Childhood Obesity Research Paper

In life, people are told to do whatever they set their mind to and whatever that pleases them, but no one has ever cared to menton to anyone, the pros and cons behind each action and the consequences to come for those who continue to harm themselves by walking down this path. Throughout the world and most commonly in the west side of it, obesity has begun to spread more widely than before. Not as a disease or and epidemic but in a form of their lifestyle that causes it, and most people don’t know what’s to come. Throughout many reports, there are many incidents where people who are obese have trouble trying to live their lives and have been experiencing symptoms that been changing and affecting them mentally and physically. Though many assume

that obese people are fine; basically carrying extra weight, wasting more money due to their rather large appetite, and moving at a slower pace due to how much they are carrying on a daily basis, they are dealing with more than people expect them to be throughout all their lives.

If, somehow, one does become obese at a young age; perhaps due to their eating habits, having a huge appetite, parents feeding them too much, or not being active, it will affect that child's physical and mental functions and will be carried out into their adult life. Recently, it has shown that in a study, that it begins as “early as 7 years of age, being obese may raise a child's future risk of heart disease and stroke, even without the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure” (Grudnik, Health, 1). For those who don’t know, Cardiovascular disease is typically a heart and blood disease, like it says in the quote mentioned above, where it will slow down blood flow throughout the body and they will have atherosclerosis, which stops the blood flow entirely by

producing blood clots then results in heart attacks and strokes. Having a disadvantage like this will be troublesome towards any child since they still in development and could cause long-term complications like slower in learning, lack of cognitive thought, either fast or slow physical internal pain, and if serious, they have to go to the hospital and the parents might have to pay expensive medical bills, if the worse case scenario does come to be. There are also “common complications of obesity in childhood include psychosocial problems, hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, abnormal carbohydrate metabolism, and the persistence of obesity into adulthood” (Nutrition 4). Since they will eventually experience each and everyone of those symptomes and say that they somehow get out of being obese, it’s easy for them to get back into habits that made them obese in the first place due to their “persistence” and unwillingness to change due to how hard it is. So, everything that happens to them as a child will continue to stay with them.
When children do become an adult, the those old “problems” become worse and new ones will appear just as potent, if not, more than the old ones.

They will also have a “ higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other illnesses, they are more likely to be bullied and discriminated against than people of "normal" weight range“ (Downside 2). More occurrences of heart disease through the transition from being a child into becoming an adult and they carry more weight as they grow taller and serious illnesses will last longer and have a greater impact on their lifestyle. That along with being bullied for not being in shape and or not “normal,” as it said, that will cause obese kids and or adults to have low-self esteem and self doubt about themselves. Then they are “less likely to be hired, are paid less, are less likely to be promoted at work and more likely to face prejudice and discrimination“ (Downside 3). So, in the free land, they won’t be treated equally not by how hard they work but only based on their physical appearance. It’s already wrong enough that they will be bullied for being obese as a child, teenager, or adult, now they will also be treated as if they were different species or race. This is harsh however, it isn't over yet to those who decided to do nothing about the

problem.
If they are continuing their eating habits and doing nothing about the being obese, then there will be even more consequences when they do become elders. It’s important to realize that "Weight gain or fat redistribution in older age may still confer adverse health risks (for earlier mortality, comorbidities conferring independent adverse health risks, or for functional decline)” (Science 3). Any weight gain is considered bad for any elders. The main reason being that since they have lived for so long and near to their death, the majority of their body had been running throughout their entire life and now they grow tired and weary, adding more weight would cause the heart and muscles to work harder for a weak body. At such a pace, it would be hard to tell which breaks first, the body, spirit, or their actual beating heart. Not only that, they have to deal with “the progressive loss of muscle mass, primarily skeletal muscle, resulting in a decrease in strength and power” (Cetin and Nasr, Obesity, 23). Since they are already at and old age, given the name “elder,” sarcopenia (the name given for the diseases and the symptoms listed within the quote) has been with them and had a large impact on their physical capabilities. Becoming weaker and weaker in literal weeks, until their final day comes where the body breaks.
Again, obese people are going through a lot of serious situations than people expect them to be in all sorts of ways, from mental to physical capabilities. First of the three, obese children do struggle with high blood pressure, mental and physical troubles, and will encounter more heart diseases and strokes. Secondly, becoming obese in a person’s youth will be carried out in their adulthood, along with discrimination in their work space. Lastly, elders who fall into the category won’t be able to get much done with their loss in muscle, overwhelming mass, illnesses carried out throughout their life for for being obese. So, in person’s choice may have plenty of pros and cons within it and they can literally do whatever they please, but it’s up to them, the people, to decide on what to do and find a balance to what they are doing to avoid the worst case scenario possible, who knows, it could save themselves from a slow death, if done wisely.