even greater
changes can be made by requiring the students to get activity outside of school hours by
requiring sports either separately or through the school itself. If neither of these are carried out
and the schools choose to keep things how they are, the rate of obesity in children will continue
to rapidly grow rather than declining like needed for the well-being of our youth.
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Works Cited
Aponte, Richard. "EPortfolioRichard Aponte." Beth Kirkpatrick- Reflection. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
Dec. 2012.
Armour, Nancy. "Education." Do Schools Need More PE Time to Fight Obesity? The Associated
Press, 22 June 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
""Biggest Loser" Study Finds Modest Diet and Exercise Can Sustain Weight Loss." Sirs
Government Reporter. NIH News Release, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
"Childhood Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 07 June 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
Lynn, Diane. "Physical Education to Reduce Obesity in Children." LIVESTRONG.COM.
Livestrong, 11 June 2011. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
"School Health Index." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.
"Secondary School Health Education Related to Nutrition and Physical Activity--Selected Sites,
United States, 2004." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. SIRS Government
Reporter, 04 Aug. 2006. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.