Baker 1

Macey Baker

Mr. Droski

English 11B

4/18/22

The Obesity Epidemic

Why is childhood obesity such a big problem? What can we do to fight against it? You

may ask. Well childhood obesity is probably more of an issue than you think, and the causes of

this are shown in plane sight and we all ignore the red fags given by many things. Starting off by

your very own pantry at home, Take a look in your pantry and look at all the preservative food

you have, how much your child eats and how it can negatively affect your child, next is the

mental health issues that follow the problem of being obese, you may never see it but being ob

ese can call for a lot more judgement than you can even imagine, and lastly the foods and

opportunities for physical activities our school provides for kids on a daily school basis. All of

these are real problems with childhood obesity that no parent would ever want to have their child

be exposed to or even op through. I will be explaining in depth all of the issues I have brought up

and give you a better understanding and explanation on where we went wrong and how we can

fix this worldwide problem.

Childhood obesity is a condition in which a kid is overweight for their height and age.

Childhood obesity comes with many different health conditions such as cardiovascular disease,

asthma, sleeping disorders, eating disorders and there is even a possibility of cancer occurring.

Childhood obesity was uncommon until the twentieth century because kids became unhealthy

with their eating habits and inactive lifestyles. The obesity rates in children have tripled since the
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1970’s with an estimate that one in five children six to nineteen years old is obese. In the time

from 1999-2014 the percent of childhood obesity has risen from 13.9 to 17.2 percent. Although

the obesity rates in age groups two through 5 years has decreased, the older age groups twelve

through nineteen rose to about 20 percent by 2014. In order to diagnose obesity you have to

calculate your BMI by using your child's height and weight. If your child is above the 95

percentile your child is considered obese. Using the BMI scale is way more affective tha looking

at weight because it all depends on sex, age, and even height. Childhood obesity has a couple

causes consisting of poor nutrition, irregular sleep, and sedentary/lazy lifestyles. Although there

are many different reasons where a child has no access to healthier foods. Schools and childcare

centers play a big role in children's diets and contribute a big role in childhood obesity with lack

of physical activity, not only that but the factor genetic disposition can also cause you to be obese

by being exacberated by environmental behaviors like calorie intake and lack of exercise space.

We have come up with a bunch of “bad carbs” that are often consumed in an Americans diet and

are a main cause for obesity. The reason these are bad carbs is because they digest easily and

then you will become hungrier sooner and will begin to eat more and more to become full again.

Some of these unhealthy foods consist of french fries, potato chips, white sugar, white bread, and

some cereals. On the other hand fast food restaurants face heavy judgment and criticism from

having low nutritional foods but have tried to fix that by incorporating healthier options on the

kids menu like apples and lowfat milk. It has shown that some populations are at a higher risk of

obesity than others.In 2018 a test came out with results that 35.1% of ages two to nineteen in the

US were overweight, 16.6% obese, 18.5% was higher among African Americans, and 22%

latino. They have discovered many leading factors to childhood obesity like limited access to

affordable healthy food and safe areas for kids to play and be active. Another risk to childhood
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obesity is food advertisements targeted for youth aged kids that has actually proven and linked to

excessive weight gain. Advertisements have a big effect on the child's body image, eating habits,

and weight related attitudes and behaviors. Ads makeup over 50% of the commercial break on

children's programs and has proven kids two to seventeen will rarely see ads consuming public

announcements or healthy food ads. About 56% of the parents believed that the food marketing

was having a horrible impact on their kids health while the other 71% dont believe that these ads

have anything to do with their child's health and nutrition. Although commercials and fast food

are a huge contribution, one of the biggest unnoticed and forgotten factors is the food that you

have at home and how your child has easy access to junk and food that leads to obesity at a

young age. But not only does obesity have a toll on your health it has a toll on your mental health

and state as well. Kids who are more obese and overwiht can have depression, low selfesteem

and anxiety, this will play a major roll in their social life and interfere with your learning. It has

been proven that kids with both depression and obesity release less of the hormone seretonin, this

can mean either your child who is obese will either be obese and developr deppresion or even

your child with depression will become overwheigt and unhealthy. Kids also may struggle with

bullying for being overweight which can lead to self harm, body image issues, low self esteem

and even weight control issues. As kids age they become more and more worried about their

appearance, some teens will cope with the stress by smoking to hope it will decrease their

appetite which can lead to other health issues regarding nicotine addictions etc. Their has a link

to underage drinking to kids who are overweight and teenage girls who are objectified, this leads

into deeper problems because girls will become dissatisfied with their appearance and has been

reported that girls develop body image issues at a younger age than males, a study has shown

that 50% of girls ages three to six worry about being fat or overweight, along with that pre teens
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are more likely and at a higher risk to develop eating disorders starting off with skipping meals,

taking laxatives, and even over exercising. The government has come up with a few ways to

prevent social, environmental, and behavioral issues that can lead to weight gain, staring with

