Preventing Childhood Obesity

The rate of childhood obesity has grown an enormous amount over the years with more than 40 million children being overweight! That number is astonishingly high and it is very obvious that something needs to be done about this. Studies had shown in 2008 that more than 40 million children were said to be overweight and the sad truth is that they are still increasing rapidly to this day; also every 1 in 4 teenagers is said to not reach the fitness guidelines (Tanner) according to an article by Lindsey Tanner. For this problem to be resolved not only do the parents of children need to make sure their kids are staying active but also, the schools they attend need to make sure they are getting a well-balanced meal and have some type of physical activity during their school day. Each state in America is given a percentage rate on the number of obese people in that particular state. The highest ranking state is Mississippi with a percentage of 34.9 and the state ranking the least is Connecticut with 24.5 percent. Different researches have shown that each day 850 lives are taken due to obesity and each year there are more than 300,000 people that die from obesity related illnesses. These are deaths that most likely could have been avoided if these individuals would have had the proper exercise and diet in their lives.

Heart disease, stroke, and death are just some of the symptoms of eating unhealthy food. Eating behaviors develop during the first few years of children 's lives. Children learn what to eat by observing other eating behaviors. Eating healthy food during infancy and toddler years is extremely important because the child observes the eating behaviors of their care giver or parent. Some benefits of giving your child healthy food at a you g age are, nutrients, vitamins, and energy.Adults and parents play an important role in children eating healthy because they choose the food choices for their families or themselves. Schools also play an important role in eating healthy food because they use certain strategies like having a

The Healthy Child Programme (Rudolf, 2009) aims to provide guidance and practical direction in a strategy to reduce the risks of obesity for babies, toddlers and preschool children. For action are outlined that have the potential to encourage the development of lifelong healthy lifestyle and reduce the risk of obesity. The case for intervening in the very early years to prevent obesity is compelling. Its rationale is based on epidemiological studies that point to the high prevalence of obesity on starting school, the link between infant weight gain and later obesity, and tracking of obesity into adult life. Evidence from other sources highlights how lifestyle choice-both food preferences and physical activity - have their roots in the very

Schools must educate children from a young age to make the right choices in healthy foods and lifestyles. If children are allowed to develop bad habits from an early age by consuming sugary drinks and sweets we are contributing to the obesity of children which then will continue into their adulthood.

Childhood obesity is a major public health epidemic which has significantly risen over the past three decades and there is no chance in sight of slowing it down unless real action is taken. This major health crisis continues to reduce individuals’ quality of life and has caused severe health problem like heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. In most cases, obese children grow up to be an obese adult. The prevalence of childhood obesity can be addressed through education initiatives such as school prevention programs because children spent a majority of their time outside of the home at school, therefore school provides a great opportunity to educate and improve a child’s health at an ideal point before the problem gets worst. My paper will focus on childhood obesity prevention in Hill Top Middle school Lodi, New Jersey.

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 not just an issue in United States- it is an growing epidemic. Obesity epidemic in kids has increased by alarming rate just in last few decades. Nearly one in every five child is obese in the United States. If the pattern of obesity continued on most of America’s children will be living with diabetes, heart disease, and dying young due to obesity. The American Heart Association reported this year that childhood obesity is the top health concern among parents in the United States, beating out smoking and drug abuse. My own younger siblings suffer with child obesity. Their craving for fast food and very limited physical activity has made them overweight and currently they suffer from health problems. Is this the future of our young generation? How much contribution should a parent have in their child’s diet? Fast food has taken over American diet and it has lead to poor nutritional diet among American youth. Fast food companies spend billion of dollars every year on commercials, convincing youth to love and eat their product. It’s just not our eating habits that has lead our young generation into obesity, lack of physical workout has also played a major role in obesity epidemic. TV, computer, video games and other technology entertainment has contributed to children getting no exercise. Obesity in children can put them in high risks of developing chronic and serious illness. Unhealthy weight leads to having weaker lungs, poor blood quality, heart

For this reason is why I think that parents also need to be taught about healthy eating so they can reflect this onto their child. If a parent is not educated about healthy eating then most likely their child won't be either. If schools want to make a change in a child healthy eating hey need to inform them about what choices to make. They should provide workshops about healthy eating that both student and parents can attend.

