Natalie Martin
Mrs. Ayers
English I
21 May 2014
Teenage Nutrition
Three in ten teens eat four to six meals a week, at fast food restaurants. Most parents don’t pay attention to how unhealthy this is for their children, which is why I am writing this essay. To explain the dangers of fast food and eating unhealthy, also talk about ways to prevent obesity, diabetes, and many other potential threats to your body. (Kolodziejski)
Teens should consume no more than 2,400 milligrams a day. (Kolodziejski) Keeping this in mind, I would like you to know that most fast food restaurant items contain more than half of the amount your SUPPOSE to consume. Consider this next time you want to go to McDonalds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Being healthy doesn’t always mean you have to eat a carrot stick and a piece of broccoli for lunch, Being healthy and watching your nutrition means that you CARE about yourself enough to strive, and push , and work hard to be healthy. If you make the choice to be healthy and watch your nutrition correctly , I think you deserve a cookie! You also deserve a HUGE pat on the back because; it takes a lot of effort and hard work. I know that from experience! Healthy nutrition for a teenager is important, and if we don’t start realizing that now it will eventually be too late! In the next paragraph, I’ll be giving you some examples of unhealthy nutrition. Not only for teenagers, but for everyone! (Kolodziejski)
Nine out of ten kids that are overweight or obese have at least one harboring heart problem. (Onanian) I bet you’ve never thought of it that way have you? If you think about it, it’s scary to think your child could develop a life changing, maybe even life ending heart disease because, he or she is obese. Li...
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...ching what I put in my mouth, Instead of running 265 miles in athletics. Just because I don’t like to work out, or run, doesn’t mean that it’s not good for you. If you like to work out, then you just sweat your little heart out! Being healthy CAN be fun, you just have to try it out, And if the healthy shoe fits, lace it up and wear it. If it doesn’t... Get the right size!
Sources Cited
Cavadini, C, AM Seiga-Riz, and BM Popkin. "Trends in Teenage Eating Habits: The News Isn't Good." To your health. 9 5 2014: n. page. Web. 28 May. 2014. .
Kolodziejski, K. "How Fast Food Affects Nutrition in Teens." Demand Media. Nap.. Web. 28 May 2014.
Onanian , K. "Nutrition is critical during teen years ." Standard-Times correspondent. N.p., 06 01 2009. Web. 28 May 2014. .
Throughout the United States many American’s go through and eat at fast food places such as, McDonalds, Burger King, and Jack ‘n the Box. Mainly unaware of the amount of weight one can gain if consuming it on a daily bases or even two times week, can cause health issues, diabetes and possibly obesity. This was the main premise for writer Dave Zinczenko essay Don’t Blame the Eater, who makes an argument that many people are becoming obese and diabetic because of the fast food they eat. He asks a regarding his concern; Shouldn 't we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?, As a way to engage the general public, like parents and teenagers, he expresses his argument through his own experience when he was a teenager eating at fast food places and information on the fast food industry in regards to how many calories are in the food.
Many would argue that children should not focus on their weight because children should lead a youth with little worries, yet obesity affects a child much more than people with that argument think. Being overweight can cause increased risks for several serious diseases and even can result in decreased mental health on account of low self-esteem and social discrimination. Children who are overweight also are at least twice as likely to have heart disease, diabetes, and orthopedic problems (Internicola, 2009). Sadly, children are being pressured into unhealthy lifestyles even more so than adults are.
Up to 17% of children and teens in the United States are obese (Centers). Obesity is unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise and is responsible for up to 365,000 deaths each year. Obesity is strongly associated with a decrease in the ability to exercise. An overabundance of fat tissue, which occurs from obesity, impairs the breathing process. The impairment of the breathing processes in youth has been linked to more damaging breathing problems in adulthood. The lack of exercise that starts a child down this path can be reversed and good exercising habits can be instilled by parents. Therefore if 1 out of 3 children are obese, what does that say about the health and wellbeing of these children? It says that these children can look forward to a life of medical problems, emotional issues, and higher costs than their non-obese counterparts. The most pressing of which are heart disease, type 2 diabetes, pulmonary...
Whitney, E., DeBruyne, L. K., Pinna, K., & Rolfes, S. R. (2007). Nutrition through the Life Span: Childhood and Adolescence . Nutrition for health and health care (3rd ed., pp. 301-329). Belmount: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Young,E,Fors,S.(2001). Factors Related to the Eating Habits of Students in Grades 9-12. Journal of School Health, 71(10), 483-488.
Government date shows that in the past thirty years, rate of being overweight in six to eleven year olds is up 19% and 6% in age 12 to 19. Without support, school lunches remain high in fat. (Finkelstien) According to the CDCP, obesity is double what it was in children and triple in adolescents since 1980. Many reforms were attempted to help this problem, but many inadvertently caused more problems. (Finkelstien) A 730 calorie lunch should have no more than 24 grams of fat and no more than 8 grams of it saturated yet the average USDA lunch has 31 grams of fat and 14 rams of it is saturated. (Yeoman) These very high levels of fat are why obesity is becoming worse in children. It can be concluded that school food is still extremely high in fat and this can be directly linked to the high rates of obesity in young children and
HAGIKALFA, HARA. "Benefits of Healthy Eating For Teenagers." Nutrition Style RSS. N.p., 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014.
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.
However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension”
The present public health problem has become a great public concern and the future of these children and future adults has also been brought to attention. For example, "as obese children are more than likely to become obese adults, they are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and several cancers" (Gollust, 2014). Research has also indicated that the current generation of children are on track to have shorter lives than their parents because of increasing rates of obesity (Gollust, 2014).
Childhood obesity is a serious problem among American children. Some doctors are even calling childhood obesity an epidemic because of the large percentage of children being diagnosed each year as either overweight or obese. “According to DASH sixteen to thirty-three percent of American children each year is being told they are obese.” (Childhood Obesity) There is only a small percentage, approximately one percent, of those children who are obese due to physical or health related issues; although, a condition that is this serious, like obesity, could have been prevented. With close monitoring and choosing a healthier lifestyle there would be no reason to have such a high obesity rate in the United States (Caryn). Unfortunately, for these children that are now considered to be obese, they could possibly be facing some serious health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancers. All of these diseases have been linked to obesity through research. These children never asked for this to happen to them; however, it has happened, and now they will either live their entire life being obese, or they will be forced to reverse what has already been done (Childhood Obesity).
"TeensHealth." When Being Overweight Is a Health Problem. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Nutritional needs change throughout various stages of life. Nutrition is dependent on many other factors such as physiological, behavioral and social changes. With these changes occurring in humans it puts them at risk for many diseases when proper nutrition is not received. Let’s go ahead and take a look on what factors can increase our risk for disease.
There are many health issues and concerns for teenagers. Many health issues are related to illegal substances but everyday food is just as big of a danger. Obesity is sweeping the nation and its due to all of the amount of junk food, fast food, and sweets that are promoted and sold every day. In the United States the number of teenagers that are obese is increasing rapidly. 18% of teen from ages 12 to 19 are obese. That is tripling teen obesity in 1980. 30% of kids from ages 6 to 19 years old are obese. These statistics show a huge problem and it is growing faster than ever.
Whether it’s environment, education, or socioeconomic status, nutritional education is recommended for everyone. Frerichs et al. (2016) addresses the decrease of healthy foods in individual’s diets, and the increase of unhealthy food and recommends food literacy and education on nutrition. Nutrition education during childhood has the potential to shape perceptions and behaviors towards food, and contribute to the ways those children develop their eating habits (p. 1). The education about nutrition is important for the future generations, and will hopefully decrease the rate of obesity and bad nutritional habits in the