Obesity In America
Childhood obesity: A Growing Problem in The United States One in every three children in the United States is overweight or obese. (Solving Obesity 3) Childhood obesity has always been a problem in the United States, and continues to be a factor in the lives of many young children. This happens in many other countries around the world, but tends to be much more prominent inside the United States. The growing obesity in children is posing serious problems to their health, and will affect them for the rest of their lives. This leads to having one third of all children be predicted to develop diabetes in their lifetime. (Solving Obesity 3) This problem could no longer be ignored, it is ruining the lives of americas children and
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These two paired together are a deadly combination and it is very hard to steer a child off of this course. There were cases of obese children in earlier years, but in todays society there are so many inventions that encourage less physical activity. The explosion of the popularity of television and video games is a huge factor in childhood obesity. Why go outside and play sports when a child can virtually play any sport they want for hours from the comfort of the couch? As it is said in The White House report on childhood obesity, sent directly to President Obama, “Screen time has been associated with children getting less and poorer quality sleep, and insufficient sleep has been linked to a heightened risk of obesity” (Solving Obesity 7). Not even mentioning the obvious fact that screen time also takes away from physical activity. Everything surrounding children’s screen time is a major factor that leading to childhood …show more content…
In her fight against obesity, she is using the power of legislation to make improvements to the country. Such as trying to relaunch the Child Nutrition Act to improve the quality of meals in schools, since half of a child 's daily energy comes from what they consume during their school breakfasts and lunches (Tanne). A comprehensive study showed that most schools serve meals averaging more that 37-40% of their calories from fat. Also that only 1% out of 500 schools serves lunches averaging less than 30% calories from fat (Strauss). This program also calls for legislation to improve school environment, such as increasing the amount of physical activity that a child can get throughout the day. Some schools have even cancelled there recess, which is a major source of a child 's day to day physical activity. It may just look like playing games and having fun to children, but the days add up as an important factor for children 's activity. Professional sports stars are also part of her program to increase children’s physical activity, in a “60 minutes of play a day” program. In her research it is shown that US children currently spend 7.5 hours a day on their computers, watching television or on their mobile devices
These two paired together are a deadly combination and it is very hard to steer a child off of this course. There were cases of obese children in earlier years, but in todays society there are so many inventions that encourage less physical activity. The explosion of the popularity of television and video games is a huge factor in childhood obesity. Why go outside and play sports when a child can virtually play any sport they want for hours from the comfort of the couch? As it is said in The White House report on childhood obesity, sent directly to President Obama, “Screen time has been associated with children getting less and poorer quality sleep, and insufficient sleep has been linked to a heightened risk of obesity” (Solving Obesity 7). Not even mentioning the obvious fact that screen time also takes away from physical activity. Everything surrounding children’s screen time is a major factor that leading to childhood …show more content…
In her fight against obesity, she is using the power of legislation to make improvements to the country. Such as trying to relaunch the Child Nutrition Act to improve the quality of meals in schools, since half of a child 's daily energy comes from what they consume during their school breakfasts and lunches (Tanne). A comprehensive study showed that most schools serve meals averaging more that 37-40% of their calories from fat. Also that only 1% out of 500 schools serves lunches averaging less than 30% calories from fat (Strauss). This program also calls for legislation to improve school environment, such as increasing the amount of physical activity that a child can get throughout the day. Some schools have even cancelled there recess, which is a major source of a child 's day to day physical activity. It may just look like playing games and having fun to children, but the days add up as an important factor for children 's activity. Professional sports stars are also part of her program to increase children’s physical activity, in a “60 minutes of play a day” program. In her research it is shown that US children currently spend 7.5 hours a day on their computers, watching television or on their mobile devices