Obesity in American Children :: Obesity in Children

Childhood obesity in America is a growing disease that has become an epidemic that has lasting psychological effects because of advertisement of fast food, lack of physical activities, and parental control has made food become a major health issue in many young teenagers’ lives today. Who is to blame? Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years (cdc.gov). this takes us to the focus of how childhood obesity has become an enormous issue today. For us to understand the impact of obesity and why we should prevent it, we will need to figure out the causes of obesity and what keeps people obese. The first step for us to look at is childhood obesity, even if children are slightly overweight and not quite obese at childhood, their childhood is laying the foundation for possible obesity in their future. The primary argument for childhood obesity is between three factors: 1. How parents may be aiding in unhealthy eating habits. 2. What the schools are serving to the children. 3. How much physical activities children are participating in. Many parents tend to typecast obesity more as a social issue rather than a health issue. As lead author and registered dietitian Susan T. Borra, International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation senior vice president, director of nutrition from (Parents, Kids Don’t Perceive Obesity as a Health Problem From Journal of the American Dietetic Association) states; â€Å"Parents indicated that they have tools to deal with other risk behaviors, such as drug use and sexual activity, but not overweight. They also don’t see themselves as good role models.† Though it isn't easy, especially if the parents themselves are overweight, but teaching our children to make healthier choices is essential if we want them to be healthy and avoid the health consequences of being overweight. This reiterates the reason we need to teach our children how and what to eat and facilitates healthy habits by setting the example. This reveals the necessity for us to change the way that we eat, to pass on nutritional knowledge to our children to assist in the prevention of childhood obesity. We are all guilty at one point of convenient, quick, and cheap solutions that are offered from fast food restaurants or cafeterias. This brings us to what is being served to our children in school. Our schools are filled with junk food vending machines, an assortment of fried foods in the cafeterias and sugar filled snack bars.