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Obesity In America's Children

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Obesity in America’s Children

For years obesity has been an epidemic in the United States and now it is not only adults who are suffering from the disease, but also children. In the past couple of decades, Americans have become lazy. Older people are quick to voice their opinions on how children are lazy, and they are right. The children of yesteryear did more physical activity than those today. Years ago, children had to walk miles to and from school. Not only that, but when they reached home they did not just sit in front of the television or play video games, but they had to help their parents on the farm or around the house. Nowadays, children prefer playing video games and surfing the internet instead of playing a sport outdoors. Children …show more content…
There are various factors that cause obesity in America’s children some of which are poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and family history of obesity. If childhood obesity is not curbed, the child may suffer from hypertension and diabetes, among many other illnesses. Usually, obesity is a medical problem that is preventable. Some ways to manage obesity include changing eating habits and increasing physical activity. Thus, obesity, an epidemic in the United States that affects not only adults but also children, has numerous causes, deadly consequences, and simple to follow prevention …show more content…
Gidding, et al. defines obesity as the “presence of excess adipose tissue” (par. 4). This means that a person’s body has an overabundance of fatty tissue. Obesity is measured using the universal method of Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of the person’s height in centimeters (Levy 1). The American Heart Association has a simpler way of calculating BMI, which is to multiply weight in pounds by 705, divide by height in inches, and then divide by height in inches again (“Obesity and Overweight,” par. 9). BMI is used “because it correlates well with more accurate measures of body fatness and is derived from commonly available data—weight and height” (Krebs, et al., par. 4). People with a BMI between 18.5 and 24 are considered normal; between 25 and 29 indicates that they are overweight, and over 30 suggests that they are obese (Levy 1-2). According to Lance Levy, a medical nutrition specialist and Director of the Nutritional and Eating Disorders Clinic in Ontario, Canada, 31 percent of American adults are overweight with a BMI of 25 to 30 and 21 percent are obese with a BMI above 30 (2).Also, between 1981 and 1998, the number of children who were overweight or obese rose 9 percent from 15 percent to 24 percent (Levy 2). So, the rate of obesity in children is increasing at an alarming

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