Childhood Obesity

For my final project I am focusing on the topic of childhood obesity; looking into aspects such as causes and prevention. Childhood obesity is a serious condition that is greatly effecting children and adolescents today. While some confuse overweight and obesity, there is a significant difference. Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination, while obesity is defined as having excess body fat. Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on health and well being. Youth suffering from obesity are at risk for many other chronic health diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and are prone to many heart complications. Not only are children and adolescents more than likely to suffer from other health conditions, but there are also psychological effects: obese children are more prone to low self-esteem, negative body image and depression.

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years.  The leading causes of childhood obesity are as follows, but not subject to: unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, genetic factors, and environmental factors. As for an unhealthy diet, parents are more than likely responsible for this factor. Think about grocery shopping, shelves are packed with the latest "healthy" gummy chews, breakfast snacks, and many other rather unhealthy snacks. Of course the labels advertise "100% vitamin C", but what about the other ingredients? Many include 25+ of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat and more. Instead of such a snack, a child should have a fresh fruit. Parents should shop for healthy food choices for children; try staying away from fried foods, and fat or sugar loaded snacks. 

 Next is lack of exercise. Today, most children dwell on game systems , computers, and television for entertainment, whereas "back in the day", kids played on playgrounds, and played outdoor activities. Obviously it is not as healthy to "play games in front of a television screen while sitting on the couch" than it is to "run around outside". In this instance, much less fat or calories are being burned; this is where the weight piles on. Parents again can help prevent this by encouraging children to participate in outdoor activities and extra curriculum activities. 

While a lot of parents generally blame genetic factors as the leading cause of childhood obesity, it is not the main culprit. In fact, genetic factors are rarely the cause of childhood obesity. Only in specific cases are genetic factors solely responsible for childhood weight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes a valid point that "the genetic characteristics of the human population has not changed in the last three decades, but the prevalence of obesity has tripled among school-aged children during that time". 

Last but not least, environmental factors. The people outside of home that are in connection with children on a daily basis also have an impact on children's health and weight to a certain extent. Children's food intake at day care, school, or community centers should not be overlooked, parents should enforce that their child follows the same healthy eating habits as home or parents could simply pack their child's lunch and snack to regulate the same eating habits. Schools have been increasingly trying to add implemented programs that provide improved nutrition for students, but not every school lunch is 100% healthy, it is imperative for parents to take action and start the trend at home.