In an age of advanced healthcare that is readily accessible in most areas, there is no reason for American children to suffer from a disease that can be prevented. It is devastating to watch a hungry child need food, this is also the case when seeing a child suffer from the effects of childhood obesity. Take the children who have a medical condition or extenuating circumstances out of the equation and look at those who suffer from the poor parenting choices that will affect them for the rest of their lives. The parents of obese children, that do not have a medical condition, should be held legally responsible for the health of their child. It is a growing epidemic in the United States, which will have long term effects on their health and life
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Their internal health should also be protected. The immediate and long term damage from obesity can not only shorten their life span but cause damage to internal organs that decrease the quality of life. With the growing number of obese children in the U.S., we are sure to become a nation of sick people. In The Courses of Childhood Obesity, A Survey, the authors give a quick description of the health concerns surrounding obesity. “Childhood obesity is recognized as a disease by the WHO (World Health Organization) and is associated with sleep apnea, asthma, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis and gall bladder disease, as well as renal, and colon and genitourinary disease.” (Papoutsi, et al, 2016) They explain that the long-term consequences of these in terms of medical cost of treatment, care and health will eventually be more than what is associated with the effects of smoking cigarettes. These long-term health concerns are quickly becoming common problems, but also behavior problems. Children learn through play and life experiences. If a child is physically unable to interact with their environment and social situation, I do not see how their emotional and social development would not also suffer. Even their basic ability to problem solve would be impaired, from not having these …show more content…
A study was done and published by Lisa Newton, Rachel Povey, Abigail Casson and Sarah Grogan that look closely at the experiences and successes of children who have been placed in an intervention pathway to improve their health. They note that the success of these programs depends greatly on client attendance and retention and that when they do not follow through the condition may get worse. But what they could not figure out, is why some families are resistant to treatment. However, they did analyze factors that did seem to identify why the child could become obese and continue that lifestyle. Most of these factors are all relevant to parent choices and parent perceptions. Factors found to influence were: they did not recognize obesity in their child, they considered the obesity to be the norm in society, they blamed some medical issue or genetics for the child’s weight, didn’t consider obesity to be that much of a concern, and that they allowed societal attitudes and comments about obesity to influence them. All these reasons point to the parent and the choices that they have made for their child. For most these children, it is either by the guardian’s poor choices or own prejudices and ignorance that they continue to allow the health of their children to
Their internal health should also be protected. The immediate and long term damage from obesity can not only shorten their life span but cause damage to internal organs that decrease the quality of life. With the growing number of obese children in the U.S., we are sure to become a nation of sick people. In The Courses of Childhood Obesity, A Survey, the authors give a quick description of the health concerns surrounding obesity. “Childhood obesity is recognized as a disease by the WHO (World Health Organization) and is associated with sleep apnea, asthma, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis and gall bladder disease, as well as renal, and colon and genitourinary disease.” (Papoutsi, et al, 2016) They explain that the long-term consequences of these in terms of medical cost of treatment, care and health will eventually be more than what is associated with the effects of smoking cigarettes. These long-term health concerns are quickly becoming common problems, but also behavior problems. Children learn through play and life experiences. If a child is physically unable to interact with their environment and social situation, I do not see how their emotional and social development would not also suffer. Even their basic ability to problem solve would be impaired, from not having these …show more content…
A study was done and published by Lisa Newton, Rachel Povey, Abigail Casson and Sarah Grogan that look closely at the experiences and successes of children who have been placed in an intervention pathway to improve their health. They note that the success of these programs depends greatly on client attendance and retention and that when they do not follow through the condition may get worse. But what they could not figure out, is why some families are resistant to treatment. However, they did analyze factors that did seem to identify why the child could become obese and continue that lifestyle. Most of these factors are all relevant to parent choices and parent perceptions. Factors found to influence were: they did not recognize obesity in their child, they considered the obesity to be the norm in society, they blamed some medical issue or genetics for the child’s weight, didn’t consider obesity to be that much of a concern, and that they allowed societal attitudes and comments about obesity to influence them. All these reasons point to the parent and the choices that they have made for their child. For most these children, it is either by the guardian’s poor choices or own prejudices and ignorance that they continue to allow the health of their children to