Obesity in Children and What Can Be Done About It
Obesity has been termed the latest pandemic to strike the world. The problem is no longer restricted to adults. Children are the fastest growing segment of the population to fall victim to this unhealthy trend. Everyone is familiar with the problems associated with adult obesity including diabetes, heart disease and increased risk of stroke. However, there is a growing concern that adults who were obese as children may have a greater risk than those that gained weight later in life. The following will explore the sociological and biological factors that influence childhood obesity. Recent estimates conclude that more than 30% of children in the United States are obese (Kimm and Obarzanek, 2002). Obesity has replaced malnutrition as the most prevalent concern among children in some parts of Africa. It is now believed that obesity is four times as common as malnutrition in some parts of the continent (du Toit and van der Merwe, 2003). The key problem with these figures is that obese children are more likely to become obese adults (Must, 2003). Obesity creates some serious health concerns. Obesity is expected to decrease life expectancies anywhere from 5-20 years (St-Onge and Heymsfield, 2003). Obesity not only has serious co
Wilson, Quigley and Mansoor (1999) found that thirty second television commercials did have a significant influence on children's food preferences. Obesity has been linked to many major illnesses, which costs the country millions of dollars per year, not to mention lost productivity in the workforce. In conclusion, the habits that are formed during childhood often last a lifetime. This theory is plausible, but there is no convincing evidence that it even exists at all. If schools do not reexamine their position and realize that they have a social responsibility to educate children about good food choices, it is unlikely that the problem of childhood obesity will become any less in the future. That is why it is so important to make certain that children establish healthy habits while they are young (Anderson and Butcher, 2006). Under this theory a person would gain weight if they did not experience the time of fasting after the feast. Trying to pinpoint the cause of childhood obesity has led to a serious of finger pointing at everyone from parents to schools to video games and fast food companies. Not only the children will benefit from the emotional and health benefits that they will achieve, society will also benefit from a more productive workforce and lower health care costs in the future. Many of the incentives for these changes were financial. All of these changes have led to a sedentary lifestyle for children. However, there is a growing trend of these diseases among children. Technology allows us the ability to do many things from stationary position that used to take physical labor. Children now ride in automobiles, and ride escalators instead of climbing stairs. In addition, many problems may have an earlier onset, which means more years of expensive treatments in the long run.
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