Who Fault Is It? Who is to blame for my child being over 200 pounds? It has to be the government, oh no it must be the Fast-Food companies, or it might be the parents, better yet it’s the child’s fault. Many are looking to see who is the blame for the increase in obesity rate. Well, everyone can stop pointing fingers at each other because it is the government, the Fast- Food companies, and the parents’ responsibility to avoid obesity and gain a healthier lifestyle. Obesity has become a huge problem in this country, 34.9% or 78.6 million of adults in the United States are obese. Obesity also affects children between the ages of 2-19 years old, there is approximately 17% or 12.7 million children that are obese. Obesity can cause very serious …show more content…
Nonetheless, we spend billions of dollars on health care, treating obesity conditions rather than actually treating obesity. In Michelle Obama remarks to the NAACP National Convention (2010) she proposes a program called “Let’s Move” a program to encourage and educate for better eating, one of her plans is to “get more kids to participate in daily physical education classes” (Graff 426). If this proposal becomes true it would help children understand their bodies and the benefits of taking care of it. Besides, if we leave them to exercise at school they may love it and practice it during their leisure time. Mrs. Obama continues this proposal by stating that “all families [should] have access to fresh, affordable food in their residential districts where they exist” (Graff 427). In urban communities you rarely see a Food4Less, Smart&Final, Ralph, Trader Joes, or even a Fresh&Easy; yet there are Fast-Food companies on every corner. “Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit” (Zinczenko 392). If there is an increase in Super Markets, there will be more home cook meals and eating of fruits and …show more content…
Parents play an important role in forming their child’s early eating habits. When your child receives an A+ on his/her math test, what do you reward your child with? An ice cream cone or an apple? Usually parents reward their child with an ice cream cone. But if your child constantly does good do you constantly reward them with ice cream cone? No, parents should not reward their children with sugary snacks because it will soon become a norm for the child. So when they have done something good they feel as if they need the ice cream cone or other sugary snacks. If you want to reward your kids for achieving their goals take them to the park, give them a fruit bowl, or even a hug. Parents are also responsible for what goes in their child stomach during dinner time, so break out your pots and pans moms and dads, because from this day forward we are cooking homemade meals. Home cook meals will allow you to have “complete control over the type and quality of ingredients in your meals” (Roizman). As well as allowing them to take out the extra salt, sugar or fats that are seen in fast food restaurants. Tracey Roizman also states that “preparing most of your meals at home helps train your palate toward healthier fare” in her article known as The Advantages of a Home Cooked Meal. When you are cooking don’t forget the fruits and vegetables on your child’s plate. I know
Children are waiting endlessly to leave paternal cares and use their man-given freedom. After leaving the nest, we often come to find diverging roads that don’t have clear answers. It’s all about making the “adult choice.” Whatever that is. David Zinczenko, a health aficionado, argues that the fast-food industry is to blame for America’s obesity epidemic.
I chose the topic of obesity, because many Pediatricians have been blamed for the lack of intervention in children and young adults, that they are responsible to educate the young and give advice to prevent obesity and the consequences it could have on their health. As time progresses, Americans, have had an increase in the amount people who are obese in the general population. The ways to deal with this issue has had varying points of view. Treatment of obesity is often debated whether what kind of treatment is best like: medical treatment, intervention, dieting, physical activity, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery. People also often question how obesity can be prevented. Likewise, because medical treatment is often considered disputable,
From 2011-2017, 20.5% of children from 12 to 19 years old were obese. Supporters believe this is so because of unhealthy eating choices and not getting enough physical activity. The percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s. Today about one in five school children ages six through 19 have obesity. Not having recess in middle school is causing a lot less physical activity and that is causing a higher rate of obesity in America.
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.
A national epidemic is occurring, the war between food and people. In the United States, about “32% of children (from 2 to 19 years old) are obese” (Bernadac 1). As the years continue to go on the rate of obese children are increasing as well. In the past the problem did not have much consideration due to a low rate of affected children. Now families are suffering the long-term consequences of having an obese child. Some of those health effects are “Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis” (CDC 1). A problem with this type of drastic effects may have a solution; method prevention for the future generations and correct treatment for those who are already obese can lower the rate.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).
