Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Obesity Essay

Do you get enough exercise? Are you sure about that? Or how about this, are you overweight, do you even know? Today’s adolescents don’t. In fact today’s adolescents face serious risk from their lack of activity. Today’s children are obese because they have developed some very bad habits related to healthy living and as result can suffer serious physical and psychological damage.

Having a child that is obese brings different feelings to people. Some see it as it’s their fault because they want to eat so much. In no way is it the children’s fault as they eat what the parents give them. When you see a child that can’t speak a word but knows how to open a cupboard or the refrigerator to get food it should classify as obese. Most cases of obesity don’t start later, in life there are some cases, but it is usually from young age. The parents of these kids should be punished for making their kids become like this. Thousands of young children know who the spokes person for the fast-food chains are but can’t answer simple questions about famous people. Child obesity in America is getting worse before it will become

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in America. "the percentage of obese children doubling from 6.5% in 1980, to 17.0% in 2006. Weight, nutrition, and physical activity are the main components to a child’s overall health.”(1) “When parents become too busy to cook meals in their homes, children learn poor eating habits and develop into unhealthy eaters.”(1) They will take what they learned at home and apply it to anywhere else that they eat. For example a child that drinks milk at dinner and sits with their family at dinner when asked what they want to drink when they are at a friend’s home will ask for milk because the child would associate milk with dinner. Children cannot make healthy choices of their own they need to be guided so

Why is it that America, deemed to be the most developed and advanced country in the world, has the largest epidemic of childhood obesity? Obesity is a frequent topic of discussion, and extensive research and studies to find the root of this disease. So why are some American children, despite the knowledge of the importance of health, variety of food that is available, and health awareness at schools, are still gaining excess weight? Lack of proper nutrition and sedentary lifestyle of some American children may be contributing to the rise of childhood obesity in the United States.

Did you know that Every day, nearly one-third of U.S. Children aged 4 to 19 eat fast

America is regarded as an economically advantaged and advanced nation that continues to become increasingly more powerful. A nation so affluent and great would surely also have very healthy people. This is not the case in America, where obesity affects a third of the population. The Land of the Free is quickly becoming the Land of the Overweight as the obesity epidemic grows worse. The obesity epidemic in America continues to affect people because of malnutrition in both the fast-food industry and in industrial agriculture.

Although many individuals are uncertain about the increasing statistics associated with obesity, more than seventy percent of men and virtually sixty-two percent of women within the United States adult population are overweight or obese (Wilmore, Costill, & Kenney). Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. If an individual’s amount of body fat becomes too excessive, he/she is at a much greater risk of developing life-altering diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, type II diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, etc. (Wilmore, et al., 2008).

Obesity prevalence is higher in lower-income families because they cannot provide healthy foods to their children. Healthy foods are expensive to compare to unhealthy foods. So the lower-income families become dependent on unhealthy, high calories, fewer nutrients, and soft drinks for their daily meals. Increased consumption of these foods associated with childhood

Class 3 obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater

It is a shame that so many children are obese. I am shocked that 2 million deaths each year can be contributed to physical inactivity (Wharry, 2002). The "How we Grew so Big" article is about the evolutionary reasons behind obesity. I worked in a factory this past summer where there was very physical labour. I ate way more food than I had before I started working there but was a lot slimmer by the end of my contract. Even though the sudden increase in activity in my life reduced my body fat, most of the other workers there were overweight. This leads me to believe that obesity is more of a societal issue than an evolutionary issue. I've had friends who were morbidly obese; one of whom would tell me "I know when I'm full

While the majority of people realize that obesity is a problem and social and cultural habits are at the center of the issue, there are those who claim that obesity is not an issue and culture has no effect on it. Those who say that it is not an issue of culture say so because they either don't believe that obesity is an issue or, don't believe culture is at the heart of it. The evidence clearly proves that culture is a part of obesity because in areas such as Mississippi and Alabama, which are some of have some of the highest concentration of obesity in the country, where

According to a 2010 report by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past thirty years. As well as having an impact on health, studies have cited a relationship between obesity and poor school performance as well as a child’s readiness for learning and education. This can be correlated with studies finding “obese children have a greater risk of social and psychological problems, such as discrimination and poor self-esteem” (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, para. 2). It has also been documented that obese children miss more days from school than the general student population and “many will lack the energy to sustain the concentration needed to

Childhood obesity is becoming a prevalent, and scary reality in the United States. The body mass index (also referred to commonly as the BMI) is calculated by a growth chart developed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). These charts help to determine the corresponding BMI-Per-Age percentile. These numbers help determine whether a child is at a healthy rate of physical growth. The BMI is calculated from your height and weight.

"Today, about one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese; nearly triple the rate from 1983. With good reason, childhood obesity is now the Number 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking. If current trends continue, today’s kids could be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents" (Clinton, para. 3 2011).

Poor nutrition and lack of physical activity contribute to the rise of obesity which is leading to many diseases such as diabetes type two, cardiovascular diseases and premature death. A major goal is to reduce obesity by 2020. Many changes are being incorporated at an early age to promote healthy lifestyles. The main focus is getting people to become more active in their daily routines, and to educate them about healthier foods they should consume. According to the Centers for Disease Control (2015), one third of U.S. adults are obese which is about 34.9% (78.6 million) and 16% of children and adolescents are obese. There are many factors contributing to this rise in cases. Some of the determinants include built environment, social and