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Health Risks, Prevention, and Lack of Exercise;

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Health Risks, Prevention, and Lack of Exercise;
Childhood Obesity
Jessica Higginson
ENG 122 English
Instructor Patricia Vineski
Sept. 30, 2012

Childhood obesity is a growing problem that if controlled, children today can be and stay healthy. Over the past three decades childhood obesity has increased dramatically and is still climbing. Obesity is defined as “an increase in body weight beyond the limitation of skeletal and physical requirements, as the result of excessive accumulation of body fat.” (Saunders, 2007) According to the medical dictionary, mildly obese is twenty to forty percent over ideal weight; moderately obese is forty to one hundred percent over; and severely/morbidly obese is over one hundred percent. (p. 1) Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children more today than ever before. The extra pounds children are carrying around starts them on the path to health problems. Heath problems that were “adult” problems have now become a bigger problem in children. More children are developing health related problems due to bad eating habits and lack of exercise. Childhood obesity causes serious complications, the risk of illness, and even a shorter life span. These are the ways to help prevent childhood obesity, health risks, and issues associated with the lack of exercise. Childhood is an important period of life to deal with obesity.
As it is today more than thirty percent of children are overweight. The International Obesity Task Force (IASO/IOTF) states “two hundred million school children are either overweight or obese, of those forty to fifty million are classified as obese” (para. 2). Since the 1980s child obesity has more than doubled. There are increasing numbers of children under the age of five who are considered obese. Poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year according to

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