...CHILDHOOD OBESITY Andre D. Johnson Lithonia Campus Sociology 100 Dr. Roderick Linzie November 12, 2011 Strayer University Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents.It occurs when a child or teen is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height.This disease has become an epidemic that has more that tripled in the past thirty years.Obesity can have a profound effect on children’s lives. Obesity increases the child’s risk of numerous health problems and can also create emotional and social problems such as low self-esteem and bullying, behavior and learning problems, as well as depression.Obese children are also more likely to become obese as adults, increasing their risks of serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.There are numerous causes of this disease. Genetic factors, dietary habits, physical inactivity, and socioeconomic status are just a few. Many sectors of society including families, communities, schools, child care settings, medical providers, faith-based institutions, government agencies, and the media are affected by the childhood obesity epidemic. The effect of childhood obesity creates an estimated $3 billion dollars per year in medical costs. Childhood obesity rates have soared in the past decade – with recent figures showing a quarter of children aged 7-16 are now overweight or obese. This alarming trend...
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...Nurses Should Take to Prevent the Increase of Childhood Obesity November 25, 2013 Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has become problematic in the United States. Approximately a third of children in the United States are overweight or obese. Researchers believe that this epidemic is becoming a major public health problem. Children are being diagnosed with diseases that usually occur later in life. It concerns nurses as well as the public to know that childhood obesity may not be reversible. Nurses must focus their practice on ways to help their patients lead a healthier life. There are various ways that Healthcare Professionals can intervene to prevent the increase of childhood obesity. Recommending and monitoring their patient’s physical activities and diet, and advocating are some of the many ways that nurses can help prevent and manage the increase of childhood obesity. Obesity and overweight are both defined as fat that has accumulated over time and has the ability to cause harm to the body. Estabrooks and Hayman (2008) found that childhood obesity is caused by the imbalance in energy intake and expenditure. There are significant factors that contribute to childhood obesity. A child who eats unhealthy meals in excessive amounts increases their likelihood of becoming obese. In addition, the lack of physical activity is a major cause of obesity. Berkowitz and Borchard (2009) indicate that race...
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...Television Associated With Childhood Obesity COM 156 Introduction Childhood obesity has become a national dilemma. Recent studies have shown several causes for this public health epidemic. The evidence between childhood obesity and children’s excessive amount of time in front of the television has done nothing but increase each year. How long do children watch television each day. Does the media target children television? What are the health risks involved with childhood obesity? Childhood obesity continues to increase dramatically as the young viewers are victimized by television. Television Associated With Childhood Obesity During a recent study at UCLA School of Public Health, Sarah Anderson stated “The association between television viewing and childhood obesity is directly related to children’s exposure to commercials that advertise unhealthy foods.” (Anderson. S 2010) Researchers Frederick J. Zimmerman and Janice F. Bell conducted a study that involved 3,563 children, ages ranged from infants to 12-year-olds. Primary caregivers reported children’s activities and television viewing during the week. Studies had shown that commercial viewing had a significant affect with a higher BMI. According to Zimmerman and Bell, “steering children away from commercial television may be effective in reducing childhood obesity, given that food is the most commonly advertised product on children’s television and the fact that almost 90 percent of children begin watching...
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...Dick and Jane run anymore in the 21st Century? The answer could be that they don't want to because they are obese. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 16.9% of U.S. children and adolescents aged 2–19 years are obese, and another 14.9% are overweight (2011–2012). Childhood obesity rates have tripled in the last 30 years. Moreover, research indicates that overweight and obese children are likely to become overweight or obese adults. Being overweight or obese can contribute to other chronic health problems, such as Coronary Artery Disease, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Type 2 Diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels, certain cancers (colon, breast, endometrial, and gallbladder), Osteoarthritis, Sleep Apnea, and Reproductive problems. The Scientific Advisory Committee for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) concluded that –adopting a healthy lifestyle today, can significantly reduce the risk factors for the chronic illnesses of tomorrow (2015). Consequently, the parents and the school have a collective responsibility to help the next generation to adopt a health conscious lifestyle. As a result of the recent obesity trends in the United States, every school should participate in the National Food Nutrition Programs. The National Food Nutrition Programs The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program find their origins under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act of 1946 (42 U.S.C. 1751...
