Persuasive Essay On Childhood Obesity

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Obesity in children

Childhood obesity in America is a very serious problem affecting many children from different age groups, currently the issue of childhood obesity is a problem that continues to grow each year. “In 2010, 43 million preschool children were overweight or obese, a 60 percent increase since 1990”(Child). Childhood obesity is a condition in which a child is significantly overweight for his or her age and height (Mayo). Over the years America has grown, and so has its people, because of this many children are developing many health risks that they should not be getting, at a young age they are not getting enough attention the child should be getting.

Many people are aware of obesity, but believe it's not a critical
issue to care much about, what they do not know is all the health risks that children develop. Obesity can affect almost every system in a child’s body from their hearts to lungs. The health risks are Heart disease,Type 2 diabetes, Asthma, Sleep apnea, Social discrimination ,High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Fatty liver disease. In addition this can even affect the hormones that have a control over puberty and blood sugar, at a young age so many kids are getting these diseases that they shouldn't be getting at all throughout their lives. Very often children are left behind because people believe that the child will lose all the weight, but in reality they will not the health risks are even worse as they grow “Obese children are more likely to become obese adults. Adult obesity is associated with a number of serious health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. If children are overweight, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe” (@UCSDHealth). Unfortunately many people are not paying enough attention to this problem, the problem should be solved when a child is beginning to show symptoms of obesity.

In consideration of the health risks of childhood obesity, everyday more and more children are becoming obese overall the increase in obesity also is influenced by a the child's community and what the parents decide to feed their families. As a consequence of parents deciding what to feed their kids, childhood obesity isn't stopping. As a matter of fact it's continuing, it is not just happening in the U.S, but happening all over the world but mostly it is happening in the U.S “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S and today, the country has some of the highest obesity rates in the world. Although the overall of U.S. child obesity rate has held steady since 2008, some groups have continued to see increases, and some groups have higher rates of obesity than others”(Child). In addition racial and ethnic may have an influence on obesity “All children 16.9%, Black 20.2%, Latino 22.4%, and White 14.3% (The) . Unfortunately many of these families don't have the resources to living or eating healthy, it is challenging for many children and their parents to make healthy decisions about food. Also many child are not getting enough physical activity, they are spending many hours of the day inside watching T.V or playing video games, this also affecting childhood obesity.

In 2010 The First Lady Michelle Obama has been involved on a campaign called “Let's Move!” and the campaigns stands to “raise a healthier generation” (Let's).
This campaign like many other campaigns are dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity, so children born today will grow up healthier and without any diseases they should not be getting at a young age. Parents, teachers, and doctors should encourage children to get more active and eat healthier foods. General ways to prevent children from becoming obese are limiting unhealthy foods, sugary beverages, increasing physical activity, and limiting television time “Meals were home-cooked with reasonable portion sizes and there was always a vegetable on the plate. Eating fast food was rare and snacking between meals was an occasional treat”(Let's). Remarkably everything was different back then, and trying to make everything be the same is not going to work, but if more adults in courage child to be active and eat more healthy foods there can be a change. “Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community-based organizations, and private sector companies” (Let’s). Additionally paying attention to the younger generations, will help reduce the rate of adult obesity, if more people helped less children will become obese which will also reduce childhood
obesity.

Obesity is a major problem that is seen in many people from different age groups, from young children, teenagers, and adults. Over the years the rate of obesity has skyrocketed, it is seen more often than ever. Although people don't talk about the obesity rate in young children, which has dropped down by 43% in a decade. Resulting in shock for many people,“experts say it is the gold standard for evidence on what Americans weigh. The trend came as welcome surprise to researchers”(Tavernise). Obesity is still a huge problem for many Americans, people don't realize that the rate is decreasing “The figures on Tuesday showed a sharp fall in obesity rates among all 2-to-5-year-olds, offering the first clear evidence that America’s youngest children have turned a corner in the obesity epidemic”(Tavernise). Although the obesity rate has dropped, obesity is still a big issue that should not be ignored.

As a result many children are getting obese and adults aren't having much of an impact to

avoid having young children get obese, meaning that obesity has yet to prove a point of how critical this issue is because the later in life that the child gets help the more health risks that they will cross lines with. Many people need to pay more attention to this issue and make an impact with their actions and not just words, doing nothing will impact many generations not just the current generations.