Social Class: The Cause Of Childhood Obesity

An individual’s social class (socioeconomic standing) explains and determines many aspects about him or her. Social class is a fundamental cause and can influence many things including childhood obesity. Childhood habits and disorders are not always a directly resulted from something they have done. Typically, children follow the examples and lifestyle of those they are around most. This most often means that family decisions and hobbies influence the children in a way more powerful than simple suggestion. Families in the higher class (also called upper class) are usually involved in communities that support physical sports and hobbies. There are nicer parks available to the children of wealthy families. There are recreational centers …show more content…
There are various forms of peer influence in both the higher and lower classes. In the higher class, one could use the resources available to them and take advantage of his or her privileged opportunity to get in shape and eat healthy (for children this most often is through scheduled activities like karate). Whereas, one could also use it as an excuse to purchase the foods they desire and live a luxurious lifestyle. On the other hand, lower classes could persevere through the need of physical labor. Children in lower classes are actually more likely to play outside. While they also could learn to get money in unlawful ways or simply become lazy because of what they see others do.
Stephanie Schultz
In today’s society there is a huge issue concerning childhood obesity. This is due to the lack of physical activity in our youth. “In just three short decades, the U.S. pediatric obesity rate has triple,” states Calvert, Staiano, and Bond (2013, p.52) If this pattern continues in the direction in which it is, then the generation of children in the near future could become the first to not outlive their parents. Video games and new upcoming technology are also contributors to childhood obesity. These factors would be classified as an upstream factor, or the availability to protective or harmful consumer …show more content…
Healthy lifestyle habits that include healthy eating habits can lower the risk of obesity but the food and beverage industry may influence their choices negatively. It is estimated that more than 80% of parents work outside the home. Because of long work hours and demands of raising a family; parents have to rely on “fast foods” to make sure their children receive a meal each day. Fast food can be defined as processed food with a lot of preservatives that parents rely on to get a quick meal on the table. While some have to turn to drive through restaurants that serve food highly saturated in fat to get all the daily duties completed in a timely manner. Most fast food restaurants cook their menu items in oil. The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy researched the nutritional quality of fast food meals and how they are marketed to children and teens. This research found that a total of $4.6 billion dollars was spent on advertising in 2012. The advertisement continued to target African American and Hispanic youth, which are the most at risk groups for obesity. Although fast food restaurants have changed menu items to offer healthier options, less than 1% of the kids’ menu combination meets the recommended nutritional standards. On average, the United States preschoolers watch 2.8 fast food ads, sweetened beverages, unhealthy snacks, and sugary sugar cereal ads that reward the