Effects On Childhood Obesity

One epidemic that affects many children and adolescents across the United States is obesity. Did you know that childhood obesity is increasing at alarming rate? According to the Minnesota Department of Health, between 1980 and 2007-08, overweight has tripled in youth 6-11 years of age and more than tripled among youth 12-19 years of age (“Obesity”). Childhood obesity is defined as a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. Children who are obese are above the normal weight for their age and height (Mayo Clinic). Determining whether someone is obese or not is measured by BMI which a lot of Americans confuse it with. The BMI is used to calculate heights and weights which is often gathered from each check up (Harvard Public Health). Childhood obesity has been on the rise since the 1970’s and continues to be a growing issue. Currently, about one in three American children and adolescents are considered overweight or obese. In addition, the rate of obesity in children has more than tripled from 1971 to 2011. More importantly, in 1970’s, only about five percent of children were …show more content…
Getting a ride, renting a movie in the comfort of your home, and other items are all things you can possibly get in less than ten minutes. Subsequently, fast food has been something that many Americans have access to for the last couple of years which becomes the main problem for obesity. In numerous big cities and towns you’re more than likely to find couple of fast food restaurants that take less than five minutes to prepare food. Even though fast food meals are quick, many take advantage of it and often don’t realize the food that they’re intaking. According to Dr. Ananya Mandal, studies have shown that in the U.S per capita calorie intake increased by more than 300 kilocalories among the entire population from 1985 through 2002. Unfortunately, the numbers have only risen over the past decade