Childhood obesity has become a social concern, however when most people think of health problems in children, they most often think of measles and not type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Today, however a large number of U.S. children are being diagnosed with obesity and the serious "adult diseases" such as type 2 diabetes that accompany overweight. U.S. children are not alone, high rates of obesity are injuring the health of an alarming number of children around the globe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "16 percent of children 6-19 years old are overweight or obese, a number that has tripled since 1980. In addition to the 16 percent of children and teens ages 6 to 19 who were overweight in 1999-2002, another 15 percent were considered at risk of becoming overweight" ( "prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002", Oct.6,2004").
As I was looking at these statistics and facts, my concern towards childhood obesity accelerated. It took me back to my childhood. When I was growing up, most of my friends and schoolmates was either skinny or medium sized. It was not common to see an obese child. I remeber we used to spend most of our times outdoors, playing, running and doing alot of outdoor activities. Several questions come to mind, what happened to bring childhood obesity and overweight to our society? Is it eating too much, dieting inappropriately and exercising too little? it is modern technology leading to sedentary lifestyles?. I believe these questions are some of the reasons and predisposing facts towards childhood obesity.
I believe we are all responsible in eradicating childhood obesity. A good example is from our First lady Michelle Obama who kicked off her "Let's Move", " an agenda of nutrition and exercise programs designed to eliminate "the epidemic of childhood obesity"
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_ Lydiah
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The topic of childhood obesity is one that touches my heart closely because I have a Kinesiology (Exercise Science and Movement) degree from University of Wisconsin, Madison. My entire four years of college courses were centered on the obesity epidemic. I think that there are a variety of causes for the increase in prevalence of obesity. I don’t think you can pinpoint just technology or just diet or just physical activity. Ultimately, there is a quite simple explanation. People are overweight or obese because their energy intake exceeds their energy expenditure. It is a combination of lifestyle choices that have led us down the path we are on. Food is more affordable when it is unhealthy. Fast food dollar menus and deals allow you to get more “bang for your buck”. There has been a steady decline of physical activity among all age groups. People will even park illegally so they don’t have to take a few extra steps into the mall and elevators and escalators are the norm when it comes to going up and down buildings. There have been dramatic increases in TV watching which has caused us to be sedentary. People’s lives are filled with work, jobs, and taking care of their families and it is difficult to find time to get to the gym.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting debate we had constantly in college is what audience do you target to solve this problem. Do you target older adults to decrease caloric intake and increase physical activity? Do you target young adults to stop partying with empty alcoholic calories and start hitting the weight room? Do you target high school students to get involved in team sports? Or do you target young children whose minds are easily shaped? While there are many ideas about this debate, I think targeting the youth of America (specifically middle school and high school students) is the best plan of action. Young children in elementary school are too young to understand complex ideas such as weight control. They also have little control over what they eat. While they may understand they need to eat more vegetables, they cannot physically go out and purchase healthy foods for themselves. In addition, they don’t have control over their ability to play sports. Adults are too old because many are already overweight or obese and have set lifestyles. It takes very hard work to lose weight and it takes a long time. Many adults do not stick to a plan for long enough to have a big weight loss or they gain it back once they get off their strict diet. I think the best population to target is middle school and high school students. This is the time when most children are going through many body changes so it would be very timely to talk about taking care of their bodies and minds. Also, they are becoming more independent and making life choices. Teaching good life skills at this point would be a prevention effort so that they can make lifestyle choices for the rest of their lives and never have to lose the weight in adulthood.
I do believe that we are the ones causing childhood obesity to become and epeidemic in our country. Portions of food are larger, kids are more likely to spend their time inside watching tv, playing video games, or on the internet. Its far less likely for a child to go outside and play with a friend then it is for them to have a friend come over so they can play xbox together. They even have video games now like "wii fit" to help promote working out. Is it really that hard to go outside and play basketball or join a team sport? If kids were more active then none of this would be a problem. Parents are more concerned with their own work and home lives that they let their kids sit inside all day and eat unhealthy snacks or fast food far too often. These habits that they are learning will stick with them for their whole lives, creating obese adults who will most likely have obese children. We have created this epidemic of childhood obesity and i think we are the ones who need to fix it.
ReplyDeleteChildhood obesity is an epidemic that is shortening the lives of our children. It is ultimately a matter of eating too many calories / not burning enough calories, but there are factors that have led to the epidemic that can be addressed. Kids have stopped getting the exercise they did 20 years ago. They spend too much time sitting in front of a computer game or tv. They eat too much fast food and that contains higher calories and fat than traditionally cooked meals. Families aren't sitting down and eating together and that has an impact on what and how kids are eating, also kids aren't sleeping as much and that has been found to have had an impact as well. I think we need to educate all ages of kids, their parents, especially teen and young 20's parents about nutrition, calorie and exercise. It is a huge problem and if it's not addressed, our youth will be paying the price with poor health throughout their lifes.
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