Minor Causes of Obesity - Essay Example

"Minor Causes of Obesity" is an outstanding example of a paper on child development. 
Article citation

Bishop, Jennifer, Rebecca Middendorf, Tori Babin, and Wilma Tilson. "childhood obesity." ASPE. US Department of Health and Human Services, Aug. 2005. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.

Article Summary

The article addresses the issue of obesity among young children living in the United States. The article is written based on different research done on the topic. It uses data from these reports to come up with the major causes of childhood obesity. The writers discuss in detail the various causes of obesity and present statistical data obtained from research done on children in the USA to prove their claims. According to the article, poor nutrition, poor eating habits, and physical inactivity are the main causes of obesity. The article also discusses other causes of obesity such as Genetic, Marketing/advertisements, social-economic statuses, and parental influence as some of the minor causes of obesity. The article concludes that the imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure among children in the United States has contributed highly to increasing their risk of being obese. The writers claim that there is a great need for intervention since children will begin to suffer from other diseases that originate from obesity.

Article Assessment

The article is written based on research and hence the data presented in the form of facts, tables, and graphs is likely to be true. There is a need for an intervention on the issue of Obesity since it is affecting a large percentage of the population. The article makes claims based on statistics and hence the reader is eventually convinced that the claims made are writers are true. The article analyzes each obesity cause individually and uses research data for that individual cause to justify that it is a major cause. Therefore, the article is credible and the information presented is substantial.

Pieces of Usable information

The writer presents the data on the numbers of overweight children from 1963 to 2002. Based on this data, the writer makes a claim that obesity is rampant, and it requires attention. The writer says “the number of obese adolescents has tripled since 1980” and then goes ahead to prove the claim by presenting a graph showing this data. The writer presents sufficient background information on obesity statics and thus convinces the reader that obesity is a big problem even before presenting its causes.

The writer claims that convenient foods have increased the risk of many Americans being obese. “Children take more food while away from home. Most foods taken include sugar-sweetened drinks and snacks.” The writer analyzes the content of these foods and proves that they contain a lot of calories which causes obesity. A comparison between the intake of healthy and unhealthy junk food is presented in the form of graphs. After interpreting these graphs, the writer makes his conclusion on how fast foods cause obesity in children in the USA.

The writer presents data on the physical inactivity of children. Based on the data presented, the writer argues that physical inactivity reduces the burning of calories and hence children become obese. The write the first cause of obesity and the second interrelate and are in support of each other. The writer discusses the current average socio-economic status of USA citizens. He relates economic status with the ability to afford junk food. The writer makes claims that the rich are more exposed to obesity since they afford junk food. Interrelating the causes increases the consistency of the writer’s ideas and the logical arguments presented make the content clear.

The writer does not leave out the minor causes of obesity. Factors such as marketing and genetic influence are discussed. Conclusions that these factors cause obesity are only made after clear explanations and background data.