...Daniela Magana Professor deCastro English 101 December 16, 2013 The Solutions to Childhood Obesity “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. Children with childhood obesity face many health problems like type two diabetes, high blood, pressure and are at risk for many types of cancers. The lack of children’s physical activity today is one of the major factors that lead to obesity as well as eating unhealthy diets, the increased food portions and the lack of information about healthy choices. Dr. Anand, the Executive Director for the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, describes the prevalence of obesity as being “at epidemic proportions” (Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion, 2008, pg. 2). This statement was made in 1998. Since then, the rates of obesity have continued to rise dramatically and if we don’t do anything to stop it these numbers will keep rising. Many people think that dealing with obesity is only the parent’s responsibility, but what we need to realize is that it is not only the parents responsibility, fighting this epidemic has also become the responsibility of our schools and communities. Obesity education needs to be in our homes, schools and our communities to raise awareness of the causes, as well as the risks. We need to take action in helping reduce this health problem which is affecting more and more children each day. Parents...
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...101 2 May 2012 Childhood Obesity on the Rise Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the world, and is showing no sign of slowing down. Obesity is a vicious cycle that starts with simply carrying an extra five or ten pounds and leads to obesity in no time. There is less of an urge to go out and get in shape. People see it and want it, but aren’t taking the right steps to do so. With the growing attraction for television, video games, and computer use combined with the easy capability to get highly fattening foods in a quick low price, it looks like it’s going to be a problem for a long time to come. This fast food problem has become an accepted means of a meal. In his book True Enough, Farhad Manjoo examines the Committee on Food Habits and their research on how Americans think about food. Manjoo states that, “even for something as fundamental as eating, people look to others to determine the reality around them. You eat to live, but what you eat is more a cultural choice than a mere act of biological survival” (49). There is a big controversy over whether or not obesity is a genetic disease. That debate gets more and more intense as the rates of childhood obesity rise. Some people believe it is a disease because it comes genetically for biological reasons. Other people believe it is not a disease at all, rather it is a chosen lifestyle combined with bad eating habits and the environment for which they live in. I believe that childhood obesity is caused by a variety of determining...
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...Why Television is OK for Children Why Television is OK for Children Tonia Boyett Grand Canyon University English Composition II 106 February 19, 2011 Why Television is OK for Children The views about children and television all seem to point to television being bad for children. According to Rose Bachtel text “Television: Destroying Childhood”, watching television does not allow children the exercise that they need to keep their bodies in shape and can lead to health problems (Bachtel, 2010). But also according to two visual sources, watching too much seems to be the main problem with childhood obesity because children eat bad foods as they watch television (Giany, 2010), (Perez, 2006). But if parents monitor more of their kids’ television time, maybe obesity would not be such a huge problem. In the text by Bachtel, it was an essay in which she describes that “times have changed” (Bachtel, 2010). Back when she was younger, and when most of us were also, we played outside most of the time. But today with so many types of entertainment, for example, TV, video games, and computers, kids do not want to go outside. Many kids today are considered latch key kids so when they get home from school they have to stay indoors. So of course they are going to watch television. Then as they are watching TV, they are going to want to eat a snack. This in turn is causing less exercise in children, which can cause obesity. The essay also states that if there were no televisions in...
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...According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than one third of U.S. adults—more than 72 million—people and 17 percent of U.S. children are obese. From 1980 through 2008, obesity rates for adults have doubled and rates for children have tripled, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education level or geographic region have increased markedly. (“Obesity: Halting the Epidemic by Making Health Easier: At a Glance 2010.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. Aug.17, 2010) Statistics like this show the vast majority of obesity cases are not caused by disease or genetic condition. Obesity is not some unpreventable illness that is all of a sudden killing people – it’s a lifestyle choice. Like smoking, drinking and illegal drug use, eating yourself to death is a decision. In fact, in 2010 a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine stated that the health conditions and diseases caused by being obese have killed more people than smoking. But, why don’t obese people get treated like smokers? Why do so many Americans feel sympathy toward the obese and disgust for the smoker? Why do we as Americans feel it is perfectly sound to discriminate against people who are killing themselves through the use of legal and illegal drug use, but protect, sympathize and support people who choose to kill themselves through food and a lethargic lifestyle? When was the last time you saw a famous heroin addict on TV talking about...
