Childhood Obesity in Mississippi

862 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Child obesity in america

As the world strives for convenience and a fast-paced lifestyle, an epidemic of poor health is on the rise. With constant life struggles, fast food readily available, and little time for preparation, citizens of the United States are not paying attention to what they’re putting in their child’s mouths. The state of Mississippi has developed the highest percentages of childhood obesity in the United States. Although this percentage has decreased in recent years, the numbers are still astounding. The children of Mississippi are slowly being poisoned by their parent’s poor choices. Due to parent’s poor nutritional education and poor health habits, the children of Mississippi will continue on the destructive path of obesity
Childhood obesity in Mississippi is rising due to a parent’s lack of healthy food choices and lack of obesity awareness. Without proper nutrition, obesity is inevitable, and quality nutrition begins within the home of the child. If a parent constantly buys processed foods and saturated fats, it limits a child to only eat what is available at home. Within a study done by BMC Pediatrics, “Parental surveys revealed that approximately 40% of children eat less than two servings of fruits and vegetables per day” (Tovar, Chui, Hyatt, Kuder, Kraak, Choumenkovitch, S., & ... Economos). Although this is a statistic regarding the United States as a whole, the percentage of childhood obesity in Mississippi is higher than the national average. Parents in Mississippi would presumably be starving their children of proper nutrition. Poor nutrition and diet in a parent will eventually be passed down to a child. According to a study at Stanford University, “64% of children with overweight parents became overweight, compared with o...

... middle of paper ...

....com/2013/how-parents-program-their-babies-and-toddlers-for-obesity/
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
Stevenson, G., & Matich, R. (2004). Fact sheet: obesity among Mississippi's children. Mississippi RN, 66(1), 12-13.
Tovar, A., Chui, K., Hyatt, R., Kuder, J., Kraak, V., Choumenkovitch, S., & ... Economos, C. (2012). Healthy-lifestyle behaviors associated with overweight and obesity in US rural children. BMC Pediatrics, 12102. doi:10.1186/1471-2431-12-102
Venker, S. (2010, March 30). Busy Parents: The Real Cause of Childhood Obesity | NewsReal Blog. News Real Blog. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/03/30/busy-parents-the-real-cause-of-childhood-obesity/

Show More
Related

  • Should Parents Lose Custody of Extremely Obese Kids?

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Easterling, Kelli. "Should Government Protect Obese Kids from Parents?" McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, 19 July 2011. Web. 06 May 2012.

    Read More

  • Killer at Large: Childhood Obesity in America

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Obesity in Texas Children

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Obesity has become an epidemic in adults and children in the United States. Moreover, children are at risk of obesity because they do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and do not obtain enough physical activity. Also, children have a higher chance of developing health diseases related to obesity such as hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and pulmonary disease. In addition, obesity in children from ages one to seventeen is an issue in Texas, since children are not aware of the serious consequences of being obese. Therefore, Texas should find ways to prevent obesity by authorizing healthier school lunches and allowing a school program to help obese children lose weight. Also, television advertisements are influencing obese children to make unhealthy choices.

    Read More

  • Obesity in Children Across America

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity in African American Children

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Childhood obesity is a consequential medical condition that effects the youth and adolescence of society. This disorder creates health problems that were once only seen in adults, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Although childhood obesity is a world wide issue, the percentage of overweight children differs, especially throughout the United States. Today, the greatest population suffering from this disease are African American children who reside in the southern part of the country. Parents, as well as children, continue to support unhealthy lifestyles even though they are well aware of the life-threatening diseases caused by obesity.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Childhood Obesity in America

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    The overall rate of obesity for children comes in at 17 percent, or about 12.5 million obese children in America today (Doheny 1). The number of children who are obese is growing at a fast rate. Most cases of childhood obesity are caused by eating too much and exercising too little. Extra weight puts children at a risk of serious health problems; such as, diabetes, heart disease, and asthma (Smith 1). Although obesity can be prevented, it has become a growing problem among children due to several factors that lead to health problems.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity In Hispanic American Children

