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Obesity social issues in today's society
Childhood obesity public health issue
Obesity is the social problem
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Recommended: Obesity social issues in today's society
The struggle is real in today’s society and social determinants are the issue. Social determinants and childhood obesity they are also related to political aspects as well. There are key indicators that help explain the areas that could evolve into issues in childhood obesity. The key indicators will also help address issues and give answers to solutions among this healthcare issue. Reaching out to people is one of the best ways to promote awareness in childhood obesity. I discussed political aspects and childhood obesity in week one and how they relate to each in healthcare. Social determinants are also related to both these topics as well. They are all facts in how we grow up, learn, and stay healthy as we age. There are 5 key areas or determinants include: (DPHP, 2014)
• Economic stability
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The DPHP website points out the evidence of the results, but there are no real numbers here. The statistics are not here, but we can see the addressed issue in health care that involves social aspects. There are a lot of determinants here and these are not all of them that could be addressed, but I picked out the main determinants. Helping people in the public and reaching out to those in poverty and educate them about the awareness of childhood obesity. Being able to have access to health care and healthy foods is important to those struggling with obesity. Lastly, addressing environment conditions are also relative to childhood obesity and whether or not food is scarce in some areas and how are people living with medical conditions under certain environments. Nearly every issue discussed here has a solution. Again, social and political aspects are just part of the issue
A significant proportion of the children and youth of Lancaster are confronting an increasing danger. This is an issue that has short-term and long-term health complications like diseases and even social-emotional problems. This increasing issue I am referring to is childhood obesity. For instance, the Lancaster New Era newspaper states that “About 18 percent of youths in Pennsylvania are overweight and, according to preliminary data, the percentages are slightly higher than that in Lancaster County” (“Pa” D5). This issue is talked about in many articles trying to get the information out there.
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity has been a health problem ever since infectious disease had began in the first half of the 20th Century. The person with obesity is not the only person who is affected by their disease. In the case of childhood obesity, It can affect the parents because they might be the cause of the child’s issues. It can also lead to many different health problems such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory problems, and it can also even lead to death. Obesity has affected the world in many ways: task forces have been formed to address the issue, people are suffering from health problems due to obesity, and others suffer psychological and social issues.
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.
West, S. L., & O'Neal, K. K. (2004). Project D.A.R.E. outcome effectiveness revisited. American Journal of Public Health. doi:10.2105/AJPH.94.6.1027
children’s weight to stay under control. Step by step everyone can make a difference for a child’s life. Introducing better healthier choices in vending machines, enrolling them in an after school program and limiting the amount of time they spend inside playing video games or any type of social media entertainment can really help them out. Children are very dependent of their parents being there for them and to lead them into the right direction since they don’t know any better and just mimic what they parents do. In the end childhood obesity is not something that can just vanish; it’s a process everyone needs to be a part of to accomplish a better living children deserve.
"Obesity." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Childhood obesity has become such a big problem because of the lack of parent awareness and influence on children to eat healthily. Childhood obesity i...
Amongst one of the bigger health issues in United States children is obesity. Obesity is a condition in which a person has accumulated an excess amount of body fat that it has become detrimental to their health. To track this health professionals use the term “obese” when a person has a body mass index (BMI) of over 30. Although BMI should not be the only determining factor of whether or not you child is obese as it only takes into account of height and weight, it is one of the better known systems of telling whether or not a person is overweight or obese (Nichols). Obesity comes with a range of other health conditions that can include but are not limited to cancer, diabetes, and depression. Not only do children and teens who suffer from obesity acquire many health diseases, they also tend to get failing grades and are bullied amongst peers. Most Americans correlate being obese with having an unhealthy lifestyle, but according to a 2006 Fox News article there may be other factors that attribute to obesity that include smoking, medicine, pollution, technology and lack of sleep. (“10 Causes of Obesity Other Than Overeating”). One part that does although indeed play a role in to child obesity rates is economics.
Social Determinants of health is the “conditions in which people are born, live, work and age that affect their health” Healthypeople.gov. (2017). Social Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020. [online] Available at: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. The determinants of health are important because it helps create policies to make changes, as well as improving public health conditions by addressing the different health outcomes an individual can face and improving the need for healthier conditions. Healthy People 2020 organizes the determinants of health in both a social and physical determinant which has an impact on health.
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).
...ies (Glanz, 2001). Societal expectations and norms have gone more to the healthier side of eating and physical activity passed on people's perceptions. Childhood obesity is a main concern in the public health world and is matter that must be handled by not only the parents of the children, but policy development industries and health promotion organizations in order to increase their health and decrease the national obesity rate.
This includes, but is not limited to, race, gender, socioeconomic status, education, geographical location, early childhood development, occupation, and social support. Social determinants are classified, specifically, as fixed or variable. This ultimately means that one’s classified “social determinant” is either something that is unable to be changed or is something that is able to be altered. Therefore, there are some social determinants for which the individual has a choice on whether or not their actions are controlled by those specific facets of themselves. For example, some social determinants for which an individual has no choice includes their race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status (or more specifically, the socioeconomic status for which you are born to), and early childhood development. Compared to other social determinants, these are factors to every individual that we are unable to change, due to the fact that these specific characteristics are traits that we are born with. Although some of these determinants are able to be changed, the health implications that are connected to these factors will continue to alter and change the individual’s life. For instance, there are specific health issues that affect more individuals in a specific race or gender compared to another social group, ultimately altering the individual’s health. Also, socioeconomic status is linked to many
Youthful Rebellion for a Change in The Rigid Social Norm The definition of decency varies through generations, as the desire of a teenager to be different from his or her parents not only with the way they live but also their perspective of life. That is what John Updike, author of the well-known short story “A&P”, trying to give through his writings. The character of Sammy and the girls who were living during the 1960s, represents the inner youthful rebellion towards the rigid social system during those times. Through a first-person narrative, John Updike manages to decipher Sammy’s rebellious and opinionated character and, Queenie's boldness by making them challenge the literal paradigm of a decent behavior during the 1960s, with their teenage
Childhood obesity has recently become a major problem not only in the Unites States, but all around the world. No one knows the real reason as to why childhood obesity has recently become a major epidemic, but it has been found that the environment that the children live in plays a factor in the child’s weight status. Not only that but, some people believe that fast food and their million dollar industries is the reasons why so many children are obese. Whereas others have found that it all relies on their parents, that they, the parents, are the reason why their children are the way they are. Some even say that it’s the school’s fault because they do not teach the children how to live a healthy lifestyle. Whatever it is, it need to be fixed so that we can have a healthier America. At the same time that I believe that the parents play a big role in the weight status of their children, I also believe that schools play a factor in the recent outbreak of childhood obesity.
According to author Obama, there are many arguments that Childhood obesity is a subject that has a tremendous effect on children but rarely gets enough recognition. When talking about obesity one would think “I don’t care” or “why does it matter”? It does matters because obesity affecting the children as today world (Obama).