In recent times, more information has been given about how to better the nutrition of children and young adults in this country. Additionally, more awareness has been given about eating disorders and how to identify them. Virginia M. Quick, Rita McWilliams, and Carol Byrd-Bredbenner investigate the correlation of teasing and bullying with eating disorders in their article, "Fatty, Fatty, Two-By-Four: Weight-Teasing History And Disturbed Eating In Young Adult Women." In the article, “Setting policy priorities to address eating disorders and weight stigma: views from the field of eating disorders and the US general public” Rebecca M. Puhl, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, S. Bryn Austin, Joerg Luedicke, and Kelly M. King evaluate whether the public …show more content…
They are a legitimate health concern because they affect all genders, ethnicities, and age groups. Also, they are extremely harmful to one’s health, especially if one has a disorder, like anorexia, bulimia, or a binge eating disorder, from a very young age. Rebecca M. Puhl et al., in their research article, “Setting policy priorities to address eating disorders and weight stigma: views from the field of eating disorders and the US general public” state:
Both the acute and chronic psychiatric and medical consequences of eating disorders are well documented and include osteoporosis, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and skeletal disorders, dental problems, nutritional deficiencies, obesity, psychiatric disorders, and substance use.
(Puhl et al.
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When children are first exposed to words like “nutrition,” “diet,” “calories,” or “overweight,” they may not fully understand their true meaning unless the adults who are informing them give them a thorough explanation of these words. Instead of just identifying certain foods as “bad” or telling children to stop eating those foods, more information should be given to children about why some foods are healthier than others. Educators should not shame children about being overweight. In his essay, “Why Shame Won’t Stop Obesity,” Dhruv Khullar says:
Shaming children and parents into losing weight is unlikely to be an effective strategy. It increases stigma on those already struggling with the psychosocial consequences of being overweight, and shifts the focus of obesity control efforts to personal responsibility at a time when, for many individuals, options for improving eating habits may be limited. (Khullar 128)
Additionally, children should be taught about different body types and body image from a young age; they should know that every body is different. If children are misinformed about food and nutrition, they can create their own ideas of what they need to eat or what their body image should
The people who stand in this position believe that an individual should have choices in the items he or she buy, and be guilt-free. In the article “Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Issue” published in International Journal of Preventive Medicine”, writer Amar Kanekar states that the main cause of childhood obesity in today’s public health crisis in both developed and underdeveloped countries is because of the disproportion between the child’s caloric intake and the calories effectively used for growth/development and physical activities. To these people, what we eat is not the sole reason of the cause of obesity; genetic, behavioral, and environmental are all constituents of childhood obesity. Moreover, many health-related risks are present when a child is obese; negative body-image and low self-esteem inevitably result in psychological and social issues. Cardiovascular disease, increased cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure are all possible potential health risks involved and that there is, indeed, “preventive programs that help regulate obesity by educating individuals about healthy nutrition and diseases” (Kanekar 2). According to a report presented from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in the years of 2007-2008, there was an estimation that “16.9% of children and adolescent in the age group of 2-19 years were obese…The data collected for the same period shows that the adolescent (age group 12-19 years)
Educating the parents of today’s youth. Critser administers the solution by declaring the parents as the enablers to this rising epidemic. Critser attempts to educate parents by displaying an example of two age groups of children. He uses an examination done by Pennsylvania State University of three-year-olds and five-year-olds and describes how their eating habits differed. From the two age groups, Critser develops a hypothesis due to the fact that the three-year-old age group did not continue to eat when they were satisfied with their portion, while the five-year-old age group devoured the food until their plate was clean. This experiment confirmed that the children responded according to the diets their parents have continuously displayed upon them. In a case of overweight 6- to 12-year-olds, when persistently taught about restraint of food and diets, up to 30% were no longer considered obese. This, alone, exhibits the importance of educating today’s parents so they will deliver their knowledge of obesity, and how to prevent obesity, to their
It is no secret that childhood obesity is a problem in America. With children having to take physical education courses in school, it combats obesity in a way that they may not get at home. “Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults” (Childhood Obesity Facts). Teaching children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle at a young age can help them be less at risk for diseases
The United States as a nation is struggling tremendously with high an outrageous obesity rate. According to the documentary “Weight of the Nation,” obesity is number five out of the ten leading causes of death. The lifestyle in the United States has become a “norm” that has to be changed quickly. It is imperative that we as adults draw into our youth the importance of eating healthy. We as people are in control of our own health and can prevent ourselves from getting chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
In the United States alone children’s health is rapidly deteriorating. Since the early 1980’s childhood obesity in America has skyrocketed, leaving overweight children in danger. While obesity is defined as the condition of being very fat or overweight. One third of children “qualify as obese” (Davies), and meet the criteria to be labeled as “overweight as a result of poor eating habits, and a minimal amount of physical exercise. However, the lack of knowledge parents possess surrounding childhood obesity is determent to youngster future. When dealing with such an austere problem as obesity, parents should become more knowledgeable, supportive, and increase family activities to diminish childhood obesity.
The obesity epidemic here in the United States affects a mass portion of all children and adolescents. The rapid growth in childhood obesity has become a prevalent health concern that is overlooked due to its’ normality. The main focus of this issue has always been fixated on how to help those facing current problems with obesity. Instead, attention needs to be brought to the prevention of our country’s #1 leading health concern, which has yet to be compromised. This ignorance has led millions of children ill-educated on the importance of lifestyle and the simple concept that “we are what we eat”. The reality of this issue is not one many want to take responsibility for, but the significant impact education has on what children consume is greater than we may think. The lack of effort in our education system and the simple changes in the education we provide can significantly help reduce the obesity crisis we face. Our education career is one of the most influential aspects of all of our lives and though most of children’s time is spent in school, it lacks teaching the importance of food, the consequences of unhealthy diets and its’ little value on health as being part of our future success.
