Childhood Obesity in the San Joaquin Valley
Obesity as a whole is a major cause of disease and health risks, including death, in America. As a nation we need to work together to solve this epidemic. It is important to begin shifting our focus on childhood obesity, which is now considered an epidemic in the United States. It is affecting many children, causing high blood pressure, diabetes and death all of which can be prevented (Salbe, A.D., Weyer, C., Lindsay, R.S., Ravussin, E., & Tataranni, P. (2002). There is past research that has been done on childhood obesity and proves that it can have significant ramifications on children's cognitive development. One in three kids in the United States is overweight or obese. The question that I am …show more content…
This can also connect back to the widespread availability of fast food restaurants and the lack of health nutritious foods. Reading an article on nutritional resources published by Merced County Department of Public Health it stated that officials and local community volunteers conducted an audit of nutrition resources in the Southeast Merced neighborhood on May 7, 2008. The research found that the total percent of local stores that offered healthy, affordable foods which were easily and safely accessible to neighborhood residents? was a low 7% (MkNelly, B., Nishio, S., Peshek, C., & Oppen, M. (2011). Health experts say the reasons for the Valley’s ills are that many people suffer from poverty. Moreover, when combined with harmful health habits, they create a landscape for poor health (Varga, C. (2007). Poverty is a contributing factor to obesity but it does not mean that there aren’t any solutions. For example for those people who can’t afforde groceries the government provides them with food stamps and WIC that are solutions to this issue. If there isn't affordable healthy food options that parents …show more content…
In Merced County 36.3% of children report being physically active for at least one hour every day of the past week. It is important to begin urging kids to be more physically active which touted the 2010 launch of the first lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign as an initiative to raise public awareness about the problems associated with childhood obesity. (Sebelius, Donovan, & Solis 2010). This is the intervention that we will be doing at the Farmdale elementary as The Let’s Move campaign cultivates the appreciation of nutritious food and inspires kids to engage in physical activity. It empowers parents and caregivers by emphasizing their role in making healthy choices for children and stresses the importance of access to nutritious foods in schools and communities. (Corbin, Welk, Richardson, Vowell, Lambdin, & Wikgren, 2014) The Let’s Move campaign is a continuation of White House efforts to unite and inspire families to take real and sustained actions to eat better, be more active and make a commitment to embracing healthier lifestyles. (Corbin, Welk, Richardson, Vowell, Lambdin, & Wikgren, 2014) Nfl 60 challenge and interventions that worked and didn't work. We know that physical activity produces overall physical, psychological and social benefits, and that inactive children are likely to become inactive adults. That’s why in 2006, the