Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Problem statement on factors contributing to childhood obesity among children
Effects of obesity in children and adults
Physical and psychological effects of child obesity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Obesity Epidemic Maria Mena is a second year undergraduate student at Merced Community College getting her general education. After she finishes with her general education she plans on majoring in Nursing. She is interested in Nursing because she wants to help the sick and wounded in a hospital or clinical environment. Nurses will help treat you whether they know you or not and they are there for you in times of great need. Maria Mena is very determined and driven to push herself to achieve her goals. They include but are not limited to graduating from college and getting her Nursing degree. Then also possibly going past just regular nursing and specializing in Pediatric nursing at some point down the road. In this paper I plan on focusing on a public health epidemic that is taking over the U.S. It affects everyone but the ones that suffer the most are the children. From the age of an infant all the way through their teenage years. Children are affected by obesity by the poor choices made by their parents when they are young. Then later on by the choices they make themselves. Because of these bad choices in food, eating too much and lack of exercise these children will become obese at a young age. They will end up having different types of diseases later on in life. Since what you first learn about making good, bad, right or wrong choices is taught to you by your parents. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...body and mind in a healthy and working condition. Change is the hardest obstacle to overcome. However if we include small steps of change over a larger period of time, society will see that obesity can be overcome with diet, physical activity, and mental awareness of the problem that is all around us. Works Cited Gottesman, Nancy. "Generation Xl." Parenting School Years 266 (2012): 82-86 MasterFILE Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2013 Gottesman, Nancy. "Should I Put My Kid On A Diet?." Parenting Early Years 27.3 (2013): 74-77 MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 Oct. 2013 Rush-Wilson, Tiffany C. "The Crisis Of Childhood Obesity: What You Can Do." Pediatrics For Parents 24.1 (2008): 3-5 MasterFILE Premier. Web. 23 Sept. 2013 Schwager, Tina. "Defeating Childhood OBESITY." American Fitness 28.6 (2010): 18-20 MasterFILE Premier. Web. 25 Sept. 2013 Grade: The Obesity Epidemic
Hellmich, Nanci, “Report maps out solutions to child obesity.” USA Today n.d.: MAS ULTRA-School Edition. Web. 6 May 2012.
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 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.
Obesity is a huge problem that needs to be resolved because it affects all people, unlike most issues. People of every gender, every age, and every race are at risk of being obese. Obesity rates in America have nearly doubled within the last twenty years. Something must be done not only to prevent obesity rates continuous rising, but also to dramatically increase the percentage of obese people in America altogether.
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.
Maria said that she has always been interested in the medical field. One of her favorite past times is to watch medical related programs or documentaries. She always found how the body functions very compelling and is intrigued by the scientific aspects of it. While taking classes she began to befriend some nursing students and learned of the job security and stability that a nursing career can provide. At this point, she contacted on of her aunts who is a nurse and through conversations with her, she came to the realization that nursing was now the career that she wanted to
About nine million children are obese among those who are more than six years of age. (Alderman, Jess, et al.) In order to diagnose a child with obesity, one must calculate the child’s body mass index(BMI). The child’s BMI, which is factored by weight and height, is compared with children of the same sex and age across the country on a specific chart. A child is considered obese if they have a BMI higher than 95% of the population. Since 1980, the amount of overweight children has multiplied, and among adolescents, the number has nearly tripled which will most surely increase the likelihood of health problems leading in adolescents and into adulthood. Children are "gaining weight to a dangerous degree and at an alarming rate" regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, or geographic location...
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.
Today, approximately 25 percent of children and teenagers are obese and the number is on the rise. Since the 1960’s childhood obesity has increased by 54 percent in children ages six to eleven. In children twelve to seventeen it has increased by 39 percent. (Silberstein, 1) Childhood obesity is so prevalent among these age groups that it has reached epidemic proportions.
“In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.” (CDC) Childhood obesity is a problem that has inundated society for many decades. Almost anywhere that you go, you’ll see a magazine article or some sort of poster regarding childhood obesity. Childhood obesity can be defined as a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child’s health or well-being. Majority of adults care about their weight because self-image is a very important factor in their lives, but when it comes down to children, many pay their weight a very minimal amount of attention. Due to the superfluous rise in the number of obese children over the past couple of decades, doctors and physicians have become concerned about this trend. This concern is raised by the various diseases and health issues accompanying childhood obesity. Childhood obesity puts children at a greater risk for developing health issues and diseases of the heart.
The CDC states that, “[o]verweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height… Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.” (1) Their data shows that “[i]n 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.” According to the information they provide, this translates to a more than quadruple increase since 1980. These statistics prove that this pro...
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.
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).
The present public health problem has become a great public concern and the future of these children and future adults has also been brought to attention. For example, "as obese children are more than likely to become obese adults, they are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and several cancers" (Gollust, 2014). Research has also indicated that the current generation of children are on track to have shorter lives than their parents because of increasing rates of obesity (Gollust, 2014).
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...