To touch on poor nutrition, research shows that almost one-third of U.S. children between the ages of four and nineteen eat fast food every day; this results in weight gain of approximately 6 extra pounds on a growing child each year (NACHRI, 2007). Fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970. Not only is fast food an issue, but when parents reward their children with sugary foods and/or use fruits and vegetables as a punishment, this may cause children’s views toward nutritious food to be negative. Some great educational tools that can be shared both in and out of the classroom are “The Food Guide Pyramid” and “My Plate.” Both show that appropriate number of serving of each food category. “My Plate” does a great job of even providing games, activity sheets, kid-friendly recipes, and physical activity tips to elementary aged children (My Plate, 2015). They also provide great resources for adults so parents and educators can practice what they preach and set good examples for children. Educating children on an what a healthy diet consists of and why it is important is probably the greatest preventative tool we can use to prevent obesity. As the famous saying goes, “knowledge is
Childhood obesity is a growing problem in America. "the percentage of obese children doubling from 6.5% in 1980, to 17.0% in 2006. Weight, nutrition, and physical activity are the main components to a child’s overall health.”(1) “When parents become too busy to cook meals in their homes, children learn poor eating habits and develop into unhealthy eaters.”(1) They will take what they learned at home and apply it to anywhere else that they eat. For example a child that drinks milk at dinner and sits with their family at dinner when asked what they want to drink when they are at a friend’s home will ask for milk because the child would associate milk with dinner. Children cannot make healthy choices of their own they need to be guided so
Because this is beginning to breach into the youngest generation of this country, there needs to be something done to ensure American children are aware about the potential consequences of obesity and how to prevent it. In order to expand childhood knowledge about preventing obesity, children need to be educated about nutrition and physical health. In an article detailing ways obesity can be solved, Richard Attais said,
According to Barbara Wexler, “One of the most disturbing observations about overweight and obesity in the United States is the epidemic of supersized (overweight and obese) kids” (Wexler). Today many children can be persuaded to choose the wrong option when it comes to deciding what may or may not be right for their bodies. There are a number outside forces that can depict on how they make decisions based on their diet when they may not even realize it. It is important for children to understand what is right and wrong when making healthy lifestyle decisions. By insuring that children get what they need, nutrition classes should be mandatory in schools
Obesity is one of the biggest problems in America today, luckily we have people like First Lady Michelle Obama who are on the front lines of the fight against this issue. As our next generation of children grow up obesity will be a battle for them everyday and will continue to be a battle unless we begin to make an effort to solve this problem. Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the last three decades, this statistic alone should be alarming enough to create a sense of urgency in anyone’s mind. I notice younger children everyday who are overweight and out of shape and ask myself every time what their parents must be thinking to be okay with that. The truth of the matter is that many people are simply not educated enough on how to live a healthy lifestyle and what steps to take to eat healthier and begin exercising on a regular basis.
Obesity has reached an epidemic globally within the last several years. Obesity has become one of the most dangerous diseases’ across the globe due to all the junk food options. Unhealthy food has been expanding to lure in and reach more customers, which may be the main cause of obesity. We may need a solution to prevent this problem. Noticing at my school, we should focus more on the student government, principal, parents of students, and the superintendent to really change the unhealthy eating habits. Looking at a survey that was taken by other students in my school, not many realize that unhealthy eating is a serious problem. Many have a negative attitude towards this issue. If people understand the reason to this goal and the consequences of unhealthy eating, then they may realize that there are benefits to eating healthier and they can definitely avoid obesity. Showing individuals the evidence from a survey created by my English class, the article “No Lunch Left Behind,” by Alice Waters and Katrina Heron “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by first Figuring Out Its Cause,” by Jane E. Brody, and the movie “Super Size Me”, may persuade them to readjust their ways of eating.
One out of three people in America suffer from obesity; they suffer from large amounts of fat stored and accumulated in their bodies causing them health issues such as gastritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and even cancer. Unhealthy and harmful foods for our bodies are at every corner; ads for fast food are at every road, and TV commercials are full of delicious looking burgers being advertised on a daily basis. It is almost inevitable not to harm one’s body with this unhealthy food everywhere we turn. However, it might be easier not to consume these types of foods if living a healthy lifestyle started with children. At a young age people should be taught and be informed on how to make responsible and healthy choices of what they consume.
As a matter a fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said “[o]verweight or obese preschoolers are five times as likely to become overweight or obese adults as their normal weight peers” ( Phil 1). American children are easier to become obese adults that will later become a greater problem to society. “More shocking, an obese child can expect a shorter life” (Dalton 35 ) . Obese children are likely to face health problems such as “cardiovascular disease, such as elevated blood pressure or serum insulin levels or dyslipidemia, and 25 percent had two or more risk factors, type 2 diabetes” (Dietz 1) . For this reason, parents need to take action and solve the problem with obesity because it will affect children's health that can later result as a bigger
Our children’s nutritional education is almost nonexistent. Ask a fifth grader what the food pyramid is and you’re likely to receive the same blank stare as I did. Most children have no idea what a balanced meal is because they may have never received one. Schools provide nutritional meals at lunch, but there is no enforcement when it comes to eating your fruits and vegetables. Lets face it, children eat what’s familiar. If they haven’t had it at home they are probably not going to eat it at school. If there are no vegetables at home, they are not going to eat them at school. Home life definitely sets the tone for a child’s eating and exercise routines.