Causes Of Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity in the United States has reached an alarming prevalence, this is a serious epidemic, which directly correlates with several health concerns. The future lies in the hands of today’s children and the first priority ought to be the empowering America 's youth to ensure the health of the next generation. Research is centered on treatment; however the point of convergence ought to be counteractive action. Two-thirds of Americans are obese or overweight, not to mention that the number of obese adults has doubled within the last thirty years. Furthermore, twenty-five million children in the United States are currently obese or overweight. These children are at an increased risk for diseases, which incorporate diabetes, hypertension, …show more content…
The major cause of childhood obesity is caloric intake because an individual should burn the same number of calories expended daily. The pounds begin to add up when there are more calories being consumed than burned. As a result, food consumption and psychical inactivity are key components in childhood obesity. There are many contributing factors to childhood obesity, yet there has to be a starting point in searching for a solution, and environmental factors have the most influence on individuals. Environmental variables contribute a great extent as far as the increased rates of obesity because it is extremely unlikely that hereditary qualities have altered that much in the last thirty years.(Crawford, 2013) In addition, each year a child is exposed to forty thousand fast food advertisements, which influences their choices. Today’s generation of children spends the majority of their day using media, which includes television, playing video games, and sitting in front of the computer. It is estimated that about five and a half hours are spent on media. This takes away from the physical activity aspect, which is essential; subsequently children are having serious health concerns that have lifelong impacts.(Green,