Obesity Research Paper

America's children are not getting enough exercise, and the health risks due to obesity are becoming epidemic in nature. Even First Lady Michelle Obama is supporting an initiative to help children become more active and to provide for exercise (at least 30-60 minutes per day) in all schools. Even limited amounts of exercise can have great health benefits. When humans exercise, the brain produces chemicals that help enhance mood, limit cravings for sugars, and contribute to healthier joints, muscles, the heart, and kidneys. In turn, this translates into more productive work time, the ability to sleep better, increase memory, and reduce dependence on medications. Children are so vulnerable to this health risk that if it continues, over 60% of graduating seniors will be clinically obese. Written by a medical journalist, the book is designed for the lay reader but has a number of documented scholarly sources.

Obesity is a significant problem for today's American children. The Northern California Cancer Center, for instance, calculates that more than 23 million children and teenagers are overweight and that this epidemic is growing. Sharma (2006) recommends that nutrition behaviors should focus on increased fruit and vegetable consumption, decreased fat intake, decreased consumption of carbonated drinks, adequate consumption of water and restricting portion sizes. This recommendation is appropriate for use in the general public particularly since children model what they see around them. If adults practice these recommendations too, children are more apt to model and less apt to become obese.

When children do not eat a healthy meal, their concentration and energy become more difficult to manage. The “Journal of School Health” issued a study in 2008 about the eating behaviors of approximately 5,000 school children. The research showed that children who ate more fruits and vegetables, accomplished higher grades on tests compared with children who consumed a high-fat, high-salt diet

Dalton, S. (2005). Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools And Communities Can Do to Control the Fatness Epidemic. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Kids will live longer because they will not become obese and they will be more active. Kids will also live longer because they will not have diseases and health problems when they are older (Maslow, O’Hara, 2015). “Obesity is the most common health problem associated with an unbalanced diet. Cardiovascular problems are some of the more serious health complications of an unbalanced diet. Another potential risk of an unbalanced diet is type 2 diabetes, particularly when this diet leads to an excessive amount of weight gain” (Severson, 2015, para. 2, 3, and 4). Eating healthy food prevents body fat and keeps skin, nails and hair healthy. Outfits will fit better and the lack of sugary foods keeps teeth white and attractive. People tend to react more positively to other people that look healthy (Benjamin, 2015). In order to meet the nutrient requirements crucial for good health, kids need to eat a variation of each of the five food groups daily, in the recommended amounts. It is important to enjoy a mixture of foods within the five food groups because different foods vary in the amount of the nutrients that these foods provide (Cox, 2015). Kids need at least 60 minutes of moderate to strong physical activity each day. Schools can assist the prevention of obesity by recommending higher quality and more active physical education for kids (“School Obesity Prevention,” 2016). Healthy selections,

Everyone wants to keep their families healthier because health is a very important part of living a life of wellness. There are so many different methods of being healthy or becoming healthy. Researchers have conducted different studies on what they seem to believe may be a positive outcome for those who are obese or for those that may be on the verge of obesity. The amount of cases for childhood obesity is at an all-time high which is leading to many medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep

The surplus mass of the body in children is caused by many factors, but the excessive calories intake is the main factor. The well-being of children will depend on parents, in other words, it is parent responsibility to develop a strategy to make sure that their kids are active, and they are eating healthy. Schools in the United States are also expected to educate children on healthy life style, and encourage them to eat healthy food and exercise

Nutrition and eating habits are an obvious reason as to why most children are becoming obese. Only 21 percent of young people eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetable each day, and nearly half of all vegetable servings are fried potatoes. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) French fries are often mistaken for a vegetable, when really they acquire no nutritional value. Parents are replacing fresh vegetables with fried vegetables and assume their children are receiving the daily recommended intake. However, all of the required intakes are falling short. In 1996, only 12 percent of children were getting the daily recommendations for dairy; and only 18 percent were getting their recommended fruit intake. (USDA) The consumption of milk has decreased substantially. The production and popularity of other beverages, such as soda and juice,have taken precedence over milk. In 1977, children drank milk four times more than any other beverage they consumed. (USDA) But that statistic fell to 1.5 times that amount in 1996. (USDA) Sugary,

