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Childhood Obesity Epidemic Essay

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Obesity has become an epidemic in American Society. Since the nineteen eighties childhood obesity rates have tripled and have started in earlier in age. In high school students obesity rates have risen by fifteen percent. In four states obesity rates for adults have exceeded thirty five percent. Obesity is being portrayed as being beautiful, which people should be comfortable in their own skin, but the health effects that obesity causes is far from beautiful. Nearly seventy eight million adults and almost thirteen million children are obese in the United States. In the 1950's the percentage of obese adults was only ten percent, and has now risen to thirty five percent. An adult is averaged to weigh twenty six more pounds more than …show more content…
One common health risk is certain types of cancer. Most people don't realize that inactivity and being overweight can put risk factors on developing certain cancers. Obesity is tied to at least thirteen cancers. Breast, colon, endometrial, and kidney cancer are just a few of the high risk cancers for someone who is overweight or obese. A women with a healthy and normal body mass index (B.M.I) has a fifty percent of developing a certain type of cancer, but if her B.M.I were to rise to between thirty five and thirty nine than her risk of developing that cancer would …show more content…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 12.7 million children and adolescents are affected by obesity(CDC, Nov 2015, Pg.1). According to studies childhood obesity is at a high when children are twelve to nineteen years old. Children who live in low-income homes are more likely to become obese, rather than children who live in high-income homes. Low-income homes cannot always afford fresh meats, vegetables or fruits so cheap unhealthy foods are kept in the house such as frozen dinners, salty and sweet snacks, sugary fruit cups, and canned pastas. Another factor in childhood obesity is race. Hispanic children are more likely to become obese, compared to non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic

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