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...theory that tries to account for obesity in America, has to account for that,” referring to the sharp rise in obesity in the 1980’s and setting up his thesis that carbohydrates, not fats cause obesity. What does this mean? Taubes makes it seem plausible that fat causes obesity and offers reasonable doubt that carbohydrates may be the culprit, instead. William Dietz who runs the division of nutrition and physical activity at the Center of disease control said “As far as exercise and physical activity go, there are no reliable data before the mid-80's.” In 1990’s study by Center of Disease Control shows "exercise activity remains unchanged from 70’s to 80’s.” Why was the data not reliable? People in the 70’s and 80’s were not exposed to fast food and junk food which lead them to eat healthy. We watch television and most of the time we see fast food commercial. Since we see these fast food commercials, we crave for it and we drive ourselves to the drive thru and buys are self meals. However, we tend to eat so much unhealthy food, most us tend not work out which leads us to have health problems. What foods have good or bad cholesterol in them? Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish. Foods high in bad fats include red meat, butter, cheese, and ice cream, as well as processed foods made with trans fat from partially hydrogenated oil. As we can see most fat may be bad for us, but there are fats that...
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...Culture’s Impact on Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is a craze that is sweeping the nation. Over the past thirty years childhood obesity has doubled and quadrupled in adolescents (Childhood). That is a jaw dropping statistic, but what changed in the past thirty years that has brought this issue to light? The answer: Culture. We live in a culture that revolves around fast food and technology. But why? Ever since the beginning of time, people have had to go find their food and sometimes would have to go hungry if no food was found. That is no longer the case. All anyone has to do nowadays is drive a few minutes and food will appear. Not only is food to blame for the increase in childhood obesity, but so is the technological advances that have been made in the past decade. Kids all across the country are sitting in front of a screen getting no physical exercise and being brainwashed by commercials of fast food and of what new technological gadget is hitting the market soon. With the cultural change to how food is managed and the accessibility to new technology is why our culture is also seeing an uptick in childhood obesity. Advertisements are one of the most influential devices contributing to obese children for many reasons. S.J. Kirsh states that nine out of ten commercials are for nutritionally bad food and are directed at children (Kirsh). This is an eye opening statement. As a society, targeting young, impressionable minds with unhealthy food without giving them much...
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...sugar in a can of coke.” (“Why sugar”).But Artificial Sweeteners has taken a major hit in the past forty years. Many people say the artificial sweeteners are better for someone than sugar, but it is not if anything it is worse. Sugar is naturally found in any type of plant anyone could ever think...
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...Obesity is a problem in America today, and it needs to be fixed. It turns out about 50 percent of the American population is considered obese, and its still heading that direction. What might be a perfect explanation as eating too much food and too little exercise might be one of the many reasons, but it turns out obesity is led by many other habits such as; chronic stress, sleep deprivation, laziness, or reason like not having a local grocery store close by can cause high risk of becoming overweight and even obese. There an obesity epidemic in American that can be stopped by affordable life changes that can save a lifetime, by changing diet habits, increasing physical activity having a faster access to fresh food with fewer visits to fast...
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...Food addiction is a major leading cause in obesity during this time. Many people think that food addiction is not a big deal since it is not as harmful as drugs or alcohol, but in reality, it can be just as bad. While some people believe that fast food is the only thing leading to obesity, others may say that TV- advertisements, and the promotion of unhealthy foods is what causes addiction, leading to obesity. There is, in fact, such a thing as unhealthy food addiction. In the Article “Food addiction plays a major role in obesity epidemic” Dr. Valerie Taylor stated, “Compulsive and out of control tendency to eat plays a fundamental role in causing obesity,” This statement from Dr. Taylor proves that the tendency to eat, also known as food addiction, is a major role in leading to obesity....
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...The Human Effects of Childhood Obesity Ashford University ENG 122-English Composition II The Human Effects of Childhood Obesity I wanted to write about this topic because it is something I believe strongly in. I might regret it later down the road, mostly because I feel like I should challenge myself with one of the topics I am less familiar with, but this one hits close to the heart and I feel like writing about it may help someone. For my paper to narrow down the topic, I’m going to stick with grade school kids age 6-11. “The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008("Childhood Obesity Facts," 2008, page 1). When you look at that specific age group they are not only a physical risk to themselves but also a target for bullying. That can cause mental damage to the person as well. Researchers found that obese children had higher odds of being bullied no matter their gender, race, family socioeconomic status, school demographic profile, social skills or academic achievement. (Bauza, 2010, p. 1). In this paper I want to show ways that kids can become a normal size, how to prevent bullying. What are really at the core of this problem are the other problems that develop. You start with a normal child, who has parents with bad habits. The child puts on weight, and not the normal healthy amount. Then goes into a school environment, where they start to get teased, the child usually turns to food for...
