Childhood Obesity
A major health concern for parents, doctors, and health institutions is Childhood Obesity. Today, about one in three kids are overweight or obese which is nearly triple the rate in 1971 (AHS). Among children today, obesity is the major cause for a variety of healthy problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood. These issues include: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular/respiratory factors and metabolic syndrome. Obesity not only plays a role on your physical health but also psychologically. Obese children tend to have a lower self-esteem, negative body image, and often feel the need to withdraw from society. By using the typical BMI (body mass index) scale, it is important to see which of the four …show more content…
First off, a healthy diet is the most important. Controlling calorie intake, being cautious of what foods you are consuming and being aware and what you are putting into your body are vital to developing a healthy diet. By reducing calorie intake and taking baby steps, it makes it a lot more efficient and manageable for these children instead of just make such a sharp, rapid change. According to Prevention, “ …. taking baby steps—not giant leaps—is the best way to get lasting results” (Shaffer). Also, when parents use junk food such as cake, cookies and other sweets as a reward or punishment, it definitely makes the child have a negative perspective for healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. The MyPlate website along with the pyramid is a very efficient tool. It categorizes the different food groups and shows how much of eat one should be consuming on a daily basis. It helps control portions and gives better options for each food group. So by using that, children can definitely learn how to adopt a healthier eating pattern and make these small changes to obtain a better lifestyle. A well-developed meal plan is very beneficial to preventing childhood obesity. The next vital step is engaging in daily physical activity. Since most can find exercise to be boring, one can make it enjoyable by participating in numerous activities outside and even get together with some friends. Whether …show more content…
The percentage of obesity in children ages 6–11 increased from 4.0% in 1971–1974 to 18% in 2012 (AHA). This number is extremely dangerous and must be very devastating for the parents of these children suffering from it. Not only does it affects children now, but if this number keeps rising and nothing is done about it, it will affect children in our future in America. Both the causes and effects of childhood obesity are scary and serious, but if we take preventative matter to stop the numbers from increasing, we can put a stop to this epidemic. With the combination of both a healthy diet and active lifestyle, a child reduces the risk of becoming obese by a lot. These steps must be taken and enforced now for children, otherwise the percentages will continue to climb, putting children 's lives and health in
A major health concern for parents, doctors, and health institutions is Childhood Obesity. Today, about one in three kids are overweight or obese which is nearly triple the rate in 1971 (AHS). Among children today, obesity is the major cause for a variety of healthy problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood. These issues include: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular/respiratory factors and metabolic syndrome. Obesity not only plays a role on your physical health but also psychologically. Obese children tend to have a lower self-esteem, negative body image, and often feel the need to withdraw from society. By using the typical BMI (body mass index) scale, it is important to see which of the four …show more content…
First off, a healthy diet is the most important. Controlling calorie intake, being cautious of what foods you are consuming and being aware and what you are putting into your body are vital to developing a healthy diet. By reducing calorie intake and taking baby steps, it makes it a lot more efficient and manageable for these children instead of just make such a sharp, rapid change. According to Prevention, “ …. taking baby steps—not giant leaps—is the best way to get lasting results” (Shaffer). Also, when parents use junk food such as cake, cookies and other sweets as a reward or punishment, it definitely makes the child have a negative perspective for healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. The MyPlate website along with the pyramid is a very efficient tool. It categorizes the different food groups and shows how much of eat one should be consuming on a daily basis. It helps control portions and gives better options for each food group. So by using that, children can definitely learn how to adopt a healthier eating pattern and make these small changes to obtain a better lifestyle. A well-developed meal plan is very beneficial to preventing childhood obesity. The next vital step is engaging in daily physical activity. Since most can find exercise to be boring, one can make it enjoyable by participating in numerous activities outside and even get together with some friends. Whether …show more content…
The percentage of obesity in children ages 6–11 increased from 4.0% in 1971–1974 to 18% in 2012 (AHA). This number is extremely dangerous and must be very devastating for the parents of these children suffering from it. Not only does it affects children now, but if this number keeps rising and nothing is done about it, it will affect children in our future in America. Both the causes and effects of childhood obesity are scary and serious, but if we take preventative matter to stop the numbers from increasing, we can put a stop to this epidemic. With the combination of both a healthy diet and active lifestyle, a child reduces the risk of becoming obese by a lot. These steps must be taken and enforced now for children, otherwise the percentages will continue to climb, putting children 's lives and health in