Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a growing dilemma in the United States of America. According to the United States Department of Health & Human Services, in the last two decades alone childhood obesity has almost tripled in our country. They also stated that "In 1999, 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in the United States were overweight". This is a problem that needs to be looked at as if it is a curable disease.

Childhood obesity is responsible for a great deal of health, mental, and social problems that children face now and may face later in life as adults. In an article that was in the NYU Child Study Center, Lauren Marcus, Ph.D., and Amanda Baron, M.S.W., state that 30% of adults that are obese started that way as children. They further go on and state that obesity accounts for over 300,000 deaths a year and cost the American tax-payers almost $100 billion a year. Parents need to take action now before their children fall victim to this predicament. If by some chance your child or children already have this as an obstacle that they need to hurdle, it is not too late to make the changes needed to put them back on track with having a healthy life.

To understand why childhood obesity should be considered as a most significant problem, let's first look at the negative effects that it can have on a child's health. According to USA WEEKEND Magazine obese children "are at high risk of developing bone and joint problems, asthma, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes before they even graduate from high school". These are all serious health problems that can shorten ones life and make their quality of life decrease as well.

Mentally many obese children have very low self esteem. This may come from negative comments at home directed at the child for being obese. In most cases the main cause of the mental anguish that these children go through comes from other children. Many times obese children are made fun of, excluded from games, bullied, and are made to feel like outcasts. As these children get older the social problems usually continue and can range from not getting dates to job discrimination.

Now more then ever, it is apparent that this is something that not only affects a single individual, but our entire nation, we need to look at the causes of childhood obesity so that we can find a solution to this dilemma. There are many causes to obesity in children. Some of these causes are: genetics, unhealthy eating patterns, a lack of physical activities, more availability to unhealthy food, or any combination of these and other factors.

Obesity can be a genetic disposition passed down from generations. Many people that are closely related tend to have some of the same characteristics. This can be height, hair color, eye color, and yes even their weight or body shape. Relatives can often have a predisposition to smoke, gamble, drink, and yes even over eat.

Unhealthy eating patterns can be caused by observation. Children absorb the environment and those in it, like a sponge absorbs water. When a child sees a parents eating unhealthy they can pick up that habit. The same goes with their peers. If their friends are obese and always eating foods that are not nutritious, or if they always over eat the child may also pick up these bad habits as well. People are creatures of their environment, an old saying states "when in Rome do as the Romans do."

A lack of physical activity can also cause obesity in children and is one of the major reasons why there has been such an increase over the last two decades. I can recall growing up and being told to go out and play. We would play cops and robbers, baseball, football, have races, play tag, and do many other physical activities. A lot of today's children have something that I did not get until I was almost a teenager, video games. Not only do they have video games but they also have something that I did not have until I was an adult, computers. A major cause of this lack of physical activity is due to these new technologies. Children no longer need to leave the house to interact with other kids. Now they can chat on line, play games over the internet, play videogames alone or with friends in their living rooms, and virtually do those things that I recall doing as a child, like playing sports.

Not to sound like I am reminiscing on my childhood days, but another big difference is the food that is available at the schools American children now attend. I can recall eating nasty dry meatloaf, with hard mashed potatoes, some creation of mixed vegetables, and either my choice of milk or juice to wash it down with. Although the food may have lacked good taste, the meals that we had in school were much more nutritious then what most children eat there today. Now there are vending machines in schools with: potato chips, cookies, candy bars, ice cream, soda, and various other goodies. Some days children may be rewarded with unhealthy snacks in the class room, and in most schools there are numerous fundraisers where unhealthy treats are sold to and consumed by the children (Koplan, Kraak, and Liverman 284).

Now that we have admitted that a problem exists we have taken the first step to fixing it, before it reaches a greater magnitude. Where do we go next? The next logical place to start is at home. Children look up to their parents and usually want to be like them and do the things that they see them do. Parents can start by making sure that their children have a nutritious breakfast every morning to start the day of right. Educate your children on making their own healthy choices at school and various other places that they eat at, without you.

If the school your children attend does not provide healthy choices you can become active and bring it to the attention of other parents and the school. Perhaps they can cook the food differently to cut down on the amount of grease and calories that are in some of the foods, or maybe they can add some additional vegetables or salads to their menus. In addition to this the school could have unhealthy vending machines and junk food that they sell taken out or replaced with healthier options. If you choose not to get that involved, you can send your children to school with a healthy lunch which could include: granola bars, rice cakes, a piece of fruit, or even a yogurt as a snack.

When your children get home from school make sure that if they snack before dinner they have something healthy. Making dinner is not just another chore that you must perform every day, but it is also another chance for your children to eat healthy. Perhaps you can add a salad to a meal to give them additional nutrition. These days' salads come prepackaged if you don't have the time to make one. For a desert perhaps ice cream and cakes can be replaced by sherbet or rice pudding, at the same time there is also nothing wrong with them having cake, candy, or other goodies, but just as with most things in life, have them in moderation. If you teach your children well they can make better informed decisions and eat healthier even when you are not with them and continue this even when they have children of their own. Once you have done this, you have taken a big step in the correct direction to helping them be healthier.

Exercise, this can not be emphasized enough. Computers are a great way to learn and video games can be fun and even improve hand-eye coordination as well as getting your children to think and use their imaginations, but just like food they need to be had in moderation. When children are growing up they are learning everything that will create the adult that they are to become. A good way of getting them more exercise is to get them involved with a team sport. This will have many great effects on your children if it is in a positive environment and not just one which is focused on winning. This will allow them to get exercise, meet new people and make friends, learn to follow directions, and learn to work together in a group to achieve goals. In addition, this is also another way for them to have fun and enjoy their precious childhood while they are still young.

Once parents look at childhood obesity as a serious problem, that will affect their children in a very negative way, and make the commitment to solving this now, they can start making positive changes right away. This is a dilemma that can and will be beat if parents take that an active role, being not only a friend to their children but also a role model. Meanwhile if nothing is being done to help these children that are suffering with this great obstacle, they will continue to lose their quality of life and perhaps even die early due to the many health problems that can be caused from obesity. I challenge all parents to take this very serious, and start making a positive difference in the life of your children today!

Works Cited

Baron, Amanda, M.S.W. and Marcus, Lauren, Ph.D. "Childhood Obesity: The

Effects on Physical and Mental Health." NYU Child Study Center

CHANGING THE FACE OF MENTAL HEALTH. 24 Sept. 2003

AboutOurKids.org 20 June 2006
"Childhood obesity: Lifestyle changes are essential." USA WEEKEND Magazine
4 Jan. 2004. USA WEEKEND 20 June 2006 .
Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and
Youth. Preventing childhood obesity : health in balance Eds. Catharyn T.
Liverman, Jeffrey Koplan, and Vivica I. Kraak. Washington, D.C.:
National Academies Press, 2005
"The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and
Obesity" United States Department of Health & Human Services 20 June
2006 .