Round is a Shape
Dennis R. Mayo, Jr.
DeVry University
Round is a Shape According to a report from Harvard Medical School, recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that approximately one child out of every three in the United States is overweight (Fighting, 2014). Additionally, a Centers for Disease Control study shows that approximately seventeen percent of children in the U.S. (12.7 million), between the ages of two and nineteen years, are obese (Childhood, 2015). That in itself should be cause for concern. These kind of numbers are very alarming and show just how serious the situation is. What seemed to be a problem that has recently emerged, childhood obesity has been a growing concern for years. How did this happen? What is causing such a catastrophic health concern in our children? Politicians argue the fact that advertisement is to blame as this is an obvious scapegoat. We need to open our eyes to what should be an elementary problem and solution. While there are several contributing factors to this epidemic, poor diet and lack of physical activity stand out as the direct cause. Local leaders and parents must take a more active role to encourage their children to become more active and eat healthier to combat the overwhelming crisis of childhood obesity in the United States. Balanced is a term that should be in everyone’s vocabulary concerning the health of our children. A National Institutes of Health study indicated that obesity is a result of an imbalance “between energy intake and energy expenditures” (Cullen, 2006). In other words, children are ingesting more calories than they are burning. With the affordability and availability of fast food that is high in calories, and the prevalence of video game consoles, it is easy to see how this can be a true statement. However, there are several underlying issues that also cut down