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Claims-Making in Action

Childhood obesity is a significant problem in the US. Putting adolescence and young

children at risk of poor health. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC), obesity prevalence affects about 19.3 % of the population in the US,

affecting approximately 14.4 million both adolescents and children. I attended an educational

event in Houston, Texas. The event was meant to enlighten both the parents and the teachers

on the need for their children to eat healthily, the types of food to eat, and the risk factors of

obesity in children. I chose this event because I always love children, and anything is about

their concerns. I choose to be part of it.

The event started early on 15 Sept. 2021, with government officials from Texas in

attendance; parents and teachers from various schools were also present. I talked to multiple

parents with whom their children were obese and the state health director on the extent of the

problem obesity in children has caused. The event was attended by approximately 500

people, both male and female.

Obesity in children has been increasing over the recent past in the US, the obesity

prevalence of children between 5 and 11 years being 20.3% (Cuschieri et al 1). Therefore,

this makes it a major social problem because it is linked with numerous health conditions

such as heart conditions, diabetes, high blood pressure, and social issues that include

discrimination, low self-esteem, and depression. Thus, a proposed solution included; food

policies, National lunch policies in schools where there are more servings of vegetables, and

reduction of sugars in their lunch boxes (Ludwig et al., 3). The Affordable Care Act
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introduced by the government is also meant to help people with obese-related conditions

receive the best healthcare. The initiative was aimed to start at a micro level, where parents

and teachers are expected to change the eating diets and habits of the children.

Most of the people I talked to who participated in the event had someone or knew a

child somewhere battling obese-related conditions and expected to learn how these conditions

could be prevented. This made it vital for them. Apart from free healthy meals provided,

affected people who attend these events also often get motivated to know, they are not the

only ones facing the issue and that someone is looking out for them.

The event was a success, and although most people claimed their financial situations

to be a hindrance to their attainment of healthy eating goals, they claimed that the problem is

solvable since they could reduce expenses on other things and significant on healthy eating.

A parent I spoke to claimed to have a backyard with which she intended to grow fruits and

vegetables in a quest to help her children eat healthily.

Obesity cases among the children in the US have seen a significant increase during

the pandemic, with those who were healthy before gaining about 1.6 kg and those who were

already obese gaining up to 6.6 kilograms (Cuschieri et al 1).This is alarming, but if the

solutions are given at the event and government intervention on the same, there is an

expectation of an improvement.

The proposed solutions from the event could help put the graph on obesity on a

downward slope. The Affordable care Act also will go a long way in providing affordable

health care to those already affected. The government could also introduce high taxes on

harmful foods to discourage their consumption. This will help obese people live healthily and

minimize the number of new cases in the future.

Obesity being on the increase and people losing lives due to obese-related conditions

makes it a valid social problem. Solutions to this problem in the US are long overdue. The
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solutions offered are useful. It could not eliminate obesity, but positive results are already out

on the importance of health watch. Positive results will therefore be witnessed if efforts are

put towards curbing childhood obesity.

During the event held in Houston, Texas, many people happily cited the informative

presentations and speeches on the awareness of obesity in children and adolescence as these

were the majority of the groups affected. Although this could seem a huddle task, they

appreciated that curbing obesity was achievable. The event organizers plan to hold another

meeting in three months to sensitize and follow up on obesity. Still, I believe if the

implementation of these solutions is done at the grassroots level, it will eliminate obesity in

the future.
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Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Community Efforts." Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 17 Aug. 2020,

www.cdc.gov/obesity/strategies/community.html.

Cuschieri, Sarah, and Stephan Grech. "COVID-19: a one-way ticket to a global childhood

obesity crisis?" Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders 19.2 (2020): 2027-2030.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7738769/

Ludwig, David S. "Epidemic childhood obesity: Not yet the end of the

beginning." Pediatrics 141.3(2018)

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/141/3/e20174078.abstract