Childhood_Obesity

Childhood obesity is a constant rising issue amongst us today worldwide, especially within the United States. Obesity is one of the most prevalent nutritional disorders amongst children and adolescents in the United States. Approximately twenty-one to twenty-four percent of American children and adolescents are overweight, while about another sixteen to eighteen percent are obese; the prevalence of obesity is highest among specific ethnic groups. That is a big problem, which is why I chose to discuss this topic. I believe this is growing at the pace it is because no one is seriously addressing the issue. We pacify our young kids and allow them to believe that it’s okay to engage in certain eating habits and not inform them of how damaging it could be to their health. I want to focus my research and discussion on childhood obesity with the age range of seven to fifteen. I chose to limit to this specific range, because this is the age group in which obesity is highest. I believe if I address the issue we can figure out ways that we can limit this problem amongst the children and adolescents that are at the highest risk. I want to focus on a limited age group so that I can discuss more specifics in the research that relate directly to the affected, rather than just a generalization. As Americans we somewhat sweep the issue under the mat, or we talk about what is wrong but do not follow up to implement helping these children change their eating habits and become healthier. I plan to address how it is stated that the more mothers work, the more weight children gain. I do not believe that should be an explanation as to why we have such high obesity amongst our kids. Parents need to take responsibility for the kind of food and amount of food that their child consumes. I plan to argue the direct correlation between childhood obesity and the responsibility of the parents and their child’s eating habits. Most people become obese for several different reasons, the biggest being a lack of self-discipline. However when talking about obesity amongst young children, they haven’t really developed much knowledge concerning self-discipline. Therefore it becomes the responsibility of parents or others that interact with these children to inform them of the riskiness of bad eating habits. As I mentioned earlier, in this nation we tend to pacify our children when it comes to being overweight or obese as if it is okay. At the age of seven a child is only thinking about what they want or what they want because their friends have it, not how it will affect them in their future. As an older generation that understands the severity of obesity concerning any age group, we have to help lead our young towards a healthier lifestyle and be consistent in doing so. For example, the school systems made an approach towards helping children have a healthier diet, by changing the types of food they offer on their menu. This was a good attempt, however was it fully effective' If the child did not like the food that was served at school for lunch or snack, they would simply complain to their parents. The parents would then please the child’s desire by preparing a lunch at home that more than likely included cake rather than carrots or cookies rather than an apple. As result the child is happy and the parent has allowed it not knowing that they are main factor in the equation of childhood obesity. It may not be all the time that they do this, they may slip an apple or some celery in every now and then, but the rate between sweets and something healthy isn’t even; one outweighs the other and in this case it is the sweets. The school system tried to help, but to end a problem amongst an age that really can’t make decisions for themselves; the help has to come from everyone and at a consistent basis. We cannot allow children to manipulate their elders into allowing them to condole the eating habits they want, which brings me to my next point. Children have a way of figuring out how to get things they want. Majority of the time the parent or whomever may be in charge will deny the child of something sweet, or it is used as a reward. I believe that it is an area where the mistake occurs. By offering a cake or buying Mc Donald’s because a child was good is not a message we should instill in our youth. Children are very manipulative. If we reward good behavior with junk or unhealthy foods a child then formulates in their mind, that if I want Mc Donald’s today I just need to be good. In most cases, this theory works for them. From having the experience of working at Mc Donald’s, I witness several families come on a consistent basis, at least three times a week. While engaging in conversation with the customer as they order, I was told several times they were treating their child for being good again with a happy meal. Although Mc Donald’s does offer apples instead of fries, eight out of ten times fries were ordered. I said that to show how a system that parents came up with that they didn’t find harmful, but just a simple reward can actually be harmful to the child’s diet. And on the contrary side, the child now has a constant way of knowing how to get these types of food. Instead of rewarding good behavior with unhealthy snacks, parents should consider getting an inexpensive toy or something. For young children that are obese most blame does fall on the parents, they control both what and how much they eat. However, I do not believe that it explains the reason for overweight adolescences, or the between the ages of 11-15. My previous reasoning pertained to those young children at the ages of seven to ten, as the child gets older they become more aware of what they are eating and how much. So therefore I find obesity to high amongst the adolescent age range from a lack self-discipline and lack of activity. Some children that age actually do not have really bad eating habits, that if they were in some form of physical activity, they more than likely would not be overweight or obese. The older children get the less active they become, yet their eating habits either stay the same or get worst. Once they get at a certain age their metabolism begins to slow down, and they have to counteract that by becoming active. Most overweight kids around the age of 11-15 are not involved in much physical activity. The most physical activity they may engage in is their physical education class that is required. With increased eating and decreased activity, being overweight is very apparent. However I feel that the blame is no longer on the parent. At that age you should be disciplined enough to know what is good for you to eat and to ensure that you’re not over eating. On the other hand the lack of physical activity can come from not being able to, which can lead to the theory behind the reason for high child obesity being that the parent(s) may work too much. “Work hours scheduled at nonstandard times, when worked by the father or both parents, were associated with child overweight and obesity.” S L Champion, A R Rumbold, E J Steele, L C Giles, et al. International Journal of Obesity. London: Apr 2012.Vol. 36, Iss. 4; p. 573 (8 pages) At the age of 11 to 15 you may be able to know what a healthy diet should consist of, but you can’t drive. Depending on a parents work schedule, it may not be possible for the child to be involved in extracurricular activities. If a child want to run track for example but may not have a way to a from practices due to their parent having to work and not being able to make other arrangements, that can be a reason behind the lack of physical activity. In that scenario the parent does play a part in that problem, but as I stated earlier, I do not find that to be justification as to why the child should be obsess. Even if the child is not able to participate in extracurricular activities they can still find other physical activities to do such as running around the neighborhood or even walking. I believe that by saying obesity can result from the parent having a busy work schedule is another way of pacifying our youth about the fact that their eating habits aren’t good, and making them think they cannot do anything about it, when they can. Only with younger kids may a mothers work schedule lead to being overweight because they are so busy working they are probably just grabbing something quick for the child. This may be true for older kids as well, but then that is when self-discipline comes into play. They should be able to discipline themselves to know if their eating is getting out of control. Although most things discussed in this paper are known, this is still a serious issue that we continue to overlook. Childhood obesity is something that we have to work harder to make others aware so that we can put a stop to it. Parents have to be more aware of their child’s diet and eating habits. As well as take more responsibility for their neglect towards their children eating healthier. If we all work together in addressing this issue and be consistent in implementing changes, we can help lower the obesity rate amongst our children. Scholarly Journals • Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity S L Champion, A R Rumbold, E J Steele, L C Giles, et al. International Journal of Obesity. London: Apr 2012. Vol. 36, Iss. 4; p. 573 (8 pages) • New results on the effect of maternal work hours on children's overweight status: Does the quality of child care matter' Jane Greve. Labour Economics. Amsterdam: Oct 2011. Vol. 18, Iss. 5; p. 579 Magazine Source: • .When Mom Has Pregnancy Diabetes, Breast-Feeding Curbs Child Obesity Anonymous. U.S. News & World Report. Washington: Feb 2012. p. 1 • Documenting Obesity Anonymous. Parks & Recreation. Arlington: Aug 2010. Vol. 45, Iss. 8; p. 15 (1 page) Newspaper Articles: • Obesity is big concern as health problems continue; Health and wellbeing every year the Government commissions a body known as the East Midlands Health Observatory to publish statistics on health issues in our area. Health Correspondent Dominic Howell looks at how Nottingham and Notts fared Dominic Howell. Nottingham Evening Post. Nottingham (UK): Jul 3, 2012. p. 14