Forming habits to prevent obesity

Forming habits to prevent obesity

“Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese” (10 Facts). They have tried to classify obesity as disease for a long time. The American Medical Association recently declared and classified obesity as a disease. Obesity puts you at a high risk for many diseases. Bad habits are the main cause of obesity. You have to improve your nutritional and physical habits to prevent obesity. You are more likely to live a healthy adulthood if you eat right and stay in shape. Obesity is an issue that our society faces. Developing healthy habits as children, teenagers, or even in our early adulthood could help us prevent obesity. Not being involved in physical activities and not eating right causes obesity. The conclusion from a research made by The World Health Organization was “The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in Canadian youth are high. The results suggest that physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors are strongly related to obesity in Canadian adolescents” (Janssen). If we don’t take care of our bodies this could be harmful, as we get older.
Depression is a mental disorder that could be lethal, “More than 90 percent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder - most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.” (Depression). The statistics of suicides caused by obesity are alarming; this makes obesity a major issue that we need to take care of. Depressed people tend to eat more too making it hard for them to stay healthy. Depression can also make you feel isolated by society. These kinds of thoughts are very common among obese teenagers. Being active can help with depression and also fights obesity, this is why developing active habits is important. Parents play big role in helping their children to develop these habits. A healthy environment at home where the kids are able to get the right nutrition and where they can practice physical activities constantly helps to prevent obesity. A study conducted by the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, concluded that " A large cross section of Australian preschoolers has, for the first time, suggested that fathers could be at the frontline in preventing early childhood obesity. Mothers are often blamed for their children's obesity, but this study suggests that for more effective prevention, perhaps we should focus on the whole family." (Preidt) It makes a significant difference if the parents take care of their child´s nutrition. Most of the time we can find food ads on television or the Internet and we see different kinds of unhealthy foods such as McDonalds, Burger King, and Dominos Pizza. These ads make us want to eat these kinds of foods. Kids like fast food and if their parents prevent them from eating a lot of fast food this will help them develop a habit of eating in a healthier way. Parents are responsible for feeding their children correctly. Research conducted by the Institute for Global Health and The Sydney University concluded that. “An environment that bombards us from dawn until dusk with recommendations to eat and drink unhealthy foods is what makes us obese”. (Neal) Parents should embrace physical activities for their children. Television viewing time appears to be an important indicator of a range of lifestyle behaviors likely to promote obesity over time. A study that was conducted on whether television affects obesity or not concluded this; “The results of this randomized, controlled trial provide evidence that television viewing is a cause of increased body fatness and that reducing television viewing is a promising strategy for preventing obesity” (Robinson). Based on this information we could say that television is a bad habit, because decreasing television in your routine is beneficial for you and it helps you prevent obesity. A high level of physical activity helps you to lose calories and if you do so regularly you can prevent obesity. Some people argue that parents are really not important to obesity. They think that even if the parents embrace a healthy lifestyle, that in some cases obesity is a genetic problem and you cannot prevent it. Genetics play a big role in obesity but even the people that are genetically most likely to become obese, when they have the right habits, do not become obese. The easiest way to form and change these habits is when we are children and that is why our parents are so influential. The physical habits that we create help us fight obesity and stay in shape; people normally develop these habits when are kids or when they are teenagers. Katherine Tallmadge talks in her book “Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations Simple” about how small changes have been responsible for amazing improvement in the health of children. Just adding fruits or vegetables at each meal or 15 extra minutes of daily exercise helps to avoid obesity. (Tallmadge)

Schools have implemented some nutritional programs that have successfully formed healthy habits in their participants; this helps to prevent obesity. Schools give healthy choices during lunch and breaks so kids have the chance to eat healthy and stay in shape. “The National Association for Sport and Physical Education recommends 150 minutes a week of PE for elementary school children and 225 minutes a week for middle and secondary-school children” (Story). These programs have been successful in the schools that have implemented them.
Extracurricular activities such as sports are also very effective in helping to develop these habits that we need to stay fit. Interscholastic sports programs, intramural activities, and physical activity clubs also keep children active in school. Intramural sports and clubs offer students with a wide range of opportunities to engage in physical activity. It is proven that children who engage in these activities are more likely to be active adults and stay in shape. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children and adolescents should engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. A 2009 survey found that only 18 percent of high school students adhered to this recommendation, while only 33 percent attended physical education class each day. (2008 Physical)
For adults it is harder to create new habits and change old ones. I strongly recommend that adults seek professional help. There are nutritionists and professional trainers who can help you improve your lifestyle, helping you fight obesity. They know the way that the body works so they can advise you in what to do. Besides fighting obesity they can also help you by encouraging you to get in the shape that you desire. After this process you will have this knowledge that you can continue to implement in your lifestyle.
Some people argue that they don’t exercise or that they know people who do not exercise and are still not obese. People that have a fast metabolism find it really hard to gain weight but even if they are not obese they are still unhealthy if they do not exercise and if they eat poorly.
Looking back we see some clear points about how we need and how could prevent obesity. We need to prevent obesity because it could cause some other high-risk disease and eventually death. By having a good plan of nutrition and a good exercise plan we are going to develop good habits that are going to help us prevent obesity; is even better if we develop them when we are very young. School is very important in developing these habits too. Even some people could say that habits are no really influential in the obesity problem there is several studies that prove that it is.

Works cited "10 Facts on Obesity." WHO. World Health Organization, 10 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Janssen, Ian, Ph.D. "Overweight and Obesity in Canadian Adolescents and Their Associations with Dietary Habits and Physical Activity Patterns." Journal of Adolescent Health 35.5 (2003): n. pag. Jahonline. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23 Nov. 2003. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
"Depression & Suicide." University of Ohio State. University of Ohio State, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Preidt, Robert. "Dads' Parenting Style Influences Childhood Obesity." ABC News. ABC News Network, 23 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. Neal, Bruce. "Poor Diet the Primary Cause of Obesity." Brisbane Times. Bris Bane Times, 11 July 20013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Robinson, T. N. "Television Viewing and Childhood Obesity." NCBI. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2001. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. Tallmadge, Katherine. Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations Simple. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Story, Mary. "The Future of Children, Princeton - Brookings: Providing Research and Analysis to Promote Effective Policies and Programs for Children." Childhood Obesity 16.1 (2006): n. pag. The Future of Children. The Future of Children. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
"2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Summary." 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: Summary. Public Department of Health and Services, 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.