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...Obesity on children Lauri Gavilano EN1320 09/02/2014 Obesity on children Obese children and teenagers face a high risk of potential health problems as they get older, bad eating habits formed during childhood may lead the child to be overweight, with worrying consequences in adulthood, mainly for health. The consequences of childhood obesity, the result of fat accumulation in the body are related to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular problems. It also affects in the mental and social development due to social discrimination and low self-esteem. The first changes to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. However, childhood obesity can also lead to more severe physical consequences and can be life threatening, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, sleep problems, cancer and other diseases. Obesity has a very important role in the development of bad physical health of the child; according to a study by Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) noted that about 15% of children and adolescents are now overweight (Riccairdelli & Schwimmer, 2012). There are many factors that contribute to childhood obesity but most common are lifestyle issues like lack of activity and too many calories from food and drinks. The lack of activities has a big impact on gaining weight, also the family history and socio economic factors. The consequences of childhood obesity are not only physical but also psychological. Obese...
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...for mass production. HFCS was added to processed foods and soft drinks as a sugar substitute. Advantage of this new food additive was a much easier production and a low price. Right after Japan, USA started using it too; however, no one new its affects on the human body. Since USA started to add HFCS to manufactured food and soft drinks, the rates of obesity, heart diseases and metabolism problems has grown. Since we started to use HFCS in our manufactured food our obesity rates have been increased among the all ages of USA residents. According to Centers for Desease Control and Prevention (CDC), “During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. By state, obesity prevalence ranged from 21.0% in Colorado to 34.0% in Mississippi in 2010. No state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-six states had a prevalence of 25% or more; 12 of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more.” One significant problem that causes obesity is that HFCS mainly consists of “empty calories”. When people consume...
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...Obesity rates tend to be higher and increase more rapidly over time in the child. Obesity is a serious concern in the US public school, especially from Arkansas to Illinois. “Fat letter” are send home to parent that it will help alert the parent about their child health status. However, when the letter sends to the teenager which does label their weight, and it can cause them to be eating disorder, to using pills, to losing balance of nutrition, to leading bullying in school or to entering the privacy. It is also does not help the parent recognize their children health status without consideration. On the other hand, ‘Fat letter’ can help the parent’s student to recognize their child health stage which is tell the parent what their child...
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...Linking Perceived Neighborhood Disorder and Obesity." Social Science & Medicine 67.1 (2008): 38-46. Web. In the journal article, An Examination of Processes Linking Perceived Neighborhood disorder and obesity, Burdette, Amy M. , and Terrence Hill used a data collected from a sample of Texas to figure it out why neighborhood disorder effect on obesity, and they also analysis the psychological, physiological, and behavior mechanism. They stated that psychological distress is a lynchpin mechanism that links neighborhood disorder with obesity risk, in this is because of stress response, diet with no quality, and lack of exercise. Studies keep confirming that population who lives in poor neighborhood, social disorganization, and disorder has more tendencies to be obesity. There are several factors these disadvantage neighborhood are more likely to be obese than the other ones, such as bad eating habits and they also don’t have courage to practice physical activity. The amount of fast food found in this neighborhood is intense; in contrast, it is found a restriction to health food, health center, gyms, and grocery store. Knowing the level of obesity being one quarter of Texas population, researchers tried to mediated by psychological, physiological, and behavioral mechanism In this article they used Texas sample for adults and there is a large part of the population classified as obese. Finkelstein says, “In the state of Texas, obesity affects over one quarter of the adult population...
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...Is Child Obesity Really a Form of Child Neglect?! Shaylah Bradley Professor Gilmore ENG 215 February 10, 2013 Child Obesity Did you know that one in six children from ages two to nineteen are obese, which puts them at a 70 percent chance of becoming obese adults (American Heart Association, 2011). Many people confuse the terms overweight and obese so let me clear the air. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC (2012), overweight is defined as having excessive body weight, while obesity is defined as having a superfluous amount of body fat. Child obesity has not been a prevalent issue until recent years. The fact that it has increased so dramatically within 30 years has made it more rampant. Since 1980, child obesity has increased eleven percent (CDC, 2012)! So, what are these kids eating? Their parents are in control of that, which is why child neglect has been correlated with the issue. Because parents are responsible for their children’s welfare, child obesity should be a form of child neglect. Why is this a Problem? Health is the first and foremost reason why child obesity should be “illegal” in a sense. Major health issues come along with being obese. Children who are obese are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol (CDC, 2012). Heart disease is the leading cause of death for the United States. This means that those one in six children have a 70 percent chance of dying...
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