Did you know that the United States is currently the fattest country? How is this even possible? Not only is it the adults that are gaining great amount of weight, it is that one in five children are considered obese. Why is there many children in the United States that have somewhat of large round physiques? Parents and guardians always want to do best for their children, but sometimes feeding them too much processed food will lead them to being overweight and obese. Being obese has no benefits at all. Obesity are known to increase blood pressure and can develop strokes and other problems linked to strokes, including high cholesterol, high-blood sugar, and heart failure. Even though some parents believe that even though their children are
Unfortunately, obesity is a battle that the citizens of the United States are fighting. Over 68.8 percent of our adults have been diagnosed as being over-weight or obese, and this usually initiate in their teenage years (Overweight and Obesity Statistics). America ranks second in the world for the heaviest people (New York Post). Every year obesity is becoming an increasing problem in our nation and particularly in our schools. A huge factor is what we feed our students junk for breakfast and lunch.
As an average American student walks down the lunch line they might see whole-grain bread or noodles being tossed on their plate. “Who would want to eat this?” A common question asked by the student when they encounter the reduced calorie meal. Believe it or not, the changes, no matter how unappetizing they may be, were made in interest of the health children across the nation. After her husband was elected President of the United States, Michelle Obama took initiative of her own and started a campaign called “Let’s Move!” The campaign was developed to put a stop to childhood obesity through exercise and nutrition. Besides endorsing exercise to the children of America through commercials and advertisements, this movement included new guidelines that schools across the nation had to follow. This caused controversy between the students and schools and the government that will be covered throughout the essay. This paper is about Michelle Obama’s school lunch guidelines and how they are affecting schools and students across the nation.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) about “17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese” (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157). “Surveys administered in 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 show that the prevalence of obesity has changed from 6.5% to 19.6% among children 6-11 years old age and from 5.0% to 18.1% for those aged 12-19 years (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157).
For starters the obesity statistics in America has changed. Back then the number of obese children were not as high as the number of obese children today.The number has nearly doubled in past 30 years. The cause partly because of portion size, the main reason is the way they choose to eat whether it's provided at home with their parents or when they go out to eat etc. In 2012 one in every third child
America is one of the most obese countries in the world, and the reasons are quite obvious. Take a look around. Fast food chains on every block, more and more technology to make our lives easier, and high amount of stress are just a few factors to weight gain in our country. There are many different views on obesity and how the people think it should be resolved, whether it's government making the change or the people taking care of themselves. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Are we doing enough to bring these statistics down? No. In the last 40 years, there has been a growth to more than 160,000 fast food restaurants in America (“Adolescent and School Health”). Restaurants (such as Wendy's, McDonald's etc.) serve more than 50 million people per day, generating about 65 million in sales annually. Only since obesity has become a national epidemic have fast food restaurants changed their ways. But we need to do more than just change the kind of oil the french fries are fried in. Better yet, why don't we remove, or intensely decrease the number of the unhealthy fast food chains, and spread more healthy fast food chains, such as Subway? Is it something government could take act in? Should the United States government take measures to fight the rise of obesity in the country, or are choices concerning diet and nutrition better left to the individuals, free of government interference?
There is an epidemic running rampant across the United States and most people do not know the effects it has on society; this epidemic is none other than obesity. In the last thirty-five years, the obesity rate has more than tripled. Obesity has many ill effects and is the cause of many diseases. Washington Post journalist Wil Haygood, elaborates, “A lot of our medications are for ‘disease states,’ such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, things that can be adversely affected by increased weight” (411). Speaking with a pharmacist, Haygood explicates how obesity can lead to serious disease and further health implications that are difficult to overcome.
Today I will be outlining my plan to help education parents and children alike on the dangers of childhood obesity. With this plan I hope to better education parents and children on how to prevent and fight this current health issue. As a parent myself I’m very interested in this topic and help solving this situation. This plan will discuss what childhood obesity how we can help solve this problem. With the proper education I feel we all can make better decisions in our children’s lives as well as our very own.