Why Does Obesity Become Such An Epidemic In Today's Society

1288 Words6 Pages
Tommy Griffiths Professor Robin Muse PSY-3320 October 1, 2012 Childhood Obesity Why has childhood obesity become such an epidemic in today’s society? What can we as society do to bring awareness to childhood obesity and help educate and turn around this epidemic among us? Twenty-five percent of children today are considered overweight and of those twenty-five percent eleven percent are considered obese. So that means one out of every four children today that we encounter are considered overweight. This has become a huge issue in more developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Being overweight has a huge impact on physical and psychological health for children. For instance, being overweight can be related to…show more content…
Diet for one over the last few decades has changed dramatically as food has become more accessible and more affordable for the everyday consumer. In addition to the types of food that are available. Twenty years ago it was a custom to sit down at the dinner table as a family and eat a good healthy meal, today it is the exact opposite where people eat out at restaurants all the time and eat a lot of fast food. Which contributes to other factors such as calorie intake, fat intake, and other dietary factors that all contribute to childhood obesity. Because today’s society is so in love with “keeping up with the Joneses” so to speak everyone has to eat out at nice restaurants or feel that they need to take their kids to McDonalds for lunch. All of these factors contribute to bad calories and fat intake which is causing for children to be unhealthy and gain weight which is just an unhealthy revolving cycle as their life moves…show more content…
The dramatic increase in the percentage of overweight children in the past 20 years combined with finding that children tend to become less physically active as they grow older has led researchers to wonder what factors may be influencing physical activity (or lack thereof) among youth today. In a qualitative study of adolescent male’s perceptions of perceived barriers to physical activity both internal and external barriers were identified. Internal barriers included low perceived physical competence and lack of confidence; higher value placed on academics and preference for technology related activities such as television, computer use, and video games. External barriers that adolescents cited included the influence of peers and family; safety concerns; lack of time due to schoolwork and after-school jobs; and lack of accessible, affordable indoor facilities. These factors emphasize on the fact on the environment, people, and influences children have at such an early age that develops habits for these children for the rest of their life. I am a very physically active person and played sports in high school, college, and even had a couple years of professional baseball until I circumed to injuries. It is a way of life of being physically active and eating good healthy meals on a daily basis. My son is very

More about Why Does Obesity Become Such An Epidemic In Today's Society

Open Document