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...Childhood Obesity Danielle Borde ENG122: English Composition II Instructor: Peter Kunze July 29, 2012 Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is an issue that has become more evident of a problem as the years have changed. I am interested in the facts as to how a child becomes obese and if there are any ways to either prevent it or overturn it. I want to prove that obesity weighs more heavily on nature rather than nurture. There are specific genes that some people have and some people don’t have that attribute to becoming obese. I know the schools are doing a lot to keep kids more fit and active these days. First Lady Michelle Obama has played a huge role in helping over turn childhood obesity. Her goals for her “Lets Move” campaign are, better school nutrition, better labeling of high calorie foods and drinks, growing support for farmers markets, and educating moms and dads to instill better eating habits (Christina, 2010). I believe this will be a very productive program. It has been said in the past that nurture was the main factor in becoming obese. This has become less of a factor since scientists have been looking more closely at the genes. Genes account for more than three quarters of the difference between children’s waistlines, with factors such as diet and exercise playing a much smaller role (MNT, 2008). A man named Nikhil Dhurandhar discovered a gene by the name of adenovirus-36(Ad-36), which causes fat cells to grow. Dhurandhar and his team...
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...Tommy Griffiths Professor Robin Muse PSY-3320 October 1, 2012 Childhood Obesity Why has childhood obesity become such an epidemic in today’s society? What can we as society do to bring awareness to childhood obesity and help educate and turn around this epidemic among us? Twenty-five percent of children today are considered overweight and of those twenty-five percent eleven percent are considered obese. So that means one out of every four children today that we encounter are considered overweight. This has become a huge issue in more developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Being overweight has a huge impact on physical and psychological health for children. For instance, being overweight can be related to hypertension, abnormal glucose tolerance, and infertility. In addition to that being overweight can be attributed to psychological disorders such as depression that occurs frequently with obese children. As well as when these children get older and approach the age of forty and over they start to suffer health problems such as cardiovascular and digestive diseases and can die as compared with those who are leaner and healthier and their bodies have more of an ability to fight and overcome disease. What is the definition of childhood obesity? Although over the years the definition of this has changed the overall definition of childhood obesity is the excess of body fat. Children are considered fat if their percentage of body fat was at least...
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...Child Obesity Marlene Tadros BSHS 361/Child Development April 12, 2012 Amber Hamilton Child Obesity The effect of obesity in children is becoming an immense issue in our communities today. The number of obese children continues to rise and in fact has more than tripled within the last 20 years. Today, there are up to 33% of children who are obese, if not more. Unfortunately, this affects our children physically, mentally, and long-term. Obesity is not specifically just being a few pounds overweight. A child is considered obese when his or her weight compared to height is abnormal by ten pounds. Obesity commonly begins in children between the ages of five and six. Unfortunately genetics can often be a factor in childhood obesity although other environmental factors come into play as well. If a child has poor eating habits, this may result in little or no energy for exercise, and emotional complications such as depression and anger, as well as medical conditions such as diabetes, and many others. It is inevitable that childhood obesity will have some health effects that can become very serious with time. A common condition found in morbidly obese children is metabolic syndrome which is many conditions that may lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and access abdominal fat. Although it may not seem common, heart disease seen children who are obese is not shockingly rare. When a child has poor eating habits and no exercise, it is common...
