The Problem of Child Obesity 1

Why Child Obesity is a National Health Issue

Lily A. Marquart

Saginaw Valley State University

The Problem of Child Obesity 2

Child obesity is an issue many across the United States face, as well as over the world.

Many health issues can arise due to obesity that carries into adulthood. Some of these health

problems include high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart issues even after weight loss. Some people

think that obesity is not an issue and is offensive to be talked about like it is one. They think that

children being “chubby” is something that they will grow out of with growth spurts and comes

with no consequences. This is not true, though, because obesity can hurt a child for the rest of

their life physically and mentally. Child obesity is a major health problem that many people like

to ignore but is actually something that everyone needs more knowledge about in order to defeat

it.

Child obesity is a major health issue that people need to be more aware of and taken

seriously. However, some people believe that childhood obesity is not a major health issue and

that researchers create the fear of consequences to make money off of it (Pereira, n.d). They

think that diet and exercise corporations use obesity as an object and only create weight issues

and eating disorders in people who are self-conscious of their bodies. These feelings in children

make parents afraid of obesity and start restricting their children’s food. Children start to be put

on diets at very young ages. Many children today are on diets before middle school (Pereira,

n.d). This can be a scary thought that children diet before they even really know about food

proportions. Many people believe that people should be able to eat whatever they want without

others voicing their opinions. Parents have control over what food is bought, how much exercise

children get, and teaching their children to take responsibility. They also have the power to

prevent severe obesity in their children. While many parents overly freak out about their

children’s diet, those few who don’t are the ones whose children’s health is in danger.
The Problem of Child Obesity 3

The nutritional health of children has changed dramatically since the early 1900s. During

the Great Depression, much of America had an immense issue of severe malnutrition. Children

across the nation were not able to eat that much food since many parents were laid off from work

(Spain, Bialeschki, Henderson, 2005). America has run its course and created a new issue for

children today: obesity. Kids today do not eat the correct foods and balance their diets as they

should. According to Marion Nestle (n.d), some of the consequences of obesity are severe and

many children cannot overcome them, even during adulthood. Today, children burn fewer

calories from physical exercise and eat an excessive amount of food. Insufficient sleep can

contribute to poor food choice selection (Burnit, 2002). Children should be getting over nine

hours of sleep every night, and unfortunately, this is not always what happens (Burnit, 2002).

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five

children is obese (Young, 2019). For better understanding, the Economic Research Service of the

United States Department of Agriculture compared households in which there is at least one

obese child with one where there is not. They found that households with obese children live in

more disadvantaged environments. Many families that have at least one obese child also have a

disadvantage in education. Jo Young (2019) emphasized that less than a quarter of mothers (23

percent) and fathers (21 percent) had a college degree or higher among obese-child households

compared to over a third of mothers (35 percent) and fathers (38 percent) among nonobese-child

households. The results from the study showed that education from the child, as well as parent,

plays a major role in children’s wellbeing. Children in low-income areas tend to live closer to

fast-food restaurants, making them have a higher risk for childhood obesity (Research Corner,

2010). Unhealthy foods seem to be cheaper and easier to obtain than healthy foods. Foods such

as salads and fruits and vegetables are much more expensive than fast foods with dollar menus.
The Problem of Child Obesity 4

High-income children are more likely to live around features that promote exercise, such as

parks with playgrounds (Research Corner, 2010). Playgrounds are a great way for children to

exercise without realizing it and without them, low-income children have little to do other than

watch television and eat snacks. Research Corner (2010) discusses that “Researchers examined

data representing seventy-one million US children from the National Health and Nutrition

Examination Survey and found that black and Mexican American boys aged twelve to nineteen

are more likely to be severely obese.” Not only is money a factor in child obesity, but the race is

too.

There are many medical complications that are related to adolescent obesity such as

cardiovascular diseases and orthopedic problems. Spain, Bialeschki, Henderson (2005)

commented that osteoarthritic changes in the knees due to the force of weight put on them from

childhood obesity evolves to an adult disability, hinting that child obesity is a long-term issue.

They suggest that “adolescence is one of the most clinical periods for preventing and treating

obesity” (Spain, Bialeschki, Henderson, 2005). Obese children have an increased probability of

becoming adults with obesity in comparison to non-obese children. This can be due to clinical

and behavioral programs not being covered by insurance or by just not being aware of the

problems that come with obesity. Obesity has development factors for many physical and

psychosocial problems like eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction as well. These

psychosocial problems are very serious mental issues like depression, which is also another

major health epidemic.

Overproduction of food is one of the major sources behind the creation of child obesity.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has goals of “promoting American
The Problem of Child Obesity 5

agricultural products and to advise the public about how best to use those products” (Nestle,

255). The USDA is faced with the problem of asking Americans to feed their children less of

unhealthy foods like meat, dairy, fried foods, soft drinks, and potato chips” (Nestle, 255). Food

availability figures have gone up about 600 calories per person since 1970. This means that

Americans can eat almost an entire extra meal worth of calories that they do not need, causing

weight gain. Overproduction causes food competitors to encourage people to eat more to not

waste production and in doing so, encouraging obesity. Ben Spencer expresses that seventy-five

percent of babies from four to eighteen months are fed more than recommended levels and that

one-fifth of children entering primary school are overweight.

