AhmedAlazzawi

CompositionII
ProfessorBurns
February,62016
Obesityoverhealth
QuickrunatthegymoraquickruntoMcDonalds?Moreandmorepeoplearegoing
withthelaterandespeciallywiththeyouth.Thisgenerationsadolescentsdonotexercise
enough.Obesityhasrisenandtheyouthareinseriousdanger,theyaredevelopinglifeharming
habitsthatwillresultinnotonlyphysicaldamagebutpsychologicalaswell.Itistimethatwe
openoureyesanddosomethingaboutit.
Theobviousandmostalarminghabitistheirlackofactivity.Theyouthsfreetimeis
spentthroughsedentarybehavior.Consistingoftelevision,videogames,andtheinternet.While
theseactivitiesbythemselvesarenoteviltheydoencourageslothfullifestyles.Thesemediums
ofentertainmentareallstrongmagnetstowardsyouth.Thosewhospendtheirfreetimethrough
thesemeansarelesslikelytoleavetheirhomestogetsomephysicalactivity.Youwouldexpect
kidstogettheirexercisefromschool,butthatisnotentirelytrue.TheCDCreleasedsomefacts
statingthatin2013,only29%ofhighschoolstudentsattendedphysicaleducationclassesdaily
whileonly27.1%participatedinatleastsixtyminutesofphysicalactivityperday.Thisis
shocking.Schoolsneedtoworkonpromotingexercisetodevelophealthyhabits,butthat
cannotbeachievedwithoutthehelpofparentsandotherstoencouragethemtoliveahealthier
lifestyle.Iftheirlackofexercisewasnotenough,obesityinyouthisalsobasedontheir
consumption.

Thisgenerationsyouthconsumehighsugar,highcalorie,andlownutritionsnacksand
foods.Whichareoftentimesusedasrewardsandincentive.Theyarealsousedtoreplaceameal
alltogether.Thisinstillsbadeatinghabits.Insteadoftheseunhealthypractices,theyouth
shouldhaveaccessandbegivenmorenutritionalsnacksandfoodstolowertheirriskofobesity
alongwithexercise.Thisunhealthyeatinghabitsandlackofexercisehascausedtheobesity
percentagetorisefrom7%in1980to21%in2012forchildrenage6
11whilechildren12
19
wentfrom5%to21%(CDC).Obesityinyouthhavemorethandoubledinthistimespan.If
childrenweretohavealifestyleconsistingofmorephysicalactivitythenthefatsfromthe
snacksandfoodswouldhavebeenburnedoff.Thisshowsthatevenwithamoderateunhealthy
consumption,anequalifnotmorequantityofexercisecouldeffectivelylowertherateof
obesityandallnegativeeffectsthatfollowwithit.
Therearethefewexceptionwherechildhoodobesityisnotaresultofexternalfactors,
butinsteaditlieswiththeirgenetics.Therearecaseswhereachildsweightproblemismainly
ageneticproblem.Inthosecases,eventhehealthiestofhabitsmaynotbeenoughtoprevent
themfrombecomingobese.Thatbeingsaid,thedramaticincreaseinadolescentobesityis
clearlynotaresultofgenetic,butinsteadaresultofunhealthylifestyles.Obesityhasmore
damagingeffectthemainvisibleoneisthatitcausesthepersontobeatahighriskforanarray
oflifethreateningconditionsthatwouldotherwiseberareforachild.Theseconditionsinclude
typetwodiabetes,asthma,andhypertension.Alongwithorthopedicdamagesuchasjointstress
causedbyweightandskindamagelikeheatrashesorMonilialdermatitis.Obesityatayoung
agealsohasofhighriskofcontinuingintoadulthoodifnottakencareof.

Obesityinadultscausesevengreaterandmorethreateningconditionssuchasheart
diseases,highbloodpressure,alongwithcertainformsofcancer.Typetwodiabetesisalsoa
riskforobeseadults(USHealthandHumanServices).Physicalrisksarenottheonlyeffectsof
obesity,withitalsocomespsychologicalProblems.Peoplewithobesitytendtohaveanegative
selfesteem.Inaculturethatpraisesbeingskinnyandfit,causesobeseindividualstofeelbad
aboutthemselvesthatleadstopsychologicalissues.Theseissuescommonlyincludedepression.
Obeseyoutharealsodiscriminatedandbullied.Thisinstillsfearandleadschildrentowithdraw
fromtheirsocialcirclesandfalldeeperintodepressionandcausesmanytoresorttoextreme
methodslikesuicide.
Manyobesepeoplealsoresorttobulimictendenciesthatareequallyasdangerous.
Depressionisnotadisordertobetakenlightly.Depressioncanlowerresistancetoillnesses,
evenfurthertheirobesity,andcausesindividualstotakerisksthatapersonwithoutdepression
normallywouldnot.Childrentodayareatanevengreaterriskthantheyarecapableofrealizing
themselves.Iftheirunhealthyhabitsarenotaddressedquicklyandatanearlystage,thentheir
livesarejeopardized.Theirunhealthyhabitscouldleadtoserioushardshipslaterintheirlife,
bothphysicalandpsychological,andalsoleadtodisordersthatthreaten,lowerthequality,and
ruinthepotentialoftheirlives.
Itistimeforusasadultstoteachtheyouthandencouragethem,ifnotenforcehealthier
lifestyles.Ifwedonotdoanythingthenthisgenerationwillserveasanexampletofuture
generations.Thisultimatelywillleadtoaworldsufferingofnotonlyobesity,butotherlife
threateningdiseasesanddisorders.Thisallcanbepreventedbytakingsmallmeasuressuchas

limitingayouthsaccesstosedentaryactivitiesandinsteadencourageamorephysicalactivity
alongwithahealthierdiet.


Bibliography

C.(2015,June17).PhysicalActivityFacts.RetrievedApril07,2016,from
<http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm>.

Greene,B.(2006,May).CaloriesIn,CaloriesOut:FoodandExerciseinPublicElementary
Schools,2005ScheduledPhysicalEducation.RetrievedApril07,2016,from
<http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/nutrition/02F.asp>.

Sattelmair,J.(2009,January1).PhysicallyActivePlayandCognition.RetrievedApril7,2016,
<http://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdfarticles/13arti
clephysicallyactiveplayandcognition.pdf>.