infants they recommend initializing breastfeeding within the hour after birth, and continue for the

first six months and the continue breastfeeding with solid foods for the first two years of the

child's life, they also have a government program WIC for low income families with children

under the age of five that promotes healthy nutrition and activities for children, they then noticed

a decrease in obesity rates with families using this program. There has also been a change to

younger aged schools giving more nutritious meals to help fight obesity, other schools started

participating by offering two or more vegetables per meal which increased 60% to 78% with

schools offering kids two or more fruits increased 68% to 78% and then schools began offering

salads as an option. Although the decrease in childhood obesity is small, offering healthier foods

in school will not fix the problem. Physical activity has also been released as a key to reduce this

problem, and has physical education programs being offered more at schools leading to at least

sixty active minutes at least per day for ages six to seventeen. These plans are all stressed over

the importance of a child's diet and being the key to reducing childhood obesity as parents are

asked to participate in healthier lifestyles for their children's home life and make sure to have a

variety of options to being healthier overall and encourage healthier behaviors.

Take a look at the food in your house, look at the health labels? What do they say? The

food in your house can be the cause of many health related issues. Childhood obesity is no joke

and just by the food you hold in your house could have a great impact on your child's health.

“Moreover, obesity in children and adolescents can cause serious obesity related comorbidities

such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular and
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metabolic disease including hypertension, dyslipidemia, low bone mineral density, and type 2

diabetes mellitus” (Albahkeet). Childhood obesity can and will put your child at some very

horrible health risks, as your child is becoming obese they are cutting their lives shorter and

shorter by the pound because of the health risks that follow with gaining weight heavily and

unhealthily. “Since 1975, the worldwide obesity rate has approximately tripled according to the

World Health Organization. More than 340 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 were

overweight or obese in 2016. Accompanied by a worldwide increase in obesity, children and

adolescent obesity has also increased [2]. Unfortunately, childhood obesity often continues into

adulthood [3,4]” (Albahkeet). This is such a large issue and the numbers and rates keep rising

meaning that more kids are likely to become unhealthier and die at a younger age due to health

related issues. This needs to be taken into action, so many lives could be saved and kids could be

prevented from health issues and possibly death. This could all be so easily avoided if people

actually paid attention to what their children are eating and what they are providing for their

child on a daily basis. There are so many ways to simply avoid this from happening and it is by

doing stuff as simple as buying healthier foods, making your child go play outside 60 minutes a

day just as the CDC recommends for a healthy day's diet. Why haven’t we taken more action

you may ask… We have, there have been many remedies that have gone into effect but none of

them can control your at home life, that completely relies on you and what you feed your child. It

is so easy to feed kids unhealthy food because its “Easy” but easy isnt always the answer bec

ause it could become a super unhealthy habit and those “easy meals” will soon not be worth it

when your childs life is on the line because they are morbidly obese. Every single one of these

possible health issues can put you at a super huge risk and parents need to open their eyes to the

harsh reality of their child becoming super sick whether it's mental or physical. You may think
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that these things will never happen to you until they do, and when it happens to you it can be

really hard to get healthier and better as you may have a food addiction to unhealthy foods filled

with harmful preservatives.

Carrying on, health risks are not your only problem it also takes a big toll on your mental

health and can cause bigger issues just presented differently. Well you may ask how does your

health affect your mental health? There are so many different ways mental health can vary when

you are obese. “A new study finds that kids who get teased about their weight are two to three

times as likely to think about suicide or actually try to kill themselves. Weight teasing has this

destructive effect on all teens—not just those who are overweight” (DeNoon). Kids are judged

on the daily nowadays, there's no escape from judgment, you are surrounded by ikt on the daily

and will continue to be and being obese in todays day and age you are completely vunurable to

the judgement in society today. "We are living in a society where we are constantly being

bombarded with images of the perfect body," Eisenberg tells WebMD. "Marketing links perfect

bodies to happiness and beauty and romance. When teens look at their own bodies—even if

they're healthy—they come up short and think they are not good people and won't get all the

good things that should be coming to them" (Daniel). Body image is a really big problem

nowadays, whether you are overweight or underweight you are prone to be bullied. Being

overweight means that you don't have the body of any other perfect model or bodybuilder for all

means, being picked on and bullied can lead to serious issues considering your mental health is

involved. “Teasing took its toll. Kids who got teased about their weight hated their bodies. They

had low self-esteem and other depressive symptoms. And most frighteningly, weight-teased

teens were at much higher risk of suicide” (DeNoon). It's the sad but harsh truth, kids nowadays

are pushed to breaking point each and every day by kids, and even their own families picking on
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them for their weight and how their body looks and is presented. “Eisenberg's findings bear out

Cahir's clinical impression. Her team had nearly 5,000 kids in grades 7 to 12 fill out a

questionnaire during school hours. They found that 30% of girls and 25% of boys got teased

about their weight by their peers. Sadly, 29% of girls and 16% of boys got teased by their

families. About 15% of the girls and 10% of the boys were teased by both peers and their

families” (DeNoon). It is mind blowing to think about the harsh world kids live in today and how

obesity has become such a problem that it has also become a mental health problem. The

worldwide problem of childhood obesity needs to be changed if not for us for the kids of new

generations to come.