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    Childhood obesity in particular poses a large problem because it increases the likelihood of these children developing diabetes and heart disease, staying obese into adulthood, and therefore being more prone to chronic diseases. According to Healthy People 2020, 81.8% of adolescents do not reach the optimal amount of physical activity recommended for them. This is one of the factors that has led to 1 in 6, or 16.2%, of children and adolescents being obese (Nutrition). A research conducted on children and adolescents from 1999-2010 showed that 21.2% of Hispanic American children and adolescents were obese compared to 14.0% of non-Hispanic white children and adolescents (Ogden). In a 2004 study researchers examined the risk factors for obesity in Hispanic American 5 and 6 year olds. They took height and weight calculations of 230 kindergarteners from two public schools and interviewed and measured several mothers. They defined overweight as height for weight measurement at or above the 95 percentile for other children their age and a BMI of 25-29.9 as overweight for mothers and 30 or above as obese (Ariza). The growing prevalence of overweight children makes it clear that the problem is rooted in environment not just genetics. The risk factors focused on in this study were demographics, acculturation, physical activity, infant/toddler feeding practices, current eating habits, the mother’s attitude toward and belief about obesity and psychosocial family elements (Ariza). The researchers proposed the more acculturated to Western ideas the family was, the more overweight the children. Demographics asked about where mother and child were born and the education level and marital status of the mother. Physical activity asked how much time was spent participating in physical activity and watching TV. Infant/toddler feeding practices focused on the length of time breast-feeding and introduction

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography: Childhood Obesity

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article from CDC talk about the basics about childhood obesity. It provides information on how childhood overweight and obesity is measured by calculating an individual’s body mass index (BMI). It also states some consequences that are related to childhood obesity, both consequences that can happen now and later...

    Read More

  • The Obesity Epidemic

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tiffany Rush-Wilson says in her article The Crisis of Childhood Obesity that due to this health crisis, we know have a generation of children that are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. Obesity is defined as a condition in which a person’s weight is more than 20% greater than is recommended for his or her height and age. Durin...

    Read More

  • Problems with Obesity in America

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brody, Jane E. “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause.” New York Times. 12 September 2011. Print.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity in the United States

    2855 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    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....

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Childhood Obesity

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Obesity is a modern epidemic in America and is starting to become our society’s “norm.” According to an article in Progress in Health Sciences, childhood obesity is the most frequent eating disorder (Koukourikos). There are several factors that contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic. Should we solely shun the parents of obese children for this? No, we should not. There is not one single person to blame, but several people, along with our society. Family, friends, and schools all play a very important role in teaching children about healthy food choices and exercise. Children may have a greater risk for obesity due to genetic factors. We need to constantly remind our children how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that

    Read More

  • Parents Are Mainly to Blame for Childhood Obesity

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Parents are not teaching children how to eat healthy. They feed them cheeseburgers, chicken fingers, and fries. Kids are not being exposed to a regular diet of health fruits and vegetables. Now some people are just naturally overweight, but being “overweight” is not the same as being “obese.” Someone who is overweight has reached a maximum weight limit for their height. When someone goes beyond this maximum limit, then they are considered “obese” (Kiess 1). Research shows that “obesity is generally defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue” (Kiess 1). The increase in childhood obesity today is mainly the fault of the parent because they are unable to tell their children “no” when it comes to junk food (Kiess 104). Parents are the one buying all the food that comes into the house. They are the ones buying the sugary drinks and chips. They are the ones allowing the children to “have what they want.” Because parents are not teaching their children how to eat healthy, we will continue to see childhood obesity increase. Unfortunately, overweight children will be the ones who suffer because statistics show children who are overweight are more likely to become obes...

    Read More

More about Childhood Obesity in Mississippi

Open Document