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Suleena Mahajan
Eng 1020
Professor Silva
20 November 2008
Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity is one of the most prevalent issues that needs to be alleviated. Children have to comprehend that if they keep on consuming fattening foods, their chances of developing diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes increases significantly. I am proposing a solution to prevent childhood obesity. The proposal is to spread awareness of this epidemic by educating parents and their children about the dangers of obesity and how to prevent it. Every school should have a mandatory half an hour class that teaches students about eating healthy and the importance of exercising regularly. This proposal is aimed towards elementary school children and their parents. The genre for this piece is a newspaper article. The proposal can be published in magazines, newspaper, internet, and it can even be broadcasted on local channels to increase awareness of this social issue.
The readers should be aware of the fact that there is a significant difference between the words overweight and obese. Overweight means that the individual weighs more than normal. On the other hand, obese means that the individual is extremely overweight. The Institute of Medicine states “over the past three decades, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years, and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years.” In 2004, about 9 million children over the age of 6 were considered obese. In 2005, the percent of
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children who were overweight was about 25% and the percent of children who were obese was 11% (Nutritional Journal). However, these numbers had dramatically changed within a year. In 2006 The Alliance for a Healthier Generation reported that 17.1% of children were obese in the United States. That’s a horrifying 5.9% increase in just a year. After analyzing the trend of this epidemic, it seems that the number of children who are obese keeps on accelerating.
In order to comprehend childhood obesity one must first understand how it is initiated. Childhood obesity occurs when an individual consumes more food than their bodies need. For example, when the child has more input of energy than expenditure or output of energy then the child will gain extra weight. One reason why children are becoming obese is that they are able to obtain fattening food from stores and fast food restaurants easily since food has become cheaper over the years. There are many other factors involved in aggravating this problem as well. These factors include social, mental, and physical. Examples of social and mental factors include when children tend to obtain bad eating habits by making poor food choices. For instance, children will pick a twinkie bar rather than a fruit as a snack.
In addition, children are becoming more aware of psychological issues and are experiencing stress at a younger age. They think that eating is an alternative way to avoid anxiety, anger, or even boredom. Another key factor that shapes the child’s eating habits is the environment he or she is exposed to. The family should display good eating habits for the child. Whatever food the family consumes is a food selection for the child.
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Also, children are in school for most of the day. Therefore, the type of food the cafeteria serves shapes the overall eating habits of the child.
Genetics also plays a role with childhood obesity. Unfortunately, some children have genes that make them more prone to acquiring excessive fat. On the contrary, some children have a higher metabolism than other children. Even though they might eat the same amount of fatty foods as the other child, they won’t be able to gain excessive fat due to their fast acting genes. However, with healthy eating habits, even the children who are more prone to becoming fat can easily avoid obesity.
As for the physical factor, the one thing many children are not doing these days is exercising. In the past, children liked to play sports and even walk to school. As technology enhanced, children only like to play video games or surf online. Children just want to exercise their minds not their bodies. Overall, if they continue to eat fattening foods and don’t exercise regularly, there is a much higher chance of becoming obese at a very early age.
Study shows that gaining excessive fat at an early age is more deadly than gaining excessive fat later on in life (Washington Post). Elementary school children are experiencing health problems such as a high blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol. Doctors are seeing symptoms of Type 2 diabetes in these children due to their excessive body weight. Not only is Type 2 diabetes becoming more rampant, but also children are developing gall bladder disease and worsening cases of asthma. The life expectancy of adults who were obese as a child has decreased (National Institute of Health).
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Since obesity as well as health problems are increasing among children so are the health care costs in the United States. Statistics shows that in 1979, hospital costs for diseases related to childhood obesity was about $35 million. In 1999, the costs increased
to about $127 million (CBS News). This was the cost a decade ago so imagine what the hospital costs would be now. Last year, President Bush said this to America “childhood obesity is a costly problem for the country and puts stress on American families (Herald Tribune). Childhood obesity has become a very serious issue that even the President of the United States is addressing about this perpetual predicament. President Bush also urged parents and their children to go outside and play sports. Laura Bush stated that all mothers should be good role models for their children. The mothers should prepare healthy meals for their children to take to school as well healthy foods for children to eat at home (Herald Tribune).
It is known that some schools in the United States are giving out weight report cards to elementary students. If the child is in the borderline of becoming overweight or obese than the student will receive an F on their weight report card. I don’t think that giving out weight report cards will solve this epidemic because social factors such as self-esteem and childhood depression can arise by enforcing such standards.
My proposal to stop this preventable disease is that the United States should enforce a law that makes it mandatory to educate parents and their children about the dangers of childhood obesity. The Unites States should institute a half an hour class in every elementary school that will discuss about eating healthy and being active. As discussed earlier, children are highly influenced by their environment and their peers.
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When the children will hear their teachers talk about how eating healthy has major health benefits then the children will be more aware of the consequences that could occur by eating fattening foods. This proposal can possibly help prevent childhood obesity.
The teachers should not just state facts about the problems caused by childhood obesity, but they should make learning fun for their students. The teachers can get their point across of the negative impacts of childhood obesity by playing fun games. One of the games can be that the teacher can have healthy and non-healthy food placed in an area. The students would then have to decide which one is better for their health as opposed to which one is not by going to the opposite side of the class and separating the food into two different piles. This way the elementary school children will be able to
exercise their mind as well as their bodies. As the children start adapting to this game, the students will be able to decide very quickly which foods are harmful to their bodies. There are several games teachers can come up with to avoid this epidemic in their school. The teachers can also give homework to their students about what they had learned in class that day. The parents should also take a look at the homework and the students should have a parent signature revealing that the students and their parents have looked over the assignment and have understood it.
