Understanding the Childhood Obesity Epidemic in America

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The human body requires the intake of food in order to function properly. The foods that we decide to eat has an effect on the ability to use are mind, are strength, and even how prone we are to getting sick or hurt. Eating to much of the wrong foods, with little or no exercise can cause the silent but deadly epidemic of obesity in children and in teens. In the past, obesity was just known as a condition that only affected adults. In this generation the youths are becoming more prone to obesity. In 1995 an average of 18 million children all around the world was categorized as being overweight (Rabbitt, Aifric, and Imelda Coyne 731). In a Childhood Obesity Interventions article it says that 17% (12.5 million) of children in the United States is considered to be obese (Rabbitt, Aifric, and Imelda Coyne 731). This outrageous number of overweight children in the world is almost tripled in 2010, where 43 million children under 5 are considered to be overweight (Rabbitt, Aifric, and Imelda Coyne 731). Another staggering statistic is more than 60% percent of the children that are classified as overweight before they reach puberty, will be overweight as they become adults (Rabbitt, Aifric, and Imelda Coyne 731). This leads us to the most stifling fact of there being 2.8 million people in the world that die from being overweight or obese each year (Rabbitt, Aifric, and Imelda Coyne 731). These shocking statistics show how dangerous obesity really is, and should urge everyone to fight against this epidemic. Before taking any kind of action to prevent obesity the question must be asked, what characterizes an individual as being overweight and/or obese? The World Health Organization (WHO 2013) defines being overweight and obese as “abnormal ... ... middle of paper ... ...RTORG/Conditions/Diabetes/AboutDiabetes/About-Diabetes_UCM_002032_Article.jsp>. Wiley-Blackwell. "Obesity And Depression May Be Linked." ScienceDaily, 6 Jun. 2008. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. Haynes, Diane, and Catherine E. Ross. "Concern with Appearance, Health Beliefs, and Eating Habits." Health and Social Behavior 28.2 (1987): 120-30. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. . French, S. A., M. Story, D. Neumark-Sztainer, J. A. Fulkerson, and P. Hannan. "Fast Food Restaurant Use among Adolescents: Associations with Nutrient Intake, Food Choices and Behavioral and Psychosocial Variables." Europe Pubmed Central 25.12 (2001): 1823-833. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. . Tawia, Susan. “Childhood Obesity And Being Breastfed.” Breastfeeding Review 21.2 (2013): 42-48. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web 7 Nove. 2013.

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