The Child Obesity Epidemic
The epidemic of childhood obesity is fierce. The problem is scattered all around the nation from the east coast to the west. Hispanics, Åfrican Americans, Whites, males, females, are all prone to obesity. For the past few years this issue has caught more attention to people around the country. Nearly 18% of children in America are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The number of overweight or obese children continues to grow throughout the country. The youth is experiencing concerning health problems, a lack of physical activity, depression and self-esteem issues because of this epidemic they are having to face. Obesity rates have more than tripled in the United States, and struggles with some of the highest obesity rates in the world. One out of six children are obese, about 12.7 million in America. Obesity is now the number one health concern with parents, topping smoking, and drugs. Nearly seventeen percent of children in America are obese, and that number has held steady for many years, and will continue to rise. Only two percent of children eat a healthy diet on a regular basis, …show more content…
It will approximately cost $19,000 per child with obesity problems to get the proper medical help that they will need (Over a Lifetime). Not only does it cost a lot of money to be obese, but people are risking their life expectancy at the minimum of five years. Just by eating a proper meal, and getting physical activity somone could prevent obesity, save money, and have a longer life expectancy. With childhood obesity comes self esteem issues, and depression. Many kids get teased or bullied over their weight. Studies have shown that obese kids will miss school four times more often than most kids. There are a number of factors as to why they would want to skip school such as fear of getting bullied, or embarrassed
The epidemic of childhood obesity is fierce. The problem is scattered all around the nation from the east coast to the west. Hispanics, Åfrican Americans, Whites, males, females, are all prone to obesity. For the past few years this issue has caught more attention to people around the country. Nearly 18% of children in America are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The number of overweight or obese children continues to grow throughout the country. The youth is experiencing concerning health problems, a lack of physical activity, depression and self-esteem issues because of this epidemic they are having to face. Obesity rates have more than tripled in the United States, and struggles with some of the highest obesity rates in the world. One out of six children are obese, about 12.7 million in America. Obesity is now the number one health concern with parents, topping smoking, and drugs. Nearly seventeen percent of children in America are obese, and that number has held steady for many years, and will continue to rise. Only two percent of children eat a healthy diet on a regular basis, …show more content…
It will approximately cost $19,000 per child with obesity problems to get the proper medical help that they will need (Over a Lifetime). Not only does it cost a lot of money to be obese, but people are risking their life expectancy at the minimum of five years. Just by eating a proper meal, and getting physical activity somone could prevent obesity, save money, and have a longer life expectancy. With childhood obesity comes self esteem issues, and depression. Many kids get teased or bullied over their weight. Studies have shown that obese kids will miss school four times more often than most kids. There are a number of factors as to why they would want to skip school such as fear of getting bullied, or embarrassed