Nonetheless when a 2008 Institute of Medicine committee involving 14 child-nutrition experts examined data on the content of school lunches in the United States, the outcome was stark (Bridal 2014). Children ate fewer fruits and vegetables with little variety to choose from. And all Potatoes servings were counted as one third of vegetable intake. Almost 80% of children consumed more saturated fat than was recommended, and sodium intake was excessive in all age groups, children ate more than 500 excess calories from solid fats and added sugars per day (Bridal 2014).

One of the major causes of obesity to be addressed is eating excess calories from energy rich foods. Eating a variety of healthy foods is necessary for optimal growth and development, Protects against disease and provides energy to play, explore and learn. This is also accompanied by inadequate exercising or working out. This results in fats accumulating in the body. Parents should monitor their children’s feeding habits and take them for regular check-up. There are many ways that parents can help their children on a healthier path. Start early to establish healthy eating practices at home; be a role model, kids love to follow if lead by example. Plan healthier snacks that meet the nutritional needs and kids enjoy eating as well. To determine whether a child is obese or not, his or her

This informative study is an attempt to inform and investigate the risk factors of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity increased significantly in the recent decades and it is a major health issue in the United States of America. Obesity is a big concern because of its short term and long term consequences. Since identification of the factors is the key to prevent childhood obesity, this research will inform general audience about risk factors which lead to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity occurs when a child is above the normal weight for his or her age and height. If a child’s weight pose health problems for her or him, this can be a sign of childhood obesity. Obesity results from little calories expended compared to the amount of calories consumed. This research will talk about environmental, genetic, decreased physical activity, and lifestyle factors that contribute to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on the health and well-being. The immediate effects are health related issues, such as cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. The long term effect is that if a child is obese, he might grow up as an obese adult. Taking proactive measures such as choosing healthy lifestyle habits which include healthy eating and physical activity can lower the risk of becoming obese and having health issues. If possible measures that has been taken

Fed Up. Stephanie Soechtig. Perf. Michele Simon, Katie Couric, Bill Clinton, Michael Bloomberg. Atlas Films, 2014.

In a study on 53 young children of various weights, food of various nutritional value was offered at 3 different times for lunch. The first lunch was just the children choosing that they wanted to eat, the second lunch the children were told that their mothers would be monitoring their selections, and the third lunch the mothers actually modified their child’s choices. Results showed that the children chose much more nutritious food when knowing that there was parental monitoring (Klesges 1991). Teaching your children the importance of nutritious food to fuel their bodies to play and have fun is a lifelong skill for their health. Being a good role model as well can show your children what types of food they should be eating.

Childhood obesity epidemic is growing and becoming ever more costly in United States. More than one in six U.S. children is obese --- three times the rate in the 1970s. The main causes of excess weight in youth are similar to those in adults, including individual causes such as behavior and genetics. Behaviors include dietary pattern and physical activity. In addition to insufficient exercise, obesity results from unhealthy diet. According to the Dietary Guidelines for American, we should be eating whole grain, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, low-fat and fat-free dairy products and drinking water. A poor diet containing high levels of fat or sugar and few nutrients can cause kids to gain weight quickly. Changing the eating

Obesity rates among children have risen over the last two decades (Gatto et al. 2012), with roughly one third of the youth population being overweight or obese. This is of concern due to the association between obesity and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma, psychological or psychiatric problems, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (Gatto et al. 2012; Contento et al. 2010). Additionally, high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense foods along with a low intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains has been linked to childhood obesity (Beasley et al. 2012). Studies have shown that most children in the United States do not meet the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. For children two