How Has Childhood Obesity Changed

Obesity has been around for centuries and over the years it has become vastly more common in our society. Originally obesity was not as much of a problem as it is now, but over the past few decades it has transformed into a serious issue in the United Sates and even across the globe. It has turned into such a widespread issue that the World Health Organization has even labeled it as a global epidemic in 1997 (Spruijt-Metz 129). Childhood obesity specifically has become a major issue as obesity rates in young children have tripled over the past 30 years alone (Spruijt-Metz 130). This has a huge impact on our society because childhood obesity is a common indicator of adult obesity and this leads to an increased chance for harmful health problems

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States in the past three decades. In 2012, roughly 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese” (“Childhood Obesity Facts,” 2014). According to the Centers of Disease Control and

According to Time Magazine, childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed. Since the 1960’s, the percentage of children ages 6 to 11 have tripled to 13% (Time, 2015).

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years,” (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). The monumental question that researchers seem to be asking is why the increase now? Childhood obesity has become a paramount problem in the United States in recent years due to various social, biological and technological factors that ultimately requires immediate assistance in order to promote a healthier lifestyle for children as they transition into adulthood.

In America childhood obesity statistics show that almost 60 percent of children are obese. This statistic continues to grow at an alarming rate. 70 percent of obese adolescence become obese adults. This means when these children grow into adults they will have more health problems than they already do and their quality of life will decrease. The amount of children who are obese between ages 6-11 years old has risen from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent, in 2008. In adolescents ages 12-19 years old the obesity rates risen from 5.0 percent in 1960 to 18.1 percent in 2008. Last year the United States government stated that obesity and type 2 diabetes have become a national epidemic.

Obesity in both adult and children is a major public health crisis. Childhood related obesity is an increasing concern with respect to the health and wellbeing of a child.

In the recent decades, obesity has grown into a major health issue in the United States. Obesity in the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity seems not to be only found in adults anymore, appears to be found among children and it’s a serious life threatening. Childhood obesity turned into a medical situation that children are destined to suffer from psychological, health problems and health care cost that affect children’s.

Since 1980 the rates of child obesity have more than tripled which has caused a growing pandemic of childhood obesity in the United States. Out of all the young children and adolescents within the age group of two through nineteen about 12.7 million are obese. That is the equivalent of about 17% of America’s population that is suffering from childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is too prevalent in all American households. Childhood obesity is detrimental on a national scale, since it has been growing at a steady rate in the United States of children not reaching the daily-recommended physical activity, the absence of a balanced diet with overconsumption of eating, and more critically the increase of type 2 diabetes.

Childhood obesity has become staggering in the United States. Children are considered obese if they have thirty percent amount of body fat or more and is measured by body mass index (BMI). Body mass index conveys the correlation of body weight to height. If a child’s BMI is at or exceeding over the 95th percentile, meaning if their body mass index is greater than 95% of other children that are the same sex and age, they are obese. Doctor Jeffrey Levi, an executive director of the Trust for America’s Health Organization and an advocate of the public health system, has declared along with his associates that childhood obesity rates have tripled since the year of 1980 (8). This committee oversees health issues like obesity and obesity-related diseases. In the year of 1991, children were 10-15% obese nationally, whereas today more than 25% of adolescents ages two to nineteen are considered obese. In our nation, there are many potential causes that contribute to obesity. A child’s socio-economic status, physical position, and eating habits shape the obesity stratum. Genetics have very limited impact, but behavioral and environmental factors augment the chances of a child reaching obesity. According to the Center of Disease Control, “the portion of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012…the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.”

Child obesity is a condition characterized by the child having too much fat in the body to an extent of his or her health being in danger. In adults, it could be described as a state of having a body mass index of more than thirty (Paxon, 2006). Parents feeding them with too many calories bring about obesity in children. The excess calories are converted to fats that accumulate in the child’s body. This child will develop a big body because he or she will add weight and become quite fleshy. Obese children are at a risk of getting very adverse health effects, some of

Until the early 1960’s childhood obesity had never been a problem. Between 1963-1970 the rate of obesity for children of both genders through the ages of 6-11 years old was 4.2 percent and for those between the ages of 12-19 the rate was 4.6 percent. From their the rates of children and adolescents who were obese would only increase. In the year of 1971-1974 the rate of 6-11 years old was 4.0 percent, and adolescents between the ages of 12-19 were 6.1 percent. Between the year 1976-1980 the rate of obesity in

According to the CDC, childhood obesity in the United States is at a steady incline and has seen an exponential growth in the past 30 years. (“Childhood Obesity Facts”, 2015).

Obesity has been a major health issue in the community for the past three decades, and has recently become a spreading concern for children (Black & Hager, 2013). Childhood obesity leads to many health and financial burdens in the future, and has become a public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016), childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Black and Hager (2013) state that pediatric obesity is a major public health problem that effects a child’s mental and physical health. Having childhood obesity also increases the risk of developing adult obesity and many other chronic illnesses. Childhood obesity will be further explored in the following sections and will include: background, current surveillance methods, epidemiology analysis, screening and diagnosis, and the plan of action.

Childhood obesity has now reached an epidemic in several parts of the United States. As a result, children now have a higher risk to have numerous chronic and acute medical problems. Several of the long-lasting medical problems a child might face as a result of obesity could eventually result in death. In addition to chronic medical problems, childhood obesity has severe psychosocial effects on an individual such as low self-esteem and depression. Childhood obesity is a serious problem that is caused by a numerous amount of factors that can eventually lead to severe health complications.

In the United States, an increasing problem that Americans faces is obesity. According to (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015, the prevalence of Childhood Obesity during the years 2011 and 2012 are about to 17% of children ranging from ages 2-19 years old and the most common among ethnic groups. The statistics listed in the CDC shows there is a major problem that children face. Recent research have found that in the last four decades, amount of children that are overweight were increase three folds.