Marketers target young children to increase sales by knowing what to put on packaging

and advertisements that would attract them. Media today is a very popular way of attracting the

attention of younger audiences. Food firms advertise baby snacks like yogurt, cereal, fruit

snacks, and juice as healthy to parents, but they are quite the opposite (Spencer, 2019). Toddler

snacks such as boxed mac ‘n’ cheese, chips, and goldfish are just as bad as baby snacks

(Spencer, 2019). Many food industries lie about the nutritional facts in products. The Royal

College of Pediatrics and Child Health reported that sugary baby foods hook children to sweet

food for the rest of their lives (Spencer, 2019).

Adolescents’ mental health is especially in danger if they are obese. They have a need to

be accepted by their peers, just like most teenagers. However, this can be difficult for obese

children to find “acceptable” clothing and to participate in group activities involving physical

exercise. Karen Woerner and Debra Wagner (2013) insist that how authors and illustrators

choose to describe and depict child characters in children’s books may have an influence on
The Problem of Child Obesity 6

weight loss and body image in children. Images of men and women as “normal” are what

children look up to as ideal. Obese characters in books and media are dumb, mean, and lazy.

This can create psychological problems for children since they are represented so harshly in the

media. The depictions create the idea to children that they don’t fit in if they are obese (Woerner

and Wagner, 2013).

While technology advancements help society, they can also negatively impact children.

Beauchamp (2019) claims that “Sitting is the new smoking seems to be a catchphrase these days

to describe the harmful effects of a chronic sedentary lifestyle.” A lack of exercise can cause

children’s focus, learning, remembering, emotions, and sleep to become disturbed (Beauchamp

2019). Many parents solely blame technology for obesity, but a large percentage of parents spend

family time in front of a television. It is basically a double standard of parents trying to enforce

technology rules onto children but then encouraging them to spend time with them while

watching television.

Targeting obesity at young ages lowers the probability of obesity from occurring in

adulthood. One aspect of approaching the situation is from a population standpoint in

communities, schools, and health care settings. This means that the population of people is

taught how much of a problem obesity is. Another way is to approach overweight and obese

children and help them get to a healthier weight under medical situations. Early prevention of

obesity happens during the first two years of a child’s life. Parents should be taught how to eat

healthy for both parent and child.

Jeffery Koplan concluded that “there is a lack of systematic tracking and evaluation of

childhood obesity prevention interventions” (Koplan, 2007, pg.352). A change in lifestyle is

The Problem of Child Obesity 7

needed to lower child obesity. The World Health Organization revealed that sixty percent of

mortality worldwide is from obesity and other related chronic diseases. This is a very scary

statistic and shows how real the problem of obesity really is. While many parents do not want to

think of obesity as a problem for their children, it is something that needs to be taken seriously.

Without the scientific community, many children would die younger from diseases that could

actually be avoided.

The levels of funding and resources from the government are not equivalent to how

serious this epidemic really is and needs to be brought to the attention of the public. There is a

need for industries to change food products to appropriate proportion sizes and to easily convey

nutritional facts on the packaging. Attention is also needed to be raised in schools to fix the

decreasing amount of physical activities and the need to improve the nutritional quality of

lunches. Families need support and education on how to help their overweight children as well as

how to prevent it from happening. Child obesity is not only a physical problem but a mental

issue too. More awareness needs to be raised about how this is an actual issue and not scientists

and doctors trying to scam people for money and recognition. Educating children as well as

parents allows obesity rates to start to decline. Children need to create better eating and exercise

habits. Without a healthy balance of calorie intake and loss, weight gain is an all-time high.

Schools, parents, and the government can help eliminate the problem of obesity. However,

without people recognizing the issue of obesity, nothing will be done to fight obesity.
The Problem of Child Obesity 8

References
Balkenbush, K. (2018). Childhood obesity prevention and treatment. Today’s Dietitian, 20(8),

52.

Beauchamp, N. (2019). 4 sneaky ways technology is affecting your family’s health and may

affect your child’s new school year. Exceptional Parent, 49(9), 31–33.

Burniat, W. (2002). Child and adolescent obesity. [electronic resource]: causes and

consequences, prevention and management.

Koplan, J. (2007). Progress in preventing childhood obesity. [electronic resource]: how do we

measure up?

Nestle, M. (n.d). School food, public policy, and strategies for change.
The Problem of Child Obesity 9

Pereira, J. (n.d). Childhood obesity not on the rise. Healthy lifestyle balance. Retrieved from

http://www.healthylifestylebalance.com/childhood-obesity.htmlC.

Research corner. (2010). Neighborhood surroundings may affect whether children are

overweight...Reprinted from April 2010 Research Activities. Alabama Nurse, 37(3), 11.

Spain, V. K., Bialeschki, M. D., & Henderson, K. A. (2005). Kids and healthy lifestyles.

Camping Magazine, 78(5), 1.

Spencer, B. (2019). The “healthy” baby snacks that are packed with sugar; food firms “fueling

child obesity” with labels that focus on fruit and vegetables. Daily Mail (London,

England).

Woerner, K., & Wagner, D. (2013). An examination of children’s books for descriptions of

children’s body types.

Young Jo. (2017). Households with at least one obese child differ in several ways from those

without. Amber Waves: The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, & Rural

America, 5–8.