Childhood obesity has grown at an alarming rate since the 1970’s. That’s around the time the food industry slowly began changing the food served in our schools. They added more processed foods like French Fries, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Pizza. I agree these foods taste good, but it has caused our parents, who were in school in the 70’s, and our generation to continue to make bad decisions on food selection. This problem still continues to this day.
I have also been trying to only eat wheat bread instead of white and eat and instead of eating sugary cereals I have been trying to eat oatmeal and fresh fruit so that is a plus for me. Making sure that I get the proper exercise is just as important as eating right when it comes to my battle with obesity I am trying to concentrate on a mixture of cardio and strength training exercises. I am doing the strength training because building muscle makes us burn calories faster, simply because our muscles burn more calories than our fat even when we are just resting. My cardio exercises are things I can do as I age because they can be changed to match my changing needs. I will be able to continue my cardio exercise routine for the rest of my life as long as my physical and mental health allows.
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
Cody Dilsaver Ms.Martin English 110 11/3/14 Childhood Obesity in America Childhood obesity has developed into one of the biggest problems America faces today. Around the world, America has developed a reputation of obesity, something we should be humiliated of. It wasn’t like that 30 years ago; our society has developed a lifestyle accustomed to binge eating and immobility. Portion sizes have increased, fast food has become a cheap and convenient alternative for dinner, and children’s social lives have deformed into web-based. The responsibility to prevent and repair childhood obesity is primarily on the shoulders of parents, government, and children themselves.
Many factors contribute to childhood obesity, from genetics to simply over feeding. If the problem is the latter, reconsider what you are feeding your child, or simply how often you feed them. If it is the first, talk to you family practitioner. America has become almost dependent on fast food. With jam packed schedules, we don’t allow ourselves time to make healthy meals at home.
It is assumed all families understand the necessity for nutrition and healthy habits, such as exercise, especially for growing children. A struggling family that is not allowed to buy white rice, white bread, or processed and already prepared foods gives those few a new perspective and direction for what should be consumed. Children who have to eat fruits and vegetables in school lunches will have a different outlook on what exactly a snack is. First Lady Obama has made a stance on childhood obesity, health and fitness as it pertains to our growing children, who will one day be adults. Practicing what she preaches, a fun fact is the white house garden is the first garden since World War II and Eleanor Roosevelts Victory Garden.
New Changes to School Lunch Menus Ciera Jimerson Strayer University Dr. Jeff Kersh ENG115 August 19, 2012 One of the biggest epidemics in this country is children being overweight. As adults we are here to guide and educate children on the benefits, and how important it is to keep our bodies healthy. We have created a new menu for school lunches to ensure children are getting more fruits and vegetables. Changing the menus to school lunches will allow children to lead healthier lives and can also increase life expansion. Lack of nutrition can cause obesity, poor academic performance, and an increase in diseases.
School teaches our children math and science so why not teach them how to take care of themselves and eat healthfully. Although dietary guidelines are being met they seem to be excessive in what they are feeding students each week. (The lack of nutrition in school lunches is one of the main causes of childhood obesity.). Unless something is done we will be stuck in a lose-lose situation where the
"Kids said if they were going to do phys education, they wanted to do something fun." (Sealy, G., 2003, pg.1) Children’s nutrition is another huge factor in fighting obesity in the United States. Ray Kroc founded the corporation was all know as Mc Donald’s in 1955. This was the first of the fast food chains and look at the amount of fast food options we have today. Fast food offers convenience to people with busy lives and often time’s parents chose poor options for their children.
Majority of the times parents aren’t home enough with their child to give them a well prepared and healthy meal, more times parents just came from work and order fast food. These parents need to be told that their children are at risk for poor organ functioning due to large amounts of fat inhibiting normal function, that the excess weight will place unnecessary strains on growing joints and limbs, and that the adipose tissue will have major effects on the metabolic and endocrine systems (Ruxton,