MEMORANDUM TO: Sylvia Mathews Burwell, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service
FROM: Tiffany Hunter, Health Services Administrator, Intern
SUBJECT: Childhood Obesity in America
DATE: October 30, 2015

Childhood obesity is a driving force in the deterioration of health in adulthood. For the first time, the next generation of Americans conceivably will be the the first to have shorter, more disease prone, and less healthy lives than their parents. Obesity in America’s children has tripled since 1980, and current research suggests that one-third of children aged two and older are already overweight or obese. (Russell, Sekhar, & Whelan, 2010)
Being overweight was at one time considered something that a child would outgrow. However, that is no longer the case. In the twentieth century, through medical research, it was revealed that children who suffered from obesity were susceptible to a lifetime of various health concerns. A child who carries superfluous weight is at risk for illnesses ranging from asthma to cardiovascular disease. In short, childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions.
Childhood obesity is intricate in its complexity because it has multiple influences, including: biological, behavioral, societal, economic, and environmental, which together have shaped an atmosphere in which it has become difficult to sustain a healthy body weight. These environments are categorized by: * The influx in the number of American families having two parents working outside of the home, which leaves little time to prepare a home-cooked meal, resulting in the all too common consumption of fast food which are high in calories and fat, offering little nutritional value * Limited access and affordability of fruits, vegetables, and other nutritive foods, and * The reduction in the number of physical activities at school and in the