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

Obesity is a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in our bodies. This disease is increasing at an alarming rate in American children and adolescents, especially those within the ages 2 to 19. This essay examines the difference between school-based interventions (i.e., educate our children about obesity at an early age, serving right nutrition in schools) and community based interventions (i.e., parents help provide better nutrition for their children) to prevent obesity. Both interventions can help decrease obesity rates in children, but the point of this essay review is to point out which interventions will provide the better results to solve the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States.

Once parents realize that their child has reached a certain weight they now feel as it is time to step in. In order to make the situation better they tell them that what they were consuming before is now not healthy enough for their bodies to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Their parents have now confused them on what is actually right and wrong. Growing up they thought that these types of foods were okay, and now their parents decide to tell them that they are not okay after they notice that it is becoming a problem. Though, the creation of an obese child could have been prevented through educational efforts to implement a nutrition class. But, without a nutritional class, most perceive the next logical step to be a diet. Children do not need to go on diets. According to Yoni Freedhoff, there is no safe diet for children (Freedhoff). When parents place their kids on a diet it can create more harm than it can potentially help them. They do not need to step into a Weight Watchers program in order to learn what foods are good for them and what foods they need to stay away from. Rather, they need to be progressively taught about nutrition. All of the previous stated solutions are tainted; they are all reactive solutions. A school wide nutrition class would be proactive and eliminate obesity from occurring in the first place. Without proactive measures and simply reacting, it can come back around to the parents, the ones that have too not been educated in

Eating patterns start young. …. Says that if someone is obese as a child they are 10 times more likely to become an obese adult. Once someone gets in a routine it is hard to break it sugar is addictive and for kids consuming lots of sugar it is very hard to break that unhealthy cycle. Research shows that by 1 years old, babies are consuming adult levels of sodium and sugar(Admin-mdp). While this is not a good start to healthy eating patterns, this cycle is continued when kids go to school. Lunchrooms are filled with chips, cookies, and fried food when we should be serving kids fruits, vegetables, and protein. Kids need to learn the right way to eat while they are susceptible to change. The head of St. Gabriel's school, Mohammad Zahed

Thirdly, the self-knowledge to prevent obesity is another issue. For the children, their parents’ knowledge of appropriate food will directly affect them, since their schools mainly focus on the academics of the children, and rarely on dietary education. If the parents gain knowledge to pick up healthy food for their children, their children will eat healthier and vice versa. As Cluss et al. (2013) stressed, the parents with low social economic status revealed a lack of knowledge regarding the nutrition values in common food. They just provide their children with any food that is accessible and cheap. Consequently, the children who live in low-income families represented a large portion of childhood obesity. Especially in New York City, the prevalence of childhood obesity is high in Hispanic and Black boys which may be associated with higher amount of children live in lower socioeconomic status and lack of knowledge to prevent obesity. (Thorpe et al., 20014).

Childhood obesity is a growing problem that needs to be resolved. Many people may say it is the Child’s fault, he is weak willed. This is just a common misconception; there are hundreds of different reasons for childhood obesity. I will just be scratching the surface of this paper. By the same token childhood obesity is a growing problem that needs to be resolved. We can achieve this by understanding some common misconceptions, understanding health problems, and understanding fitness.

Childhood obesity may not seem like a serious problem, but it is a serious medical condition that can have major effects on a child. Although genetics play a role in determining a child’s weight, it is usually due to a child’s amount of exercise and the consumption of healthy meals. Doctors are concerned with the issue, as we all should be, and they are creating new programs that are geared toward helping children learn how to follow a healthier lifestyle. There are some promising outlooks with these programs, and most doctors agree that parents should help their children create a more active and healthy lifestyle. They also agree that the government should provide more attention to the issue as well. Since the growing problem of childhood