Statistics show that a child with two obese parents has an eighty percent risk of becoming overweight, and a child with normal size parents has only a forty percent chance of becoming overweight. Another risk factor is meal patterns, shipping breakfast slows the metabolism down which slows down the process of digestion. Eating too much fast food is the highest risk to take for meal a choice. Watching television or playing video games instead of playing outside or exercising is a bad choice. Childhood obesity is often the result of genetics and environmental factors.
Today, we live in a consumerist society where cheap high-sugar and caloric foods are easily accessible everywhere you go. Many people who eat these ‘foods’ on a regular basis don’t realize the repercussion it has on their life and most importantly, on their children and their diet. Child obesity is a growing concern that has been getting much more serious throughout the decades. There have been several studies conducted in Australia to see why these children are making such poor food choices that cause their obesity. Several factors, of course are quite obvious such as the foods that are accessible to them at home and fast-food chains that swallow their attention with toys and other things they market in commercials.
Rates of overweight and at-risk for overweight are increasing among children between 6 and 19 years of age, with 16.3 percent currently overweight and 32 percent at risk for overweight(The CDC does not apply the term obese to children). The trend is particularly worrisome because an elementary school child who is overweight has 80 percent probability of being overweight at age 12; a person who is obese at age 18 faces chances 28 to 1 against maintaining a healthy adult weight. Childhood obesity can include very destructive effects on the body. Obese children have a high probability of having high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are risk factors for cardiovascular illness. Obese children are also more likely to have amplified risk of impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, breathing problems, such as sleep apnea, and asthma, joint problems, musculoskeletal distress, fatty liver disease, gallstones, and gastro-esophageal
Additionally physical activity has decreased and between computers and video games children are leading more sedentary lifestyles. Dual income families mean busy parents more likely to rely on processed, fast foods that tend to be higher in calories and fat but low in nutritional value. These same children are more likely to be left home alone after school to choose their own snacks and spend their time watching TV or playing on the computer (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Additionally race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status play a role in determining obesity. Fast food is not only fast but also inexpensive compared to nutritious ready-to-eat meals.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity rates have tripled in America's youth and adults since 1980 America needs to understand that not the only people getting larger, but so are their children. We are leading children to poor health and a poor understanding of what exercise and being active can do for you. With schools limiting PE classes and sporting budgets, exercise has been something only merely talked about rather than being practiced. Children are being diagnosed with Cardiovascular disease which is one of the leading causes of death in our nation and many other chronic diseases. Because of the significance of fast food chains in America, we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger.
Childhood Obesity Majority of children in today’s society are decreasing the time spent in physical activities as they are spending more time playing video games and watching TV. Due to their sedentary behavior they are increasing the level of excessive body fat to their weight (Whitker, Robert). This issue of childhood obesity has become an epidemic in America. The Colorado University research shows that within last couple of decades the obesity level among children and adolescent has doubled (P. Kendall). The increase in excessive body fat leads to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, type two diabetes, and other serious health risks (Estarbrooks, Paul).
Teen obesity can also affect mental health. For example some psychological problems associated with obesity are negative body image or depression, which can lead to viscous cycle of staying home watching TV, snacking, gaining more weight and feeling worse about themselves. This process can lead to even worse habits
So since they have low income they only thing they can do is go buy fast food. Arken and Houston also state more causes of obesity in the inner-city, “Obesity is determined by many factors (e.g inactivity, high-fat diet cultural preference)”(2).The culture the parents put their child in is basically by forced because of their living situation. With the low income it’s hard for the African American people to take their child to get health insurance, so they can’t receive advice from the medical establishment on how to prevent obesity. In, “Facing Up to Childhood Obesity” Phillips states the effects of inactivity in Great Britain. Arken and Houston do the same in Obesity in Inner-City African
Simply put, children are eating more calories than they are expending. The rise in the number of hours children sit in front of the television or computer, the increase in soda consumption, the lack of structured physical education in schools have all contributed to the obesity
According to the American Academy of pediatrics states that children are getting less playtime, because of the no child left behind act. Research has shown that children engage in less physical activity in the summer and gain weight two to three times faster. Watching television can cause a big issue with childhood obesity. When children are viewing TV different commercials advertise unhealthy foods. When they see that it makes them want high and fatty foods.