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Haley Rowley
Holly Guile
03/25/2014
Child Obesity
Take a look around. Child obesity is everywhere. It’s in every state, every city,
and every neighborhood. The child obesity rate has nearly doubled in the past thirty
years. Obesity occurs when a person is consuming way more calories then they burn off.
Child obesity is something that can easily be prevented by understanding the cause,
knowing the effects, and addressing obesity properly.
The causes of obesity are pretty straightforward. In this day and age people are
sitting around using technology instead of going outside and exercising. The downfall in
exercise in the past decade is tremendous! Another cause is the portion sizes these days.
Go to any restaurant and the portion received is at least double the recommended amount.
A really interesting cause of obesity is the lack of knowledge about the food you are
putting into your body. Many popular foods contain so many empty calories that are just
adding to unwanted weight gain. Another cause most people don’t consider is the genetic
cause. Genes really do play a huge role in obesity.
Recently, obesity in children has become a much bigger problem. It affects the
entire life of the child involved. It will affect the well as the well-being of the child in
general as well as cause many health concerns later on down the road. This isn’t just a
problem due to vanity. This issue may have serious repercussions if it continues down the
path it is already headed. The immediate issues that follow obesity aren’t the big
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problems; it is later down the road. Children are the future of the life everyone knows it.
Why not make it better?
The well being of the child is of utmost importance. Obesity can highly affect
their take on life. The effect of an unhealthy diet on a child can be things such as leading
to an eating disorder, they become a higher risk for substance abuse, they may
experiences things such as a low self esteem, low body image, and depression. These
things need to be addressed. Children need to worry about things such as playing on a
jungle gym, not focused in the mirror on what they see. The focus needs to be shifted
from keeping the children happy, to keeping them happy, healthy, and well taken care of.
In child obesity the parents have plenty to say on what the child has to eat, if they
exercise, all those sorts of things. In many cases, a child’s parents are their role models.
They have so much influence on a child. Everyone just wants his or her child to be
happy. Is it worth it? That one cookie that turns into six, that eight-ounce soda that turns
into a thirty-six ounce soda, this is pattern that is being created for your child. They may
want that cookie or that soda so bad but it won’t kill them not to have it, it may end up
killing them if they do.
The health risks are some of the more terrifying parts on the path of obesity.
There isn’t just one issue linked to obesity. There are many things that may have an
increased risk of occurring if the child/person is already obese. A few of these health
concerns are things such as a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, cardio vascular
disease, and cancer. Most people wouldn’t think of both cancer and obesity being linked
together. There are many correlations that show a connection between people that are
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diagnosed with cancer also having obesity. Health concerns are the number one reason to
try to prevent obesity.
The solution to this epidemic is to start young. In Michelle Obama’s speech about
childhood obesity she states “In order to address this challenge (child obesity), we also
need to be honest with ourselves about how we got here.” Michelle Obama makes many
great points within the speech she gives on childhood obesity. She brings up the thoughts
on how we got here. The differences between back 40 years ago versus today are a huge
part of the reasons we are at this point today. In the photo below is the magazine cover
that has Michelle Obama sponsoring the fight on child obesity. The first step to
preventing childhood obesity is to give parents the tools and the knowledge the need in
order to help their children stay as healthy as possible. Parents need to realize that they
are a big part of the things that their child does. Parents’ habits have a lasting effect on
their children. Another piece of preventing child obesity has to do with schools. Children
spend much of their time at schools. Programs at schools need to include a better fitness
program, as well as doing things such as having healthier options at lunch. It is not only
things at school that can help prevent obesity. Most specifically here are some examples
of changes that can be made in order to prevent childhood obesity. Children should not be
rewarded with food or treats. On special occasions is one things but when kids get treats
for simple everyday things it becomes a problem. Also, things like the age old “clean
plate policy” need to get thrown out the window. Kids need to eat until they are full. All
of these things put together can be a great starting point to preventing childhood obesity.
Child obesity is a huge epidemic right now. If things don’t change it will only get
worse. Parents are the change the world needs right now. They need to lead the way for
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their children into the future by setting a good example and teaching their children good
eating habits. Everyone cares about the youth. Everyone needs to take care of their health
and their wellbeing. Obesity is an extremely preventable issue. The steps just need to be
taken in order to prevent it.
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Work Cited
Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of childhood and adult
obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. Journal of the American Medical Association
2014;311(8):806-814.
CDC. National diabetes fact sheet: national estimates and general information on
diabetes and prediabetes in the United States, 2011
Department of Health and Human Services.
[pdf 2.7M]. Atlanta, GA: U.S.
Obama, Michelle. “Let’s Move.” NAACP Convention. Kansas City, MO. 10 July,
2010. Keynote Address.
Michelle Obama on cover of Newsweekly fight against child obesity. Digital
image. Newsweekly. N.p., 2010. Web. 05 May 2014.
<http://www.newsweek.com/michelle-obama-why-im-fighting-childhood-obesity69655>.