Child Obesity, plaguing the nation for the future America: an in-depth study - Essay Example

? Child Obesity, plaguing the nation for the future America: an in-depth study Jonathan Obesity, like other health- related behaviors is one of the chief causes for disability (Hill 5). It is associated with heart disease, heart stroke, high blood pressure, and even cancer. (Seiders). Undoubtedly, childhood obesity is in rise throughout the United States as approximately 9 million of children in the US are obese or overweight (“Get America fit.”) Children in this current generation has a shorter life expectancy due to high rates of obesity as opposed to children 2 decades ago (Hill, 25) Obesity is an excessive accumulation of body fat you need to properly cite sources – the reference is the report supporting your claim –do the required research. Excessive body fat means that more than 27% body fat for men and more than 22% for women this is for adults (Fletcher, 66). This condition then impairs the health of an individual. Body mass index is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in meters squared. Without a doubt, obesity is a prevalent problem that is detrimental to society and must be addressed for the health and the wealth of the future generations. Obesity is not a simple disease resulted from one factor. But it is rather a chronic condition that develops as a result of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. Factors influencing the occurrence of obesity in children are different among each child. a study by Meyer and Stunkard (1994) found in Bouchard, Claude. The Genetics of obesity, suggests that children from overweight parents are more likely to be obese themselves as genetic and dietary factors are one of the main causes of obesity (Fletcher, 88). Moreover, unhealthy home environments can also lead to obesity. For example the education system and the food industry clearly promote an unhealthy eating habits couple with no physical activity for children. These factors are key elements towards the rise of obesity rates in society. Although genetics is a non-modifiable factor that affects obesity, it is an element that one cannot simply diminish. In essence, obesity can be genetically inherited. A child’s chances of being overweight or obese are increased by 25 percent if their parents are overweight or obese.-this is not evidence for solely genetics – children live with and therefore have the same diets and learn from parents so this data can reflect learning/environmental factors (“Get America Fit Foundation”). Another study referred by Fletcher (1999) suggests that 50% of the population has body weight genes controller which can make children leaving in an unhealthy homes likely to be obese. When a child is living in a home where television, video games, long hours of internet surfing are present, children are more likely to be engrossed in these activities rather than being physically active. In those homes, usually there is no time left for cooking healthy food(“Get America Fit Foundation”). Thus, the picture is pretty clear, consuming junk food along with the lack of physical activity yields to obesity. Psychologically and emotionally, obese children experience peer pressure for not having that perfect body shown on TV as the body to have. It is ironic how society wants people to have the perfect body but at the same time promotes unhealthy food to children. Consequently, children are faced with emotional distress because there are confused. A recent study shows that those obese children are more likely to have low self-esteem, depression, higher rates of anxiety disorders, and psychopathology (Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005). Since they are often discriminated and isolated in society, obese children are prone to fail academically. A recent study found in Taylor’s book about health psychology suggests that obese children scored lower and math and reading test because they lack self-esteem that is so vital towards their academic success. Clearly, the problem is prevalent in our society and must be addressed. Hence, I have a preposition to address these issues that has flawed the American society. My proposition in to address this problem consists of numerous stages of change. After conducting extensive research, I came across an interesting approach that was developed by J.O. Prochaska. According to Prochaska (1994), people sometimes have no intention of changing their eating behaviors. Those people sometimes are unaware of their problem or simply are in denial. That is called the pre-contemplation stage. This problem can be solved by showing them the consequences of their eating behavior. After the person acknowledges that the problem exists, the next step the individual must take is to prepare to solve the problem. This stage is known as the preparation stage in which the individual strives to seek resources to remedy the problem. Now the person knows the problem exist and must implement the solution. Hence, this is called the action stage. Lastly, the most critical step in this process is the maintenance stage. This is the stage people understand that they will not fall in their bad habits and will maintain the new habits that took upon. This is the stage to try to stop people from relapse. Undoubtedly, children are in peril with obesity. The same way we tend to be careful with them avoiding them to get hurt physically, it should also be our priority to make sure they do not develop bad health habit. One good sign that kind of suggesting that help is on the way is that our society is very well aware of the problem. In other words, referring to the model stages developed by J.O. Prochaska, we are at the preparation stage heading to the action stage. Yet it will take the effort of everyone including families, schools, the government, and the health care system to get to the action and maintenance stage. The young generation are the future of the country and must live healthy lives. We already know that because of obesity our children life expectancy is shorter. So to have a strong and healthy society we need to start from the roots; our children. Together we can achieve this for the health and well-being of all granted we implement these necessary steps. References "Body Mass Index (BMI) ."KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. May 2011. http://kidshealth.org/teen/food\ Bouchard, Claude. The Genetics of obesity . Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1994. Print. Despres J. Dyslipidemia and obesity. Ballieres Clin Endocrin Metab. 1994;8:629-36. Fletcher, Gerald F., Scott M. Grundy, and Laura Lucia Hayman. Obesity: impact on cardiovascular disease. Armonk, NY: Futura Pub., 1999. Print. "Get America Fit Foundation - Health statistics in America - American obesity statistics."GAF - Get America Fit Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2011. . Krasnegor, N. A., Grave, G. D., & Kretchmer, N. (1988).Childhood obesity: a biobehavioral perspective. Caldwell, N.J.: Telford Press. Read More