Childhood Obesity Epidemic

I. Introduction/Statement of the Problem The medical definition for obesity is having too much body fat. Many people tend to get obesity and being overweight mixed up. Being obese is different from being overweight in that being overweight is the status of weighing too much. This weight can come from many places, such as muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water. While technically they don’t mean the same thing, they both, however, mean that a person’s weight is greater than what is considered healthy for his or her height. This social problem has become an increasingly severe medical problem dating back to the early 1960s as shown in the national nutritional surveys that have been given. Although it has been proven that genetics are a large
Dr. Strauss discusses many ways that obesity can be prevented, some of which include exercise, healthy diets, family support, goal setting, etc. Research shows that the most important method of treatment is family support. Children rely on their older family members for positive guidance, so if a child sees his or her parents eating unhealthy foods, they are going to think that it’s a normal thing to do. If a child isn’t restricted on the amount of time spent watching television or playing videogames, they are going to think that it is normal to spend hours at a time using them. These are the types of things that increase the risks of childhood obesity. If a child sees their parents eating fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, they are going to want to establish the same habits as them. If parents encourage their child to play outside with their friends or participate in sports, they are going to pick up these habits, eventually lowering the risks of
I think the author did a good job in getting his point across in talking about the effects that obesity can have on ones life and how it can be treated. Growing up, I loved playing sports and being outside with my friends. I always thought that everyone played a sport or did some kind of physical activity so I never really knew what it meant to be obese. When I finally got to the age where I understood what was going on, I realized that, in a way, obesity could be life-threatening to people. Coming from an athletic background and being a student-athlete in college, I go through rigorous training daily, not just to improve my athletic abilities, but also to help improve my overall health. So when I’m out running or partaking in other types of physical activity and I see an obese child or adolescent who is exercising, it makes me feel good about myself to see that, even if genetics is the cause of them being obese, that they still care about their health and that they are doing whatever it takes to help change themselves. With the help of this journal, giving me a better understanding of how childhood obesity can come about, what the side effects can be, and how it can be treated, I can now do my part in trying to prevent children from being part of another