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 is growing at an alarming rate, it has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years.
Parents are responsible for what foods children consume, the amount of exercise a child gets, and ultimately responsible for childhood obesity overall.
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 25g+ 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.
On any given day, according to CBS News, 1/3 of children ages 4 to 19 consume a fast food meal. Many fast food chains are offering healthier alternatives, but they have to be purchased in a lieu of less healthy choices to do any good. While an occasional stop at McDonald's probably will not lead to obesity, it is the children who are consuming fast food on a regular basis that are at such a high risk. While many parents may have daily hectic schedules, the option of a well-balanced healthy meal may not often be considered, but rather parents are turning to fast food for a quick fix at mealtime. This becomes a habit in most cases and what contributes to childhood obesity. If a child eats fast food 2-3 times a week on average, this can result in an extra six pounds, sometimes more, per year which quickly adds up. Parents need to remember that obesity is serious and can lead to a variety of health problems, both as a child and an adult.
Mr.Johnson from Nutrition and Food Sciences speaks on choosing the right food for children
- In 1980 obesity occurred in 6.5% of children 6-11 years
- In 2008 obesity occurred in 19.6% of children 6-11 years
- In 1980 obesity occurred in 5% of young adults 12-19 years
- In 2008 obesity occurred in 18.1% of young adults 12-19 years
Parents are responsible for what foods children consume, the amount of exercise a child gets, and ultimately responsible for childhood obesity overall.
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 25g+ 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.
Mr.Johnson from Nutrition and Food Sciences speaks on choosing the right food for children
Children on the playground is not as popular as it used to be, electronics has topped the charts.
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. In addition, while most children watch television, they consume fatty snacks which contributes to risk of childhood obesity. Advising kids to play "exergames" or active video games does not suffice for the recommended physical activity children should participate in. Active Healthy Kids Canada has released its official position on active video games after convening an international panel of researchers to look at the latest evidence on the subject. The organization says "exergames" are a good way to break up the time kids spend being sedentary. However, they're not as good as having kids play real active games or sports.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education suggests that children get a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise every day. This activity includes anything moderate or high intensity from jump-rope to playing tag. Physical education and general activities during school time decreased by 14 percent from 1991 to 2003. On top of that, only 28 percent of high school students get the suggested daily amounts of physical exercise. Therefore, it is imperative for parents to also encourage children and adolescents to participate in extra curriculum activities outside of school.
Mr.Johnson insists that parents restrict children from certain foods, and encourage physical activity.
Obese parents play a part in risk for obese children.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education suggests that children get a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise every day. This activity includes anything moderate or high intensity from jump-rope to playing tag. Physical education and general activities during school time decreased by 14 percent from 1991 to 2003. On top of that, only 28 percent of high school students get the suggested daily amounts of physical exercise. Therefore, it is imperative for parents to also encourage children and adolescents to participate in extra curriculum activities outside of school.
Mr.Johnson insists that parents restrict children from certain foods, and encourage physical activity.
Obese parents play a part in risk for obese children.
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". CDC also stated that parental obesity represented the most potent risk factor, a finding that confirms previous observations, and the connection between overweight parents and overweight children is likely due to a combination of genetics and family environmental influences. Also, it is noted that a child's temperament altered the effect of a parent's obesity; 46 percent of children with a sensitive disposition and an overweight parent became overweight, compared with 19 percent of children without this disposition.
Parents are still responsible for what children eat outside of home.
Parents are still responsible for what children eat outside of home.
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.
This course blog was very interesting and had many strong points throughout. The structure of the blog post was very organized and easy to read and follow along to. The author did a very good job of introducing the topic of child obesity in the first paragraph. The statistics were very alarming and caught the reader’s attention right off the bat. I think this was one of the strongest features of this blog, as a whole. The amount of data and facts was impressive and added to the author’s main idea. I felt the subheads and title of the blog were informative and detailed enough to let the reader know exactly what each section was about. For areas of improvement, I would’ve liked to see the expert video more towards the beginning of the blog post, because the expert made some interesting points. As a whole, the blog was very informative and did a good job of explaining the reasons and causes of childhood obesity in America. To extend your argument or topic, I would add in more detail some of the risks of childhood obesity and the diseases and medical problems associated with it.
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