Lastly, our schools. Believe it or not our schools have such a huge impact on our

children's health not only with their food selections but also how much physical activity that is

put into your child's day rather than just sitting around. “Candy, cookies, sports drinks and sodas

are the food staples students expect to find available at their schools. But so-called "competitive

foods"—the snacks and beverages sold in vending machines, school stores and snack bars and as

a la carte items in cafeterias—soon will be subject to new federal nutrition standards. As part of

the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]

recently released the final nutritional standards governing the availability of competitive foods in

schools”. (Kisch). Our schools are filled with unhealthy foods that trigger childhood obesity and

there have been many rules going into effect for our schools and the health of the children who

attend that school. The struggle of figuring out how to decrease the numbers and percentages of

childhood obesity has been a war, but with the consitsant changes to our schools food changed

there will be a change and we will have less of a problem from kids being morbidly obese. “The

school district introduced a program to encourage more physical activity by students. Several
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elementary schools participate in a walking program with the local hospital that includes health

screenings and prizes. At Enslow Middle School, the West Virginia studies class "walked across

the state," adapting lessons to the sites and history of the counties they traveled through. Enslow

also sponsored a "biggest loser" contest among staff members over personal weight loss”

(Kisch). Physical activity is also a problem being adjusted in our schools, it is being advertised

more and they are turning lessons into more fun and active ways. This is an extremely healthy

thing for kids nowadays and will help begin a healthier lifestyle and keep more kids at a healthier

weight and to get our obesity numbers and stats under control and make this less of a problem.

To conclude, childhood obesity is a problem that will never fully be fixed. Although there

are many ways and opportunities to fix this sad problem it will never completely go away. We

have been given many ways to help prevent the worldwide issue, obesity. We have read about the

impacts of the food in your own home and how unhealthy your pantry really is. The easy foods

and snacks that are provided to your child can be the bigger issue of creating an unhealthy

lifestyle. Then we learned about how mental health can follow along when you are obese. The

struggles you will deal with along with the judgment of your family, friends, and even just kids

around you at school, it is all very hard on kids and can be even harder on a kid who is picked on

for their weight every day. And lastly about how our schools have been changing and should

continue to change in order for obesity rates in children to go down by the many things that

schools have control over like lunches and how much physical activity a child will participate in

on a day to day basis. One day this will be less of a problem if everyone puts in a little effort. We

will overcome this worldwide issue and come out healthier and better all together.
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Works Cited

Albakheet, Salman S., et al. "Psoas muscle area and paraspinal muscle fat in children and young
adults with or without obesity and fatty liver." PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 11, 17 Nov. 2021,
p. e0259948. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A682876731/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC&
xid=f86a18d9. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.

Cohen, Martin. "It's poverty, not individual choice, that is driving extraordinary obesity levels."
Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: Opposing
Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CQSWDZ043893749/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark
-OVIC&xid=84f346f7. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022. Originally published as "It's poverty, not
individual choice, that is driving extraordinary obesity levels," The Conversation, 19 Feb.
2018.

DeNoon, Daniel J. "Teens Who Are Teased About Their Weight Are More Likely to Commit
Suicide." Teen Suicide, edited by John Woodward, Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010026218/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC
&xid=a1bb7480. Accessed 12 Apr. 2022. Originally published as "Weight Teasing
Linked to Teen Suicide: Emotional Problems Trouble Teased Teens," www.WebMD.com,
2003.

Doak, Melissa J. "Health and Safety." Growing Up: Issues Affecting America's Youth, 2011 ed.,
Gale, 2011. Information Plus Reference Series. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ1529300104/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC
&xid=78c2bbb8. Accessed 11 Apr. 2022.

"Introduction to Childhood Obesity: At Issue." Childhood Obesity, edited by Tamara Thompson,

Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010964101/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC
&xid=7ac44f51. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.

"Introduction to Can Diets Be Harmful?: At Issue." Can Diets Be Harmful?, edited by Ron
Lankford, Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
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link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010463101/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC
&xid=493c72f6. Accessed 11 Apr. 2022.

Kisch, Marian. "Schools Can Find Alternative Funding to Junk Food." Should Junk Food Be
Sold in School?, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Gale In
Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010754223/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC
&xid=b36d3077. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022. Originally published as "Competitive Foods in
Schools: In Pursuit of Healthier Students, What Can Districts Do About Snacks and
Beverages That Underlie School Fundraisers?" School Administrator, vol. 36, Aug. 2013.

Popkin, Barry. "Fast Food Is Not a Major Cause of Childhood Obesity." Childhood Obesity,
edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale In Context:
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&xid=fbdf0b