Physical Activity Behaviors among African American and Hispanic Students - Essay Example

"Physical Activity Behaviors among African American and Hispanic Students" is a wonderful example of a paper on child development. Child obesity is a prevalent and ongoing condition in America. Research shows that 17% of children between the ages of 2-17 are obese. This number has not changed over the last five years. As such, obesity is a top concern for parents of children in America compared to other concerns such as smoking and drug abuse. Obesity is a major cause of diseases and ailments in children which were only previously found in adults and they are also likely to be obese as adults.  These diseases include type II diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol level, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Statistics show that 21% of adolescents and 25% of children have severe obesity and have damaged glucose tolerance regardless of their ethnicity.  Children and teenagers also suffer emotional trauma from being obese such as being bullied and embarrassed by their age mates. Having healthy lunch in public schools could go a long way in dealing with the problem of obesity in children. Currently, only 6.6% school districts require fruits and vegetable to be served in school but the goal is to ensure that 18.6% of school district implements this requirement. The aim of this campaign is to reduce the level of obesity in both adults and children and have happier and healthier children which will be reflected in better academic performance.

The target population for this research will be East Harlem. The majority of the people who live in East Harlem are black (55%) and Hispanic (33%). The population is also the youngest in New York City and has the highest level of poverty with 37% of the population being poor. The population also has low education levels with only 13% having a college degree. This area has a large number of fast-food restaurants and fewer supermarkets. Bodegas stores that have limited and less healthy food are 62%, 8% are supermarkets, and 19% convenient stores.

Morgan, Alison. "An Assessment of Perceived Parental Influence and Adolescence Eating and Physical Activity Behaviors among African American and Hispanic students." Order No. 3327033 Teachers College, Columbia University, 2008. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 5 Apr. 2015

According to these researches, some of the causes of obesity include autonomous decision-making. Parents spend less time with their children and as such children and teenager have more discretion to choose what they eat which is in most cases unhealthy. They also live sedentary lifestyles, drink a lot of soda that have low calcium level and take food low in fruits and vegetables.

Morrow, Ivy. "Development of a Multicultural Cooking Curriculum for Low-Income Children in an After-School Program." Order No. 1451196 California State University, Long Beach, 2007. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.

This research shows that providing free healthy foods to children in low-earning families can go a long way in dealing with obesity. It advocates for nutritionists to collaborate with local restaurants and schools and giving presentations about cooking healthy food.

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