Childhood Obesity: How Society Supersizes Children

Child Obesity:
How Society Supersizes Kids

By
Linda Lents

Celeste Brown
English 102: #28440
November 10, 2012

Linda Lents
Celeste Brown
English 102: #28440
November 10, 2012

Childhood Obesity: How Society Super Sizes Kids Most Americans learn about nutrition from the media. Because food is a very large business and because everyone eats every day, the public is fascinated by stories about diet and health. Newspapers, magazines and television produce and distribute such stories almost daily. Someone once said to me, telling an overweight person that the way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more is about as helpful as telling a poor person to earn more and spend less. How can we tell our youth you must balance your intake of food with adequate daily exercise in order to
maintain a healthy weight? We have to look at predisposition, as well as diet, physical activity, social and environmental factors that differ and interact in various ways to produce the condition of obesity in children.
Perhaps one of the most dramatic changes has been the increase in meals eaten away from the home, in both fast-food or traditional sit-down family style restaurants. Children are spending an increased amount of time away from home which in increasing the need for families to seek food outside the home. "Every day, about 40 percent of U.S. children eat at these restaurants," (Powell). The portions that are consumed away from the home are considerably larger than home prepared meals. These foods are higher in sodium, saturated fats and sugar, which are contributing to the rise in overweight children. Without proper amounts of fruits and vegetables, our children are not getting the proper balance of vitamins they need in their diet. One might suggest to families, by reducing the amount of time you spend going out to dinner, and taking the time to prepare a home cooked meal one night a week will help to reduce the amount of processed foods our children are eating. Not only will this save them money, but over time will help teach our children healthy lifestyles.
Our health is a very important part of how we feel, learn, and grow, and how our internal organs perform. If we are consistently putting high fat foods into our systems, our bodies will eventually shut down, and over time, make us overweight causing many serious health conditions. Many adverse health conditions can be linked to being overweight, including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and even psychological issues in our children. The media already makes it difficult for young ladies to feel pretty about themselves when they are constantly showing figures of women that have been dramatically altered by digital retouching. As parents, our concern is will our children develop any psychological issues such as depression, poor self-esteem, negative self-image and withdrawal from peers? As a parent of a teenage daughter, these are issues I always worry about in the back of my mind. I have always tried to teach my daughter to be very proud of her image and not to let others tell her how to be or look. It is very hard to educate your child about nutrition and exercise when their own school does not provide adequate nutrition or physical education. All these areas are very modifiable lifestyle behaviors and childhood is a critical developmental period when these habits are established. An educational agency that participates in the National School Lunch Program or other child nutrition programs is required by federal law to establish a local school wellness policy for all schools under its jurisdiction. Local school wellness policies are designed to promote student health and reduce childhood obesity. As parents we should be advocating and helping our schools and communities by continuing to educate our children about healthy habits.
Health behaviors such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet persist through young adulthood and are important predictors of subsequent morbidity and mortality risk. Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. “In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70 percent of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.” (Freedman) Parents need to set a good example for their children and encourage more family style dinners at home. Not only will it give them the opportunity to talk with their child, it opens doors for their child to be open and share what is going on in their life. Walking after dinner, or a family bike ride on a weekend, or even getting off the couch and playing ball in the yard helps reduce a sedentary lifestyle. Encouraging your child is a great feeling. Not only will they feel good about themselves, it’s also giving you the opportunity to spend quality time with your toddler to teenager.
For the future of our children, we need to stop and think is the convenience worth the quick drive thru burger that could potentially cause our child to be overweight or even worse develop health conditions. Media and fast food restaurants are the number one culprit in triggering the emotions of children and parents alike. We see that commercial for the bigger size value meal at the local restaurant and we think that sounds like a great value. We don’t stop to think about the health issues that arise from the large amounts of sodium and caloric intake that go into making that meal larger. As parents, we need to stop being lazy and really think about what we are doing to the ultimate health of our children. We need to create an environment that promotes healthy choices rather than unhealthy food and beverage selections.
Local communities need to band together with our schools to bring fruits and vegetables to our children.
Farmer’s markets and community food drives should work together in helping to educate lower income communities on proper nutrition. These types of programs will help bring fruits and vegetables to them at lower cost, allowing the children to get the proper nutrition they need to help them fight against obesity. Schools should put a higher priority on physical activity. Adding curriculums of nutrition and physical education not only will help their health and well-being, it will improve their academic performance and mental clarity.
Kids are constantly being bombarded by fast food and media advertisement. These billion dollar industries are not going away any time soon. The role and responsibility of every parent must be to embrace the nutrition, health and activity of their children. The convenience of fast food will eventually be detrimental to the health and well-being of their families. Nutrition must become a top priority of every parent and they must embrace the practices of good nutrition and physical activity to ensure a healthy
child.

Work Cited
Freedman DS, Zuguo M, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS, Dietz WH. Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Journal of Pediatrics 2007;150(1):12–17.

University of Illinois at Chicago. "Kids consume more soda and calories when eating out." ScienceDaily, 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.