Childhood Obesity And Technology: The Allegory Of The Cave

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Technology and Obesity Over the years, childhood obesity has become a widespread occurrence. According to the American Heart Association, about one in three American children is overweight. Not only does obesity result in excessive weight, but it also leads to the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, and high blood pressure. Many also suffer from depression and low self-confidence. Most families turn to technology to keep their children occupied without realizing that excessive consumption may harm their health. For example, when kids spend late night hours sitting in front of the TV screen, they get an inadequate amount of sleep which leads to obesity overtime. Childhood Obesity & Technology – What’s the Connection,…show more content…
Their necks and legs are chained and they are forced to stare at a wall. If they step out into the sun, they do not see things as clearly as they are in reality. If kids were stuck in a cave like this, except instead staring at a TV, they would eventually go blind and have several health issues. Obesity is likely to occur in this case because the captured children would not be able to move around and do any physical exercise to maintain healthy bodies. In another article, The Futile Pursuit of Happiness, by Jon Gertner, the author states that humans always assume the outcome of an event will make them happier than they really are. For example, before people buy a new car, they are very excited. Afterwards, they come to find features in the car that they dislike, leading to unhappiness. If kids were put in this position, expecting electronics and TVs to make them happy, the outcome would also differ. Children may be cheerful with new technology at first, but after excessive use and weight gain, they eventually become emotionally depressed with how their bodies look. Overall, the focus of this essay is to explain how technology causes obesity in children and to provide solutions that prevent future risks of childhood obesity. Parents play an important role in their child’s weight and they should be responsible for keeping them healthy. Also, children should adapt their bodies to become physically active from a young age, so that the growth of technology does not affect their

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