In the recent decades, obesity has grown into a major health issue in the United States within young people. With 31 percent of the United States of children being obese, the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity is not only found among adults, but it is also now found mainly among children and teenagers. The childhood is a very important period for the initiation of obesity especially in this time. Eating practices that children are taught or learn during childhood affects a person later in their life whether they know or not. Multiple studies have confirmed that childhood obesity in the U.S has been on a rise for years. One out of three children in the U.S are obese, most of them face a higher risk of having medical, social and academic problems. Childhood obesity also leads to many health problems among young people. Those problems include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and many more others. These problems cause a rise in health care costs that their families might have to pay sooner or later. The influence of parents and the media play a big role in causing these problems to happen. Some people believe that a family with an obese child should not raise child protection concerns if obesity is the only cause for concern (Callaghan, 2010). However, doctors should always be mindful of the possible role of abuse or neglect in contributing to obesity. The result of some research that was done on the symptoms of neglect shows a clear correlation between childhood abuse and obesity in childhood. A study of American school children has found that after controlling for socioeconomic status, those who were physically abused were more likely to be obese (Callaghan, 201...
... middle of paper ...
...nment Intervention for a Childhood Epidemic." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 06 May 2012.
Easterling, Kelli. "Should Government Protect Obese Kids from Parents?" McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, 19 July 2011. Web. 06 May 2012.
Hellmich, Nanci, “Report maps out solutions to child obesity.” USA Today n.d.: MAS ULTRA-School Edition. Web. 6 May 2012.
Holden, Diana. "Fact Check: The Cost of Obesity." CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Feb. 2010. Web. 06 May 2012.
"Media and Childhood Obesity." FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Web. 06 May 2012.
Tanner, Lindsey. "Should Parents Lose Custody of Extremely Obese Kids?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 July 2011. Web. 06 May 2012.
"The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity." The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Web. 06 May 2012.
“Pa. Schools to Help Battle Kids' Obesity.” Lancaster New Era [Lancaster, PA] 10 Dec. 2003: D5.
Obese Parents to Blame for Obese Children? (2011, November 4). Issues and Controversies. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.2facts.com.holyfamily.idm.oclc.org/icof_story.aspx?PIN=ib160612&term=child+obesity
Brody, Jane E. “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause.” New York Times. 12 September 2011. Print.
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
Childhood obesity has become huge epidemic in the United States. It is becoming one of the biggest health problems in America. Children are facing serious health concerns by not having the proper diet and exercise needed on a day-to-day basis. There are many different perspectives on how obesity should be treated and prevented. Many argue that children nowadays are becoming lazy, not getting enough exercise and have poor eating habits. Children are lacking fast and cheap food options that are actually healthy. Which are making people question who is to blame for this issue. Parents, schools, fast food industries and even the children themselves are just a few of the things that are to blame for this epidemic.
Also approximately, 13 million children and adolescents between the ages of 2-19, are obese in the United States too. A child who is obese will have the following symptoms, such as a physical look of being overweight, binge eating, and it is very common for them to have a shortness of breath when they take on a physical task, or exercise. Child obesity, if not treated, nor looked after can cause very mortal complication diseases in the near future that awaits for them ahead. It can lead the child towards having future high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It is considered neglect that parents have an obese child, this is because children need to be looked after, and not have to look after their own wellbeing, they don’t know any better. The parents on the other hand, are grown adults to know their own child’s medical history, and what needs to be in order for their child to live a healthy. In order to avoid obesity from their children, parents have to know all of the fundamentals towards becoming successful on their child’s health, and away from the bad eating choices. At the end of it all parents need get their child proper medical treatment, and counseling towards a healthy lifestyle, or it is considered for the child to be obese, and a result the state will affirmative action against the family
"The Experts: What Role Should Government Play in Combatting Obesity?." Wall Street Journal Online. 21 Apr. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
"Obesity." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015)
Did you know that 35% of the United States population is considered obese? Also, 66% of the population is considered overweight or more? (Saint Onge 2014) Even more frightening, in 2012 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than one third of children and adolescents in America were overweight or obese (CDC 2014). The media sources used investigates the political, scientific, historical, and cultural reasons behind the childhood obesity epidemic in America. Obesity is a rapid growing epidemic in America and these sources present the facts causing this epidemic. As well as how the children of the American society are being wrongly influenced by the media, especially advertisments. (Greenstreet 2008).
Parents have always known about obesity and what the affects obesity has on people. Although parents have known about this preventable disease, they are just now becoming more aware about what is happening to their own children. Now they want to start pointing fingers as to why these young children are becoming obese; nobody wants to take the blame for putting these young lives at risk. “Greenbalt states in his article that obesity is becoming an epidemic that there is about 300,000 children each year that die because they are overweight....
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem here in the United States. According to Schuab and Marian (2011) “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions” (P.553). The prevalence of child obesity and overweight has increased over the last 30 years all over the United States, becoming one of the biggest public health challenges (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, & Boles, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to give a background of the obesity epidemic, a review of current policy, and make a policy recommendation.
Let us say a parent is doing everything possible to ensure his or her child is living a healthy lifestyle, but still the child faces problems with obesity. Why should the parent be held accountable? Especially if there are genetic factors involved in the cause of the child’s obesity. The article in Oxford Journals also states, “Heritability estimates for obesity are high…” (Genetics…). Some children cannot control the fact that they are obese. Even if the child is involved in physical activity and eats healthy, the child cannot control his or her genetic makeup. In this case, the child becoming obese was already determined before he or she was born. Obesity is associated with several health risks such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pulmonary diseases, and certain forms of cancer (Genetics…). Most parents would choose to have a genetically healthy child than a child that has to suffer with the negative effects obesity will cause throughout the child’s life. What parent would voluntarily want to see his or her child
Termini, Roseann B., Thomas A. Roberto, and Shelby G. Hostetter. "Food Advertising and Childhood Obesity: A Call to Action for Proactive Solutions." ERIC. N.p., 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
This problem has fueled debates and court cases. Most of the time parents of obese children are obese themselves, and if it is not a medical issue it could be a mental health problem that causes them to eat everything that they eat. “Defining childhood obesity as abuse would put a tremendous burden on obese children’s parents”. (Yam)