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...The percentage of children 6–11 years old in the United States who were obese increased from 7% to nearly 20% from 1980 to 2008. Childhood obesity is a disorder where a child has too much unnecessary fat. It is sad that this is called a disorder or a disease because of the type of society we live in today. Many children who are overweight suffer from medical to self esteem issues. Some even suffer from psychological effects. There are so many ways for kids to prevent becoming obese and should do them. You are considered obese if your weight is 20% or more above the normal weight for your age. One cause that doctors associate with childhood obesity is neglectful parents. Parents that are considered neglectful either feed their child food with too much carbs, sugar, and fat or don't encourage enough physical activity to burn it off. Another cause is the television because it takes place of fun activities that could be done outside, like biking, playing sports, or swimming. Watching the tv can also cause unnecessary and constant snacking. I see this trait in my brother a lot but he plays outside most of the time which burns calories. And one last cause of obesity in children is fast food restaurants which are widely advertised, especially on children's tv networks, which links two of the causes. There are many health problems that come along with being obese that can turn out to be very serious. Children that are obese are at risk for cardiovascular diseases like high blood...
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...There is an epidemic in America and it is called “Childhood Obesity.” “Obese,” from the Latin word “obesus,” means “grow fat by eating.” (Dalton, 2004) This term’s origin suggests that overeating is the major cause of the obesity epidemic. Teaching obese children to eat less is essential. But modifying behavior is no simple task, and eating too much is not the sole cause of obesity. Other factors play a role and must be understood in order to reverse this epidemic and produce healthier children. The growing number of obese children in America are victims of an epidemic just as surely as if they were infected by a virus. Americans tend to think of an epidemic as an outbreak of a contagious illness. But to physicians the sudden increase in obesity rates that have occurred in the twentieth century is every bit as unexpected as an outbreak of a new infectious disease and has triggered an alarm that might greet the rising of polio. Julie Gerberding, the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the fall of 2003, declared obesity the number one health threat facing America. (Okie, 2005) The causes (nature) of this epidemic are complex and include genetic, biological and behavioral factors. These include, but are not limited to poor eating habits, overeating, the lack of exercise, family history of obesity, cardiac, endocrine or neurological problems, life changing events or stress, along with family or peer problems and low self-esteem or emotional...
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...Childhood Obesity ENG 122 April 26, 2012 Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is an ongoing problem that we will all face in our lifetime. We may encounter this from our own experience as being an overweight child, seeing it in our children, their friends or even in our grandchildren. We all need to have a better understanding of childhood obesity. We will start this journey by address a brief history of childhood obesity, short and long-term health concerns, methods for treating obesity, and prevention of obesity in children. The overall purpose will be to foster an understanding of the impact high-fructose corn syrup usage in the last 30 years has had in relation to the childhood obesity epidemic. Childhood obesity is not a new problem but it is becoming an epidemic in the United States. Dr. Fals (2009) writes, “this country has been struggling with obesity for well over 20 years now” (p. 1). Most of us can remember when there was maybe one overweight child in a classroom, now there are two to three instead. The National Center for Health Statistics has been conducting surveys since 1963 relating to obesity among children and adolescents in the United States (Ogden, 2010). This is the only organization that has solid scientific history and statistical data available. It appears that obesity was not tracked on a nationwide level prior to 1963. One reason may be that there weren’t enough cases of childhood obesity to raise any red flags up until the 1960s. Since...
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...Chapter I Introduction Obesity rates have increased dramatically for all population groups in the United States over the last several decades, (Blackburn, 2005). It is a very serious issue which can lead to both health and social consequences attributing to the major deficits as an adult. Obesity is an excess of body fat. Body Mass Index is a popular method of defining a healthy weight versus being underweight, overweight or obese. Body Mass Index should be used as a guide, along with waist size, to help estimate the amount of body fat a person has. A Body Mass Index of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight and a Body Mass Index of 30 or above is considered obese. Obesity can shorten your life and put you at risk of developing a number of serious health conditions. These are, but not limited to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer. It has also been noted that health risks are higher for youth who are obese, and the risks happens to increase as the degree of obesity increases. Youth who carry extra weight around their waist, rather than in their legs and thighs, are more likely to experience health problems caused by obesity. However, parents, the community, and schools can make a huge difference when it comes to preventing and solving the problems of overweight and obesity in adolescent. Physical education has been part of the educational curriculum for nearly 200 years. The physical education curriculum is designed to allow students to experience...
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...How Can We Rid Childhood Obesity? Childhood obesity is a pandemic that has reached worldwide distribution. A problem as rampant as this is having a direct negative correlation with education and the way kids learn in America. “More than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). For the next generation to succeed and someday be responsible for many of the leadership roles that run this country, there needs to be immediate action. Childhood obesity has a negative effect on development on education, it’s time to start educating children on the many ways to make healthy decisions that will ultimately come back and benefit the education system and learning process itself. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention classifies childhood obesity as a disease and psychological disorder meaning that it directly affects brain function. A child being overweight is classified as a body mass index at or higher than the eighty-fifth percentile and lower than the ninety-fifth percentile for those among the same age and sex. For childhood obesity, it is classified as a body mass index at or higher than the ninety-fifth percentile among the same ages and sexes (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). One without any knowledge or background of public health can conclude that if obesity directly affects brain function, that it must also affect leaning in school. According to Juliette Kellow’s research, the performance of...
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...fruits, green vegetables, pulses or right amount of any nutrition filled foods so it is required to change the menu as differently as it can be so that proper nutrition can be given. This is not right since it can result in several health issues and so it is crucial that there be a change in the regulations for food served in public schools. Thesis Statement: Food leads to healthy mind and body, healthy mind and body leads to education, Education leads to development. Which means ultimately a healthy food can lead to development. So it is very important to eat well and hence change in regulations is essential. History and status of the issue The program of free education in public schools has been there for quite a long time and the pressure on these schools is significantly growing since the number of children entering and enrolling the public schools is significantly growing. All of this results in making it very difficult for the government to ensure appropriate levels of nutrition in the food served in these public schools all around the nation (B. Karen Wednesday, 2011). In this way the present status of the issue is that the food served in the public schools is not at par with the quality of the food and nutrition levels that is required by growing children. There is a need for...
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...Childhood Obesity Shaleta Lathon PE 112-02 Saint Xavier University In Today’s society one in three American children are either overweight or obese, which is triple the rate it was in 1963 (American Heart Association, 2014). Childhood Obesity is not limited to the United States it is becoming more of a problem for every child all over the world. Childhood obesity is defined as having excess body fat, and being overweight means that having excess body weight from fat, muscle, bone water or a combination of these factors (CDC, 2013). A way to determine if a child is overweight is by using the body mass index chart. This chart can determine if a child is at an unhealthy weight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese (CDC, 2013). There are many health issues for those who are overweight or obese such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and more. There has been a lot of research conducted on childhood obesity from kindergarten to middle school, whether or not appetite is linked to obesity, and whether or not children should have bariatric surgery to remove the fat. Obesity is a major problem because it causes many health problems. Children that are overweight or obese are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure or high cholesterol (CDC, 2013). In a sample of obese children 70% hat at least one risk for cardiovascular disease (CDC, 2013). Children who suffer from obesity are also more likely to suffer from joint and bone problems (CDC, 2013). Being overweight...
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...Childhood Obesity: School Prevention Children in the United States are getting heavier and heavier. As a result, schools are essential towards finding a solution in the obesity epidemic. Through solid norms and school programs such as proper nutrition standards, quality health education, quality physical education, and opportunities to do physical activity, schools can help students to adopt and maintain healthy physical and nutritional behavior. All around the country, obesity has become a great problem that affects children and adults of all races and income levels. In particular, childhood obesity is becoming a more alarming situation to address because it creates physical problems and affects mental health. The essential cause of the increase in their weight is straightforward: an excess of unhealthy eating choices compared with their physical activity. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, “An estimated 61 percent of overweight young people have at least one additional risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure” (National Association of State Boards Education NASBE). Consequently, social and psychological problems can emerge such as discrimination and poor self-esteem. In addition, children and young adolescents who are obese are more likely to become obese when they grow older. It is known by most people that it is fundamental to have good eating behaviors and do physical activity in order to maintain a healthy weight...
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