It is probably true that some elementary schools have already implemented these classes, however, by making my proposal into a law, every school will have a half an hour class that teaches about the dangers of childhood obesity and what steps to take to prevent it. This proposal will not even cost much. Most schools have an hour-long lunch breaks, therefore, a half an hour can be taken out for a health education class. This class
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should take place before the lunch period because the students will know certain facts about eating healthy from the educational class they had just attended. If schools only have a half an hour lunch break, then the health education class can be implemented during recess breaks.
The schools should also stop serving unhealthy foods in the cafeterias. Schools should come up with a healthy meal plan that includes serving foods such as salads, fruits, and healthy sandwiches for lunch. They should also take out their soda machines and replace them with pure juices. As discussed earlier, eating healthy at a young age can help prevent obesity later on in life.
The awareness of childhood obesity can also be spread through publishing tips for parents in newspapers or magazines. Some tips can include keeping a supply of pre-cut fruits and vegetables for quick snacking. Instead of having a pepperoni pizza, the parents can order pizza with vegetables. Parents can get their children involved with cooking so the child can be aware of the components that go into the food. Another tip can include that parents should be good role models for their children by giving them healthy food and by encouraging them to exercise regularly. Parents should take their children to the park and play games, walk, or ride a bike.
Childhood obesity is becoming a dangerous epidemic. It is a social as well as an emotional issue that has to be solved as soon as possible. The causes and the health problems that have been discussed make it more necessary for my proposal to be initiated. My proposal should be enacted because I believe that health beneficial classes can help prevent childhood obesity.
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Works Cited Page With Annotated Bibliography
"Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures." Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Sep 2004 17 Nov 2008 <
This article is very interesting. The article will help me get some reliable statistics on how childhood obesity keeps on increasing every year. A compelling statement provided by this article is that children between the ages of 6 and 11 are the ones who are gaining excessive fat. The Institute of Medicine is conveying the message that for this age group, the number of children who are victims of obesity has more than tripled in the past thirty years. I am using these nerve wrecking statistics to strengthen my proposal on why childhood obesity should be diminished as soon as possible. The article also states some relevant causes of childhood obesity. This will also help me with my paper because after stating the causes of childhood obesity, I can first explain each cause one by one and then use the causes to lead into my proposed solution. The author makes an interesting argument on the fact that childhood obesity keeps on increasing every year. I completely agree with this statement because after analyzing the trend, this predicament is actually true. I think that this article is very helpful and I am sure that it will help me convince my audience on the problems with childhood obesity.
"Childhood Obesity A Serious Problem." CBS Worldwide Inc. 01 May 2002 17 Nov 2008 <
This article is also very fascinating. The author stated that childhood obesity results in innumerable health problems. These health problems are causing health care costs of hospitals to rise. Therefore, not only is obesity dangerous for an individual’s health, but it is also becoming very expensive. I am going to use the statistics the article provides about how much hospitals costs have accelerated due to childhood obesity. The statistics that are given are a decade old therefore to ponder on how much the health care costs of childhood obesity have risen since then will make my proposal even more likely to be implemented. This article is very useful in convincing the audience that both childhood obesity and health care costs of hospitals are rising and these problems will continue to
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rise until childhood obesity can be decreased. The author makes an interesting argument on how childhood obesity and health care costs are connected. I agree with this statement because as childhood obesity is increasing, so are the heath care costs. The article seemed very straightforward and was very short. However, the statistics and other information provided would be enough to convey my message about the dangers of childhood obesity.
Dehghan, Mahshid. "Childhood Obesity, Prevalence and Prevention." Nutrition Journal 24 Apr 2005 17 Nov 2008 <
This article is from the Nutrition Journal therefore it is a credible source. Furthermore, the article contains facts about the dangers of childhood obesity. The article starts out by giving general statistics about the percent of children who are obese in this country. The author stresses the point that the United States is the only developed nation in this world that has the highest number of children who suffer from excessive body weight. I agree with the author for this remark. The article is effective for this project because it helped me understand the true meaning of childhood obesity. The article also states some common causes of childhood obesity faced by most children suffering from this epidemic. Like the previous authors mentioned above, his argument is also very interesting because he thoroughly explains each cause and its effect on a child very well. The major key points I am going to use from this article is the definition of childhood obesity and physical factors such as why exercising regularly is important.
Levine, Susan and Rob Stein. "Obesity Threatens A Generation." Washington Post 17 May 2008 17 Nov 2008 .
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This article is an excellent source for this project because it was written this year. This article is also a credible source because it is from the Washington Post. The article discusses about the toxic effects that can occur from excessive body weight. The article talks about all the health problems that can arise from childhood obesity. From this article, I will use the fact that countless children are becoming diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes since the rate of childhood obesity has accelerated. The author makes the argument that gaining excessive fat at an early age is more harmful to the body then gaining excessive fat later on in life. I think that this argument is very interesting because I always thought that toxic effects from obesity will rise no matter how young or how old an individual is. This article will be very helpful for me because it is very recent. Also,
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this article did not contain any statistics on how many children are facing childhood obesity; however, the content of the article will be very useful for this project.
The Associated Press, "Bush urges parents to get children outdoors to fight childhood obesity." Herald Tribune 01 Feb 2007 17 Nov 2008 <
This article is also an excellent article to convey the message of the impact childhood obesity is having in our nation. This article shows that childhood obesity is a major problem in the United States that is why President Bush and his wife had to address the issue on a national level. President Bush proposed that childhood obesity is lowering the economy. The argument of the associated press is precise. The argument is interesting because by listening to President Bush and Laura Bush, some parents might actually realize that childhood obesity is a real threat to their children. I completely agree with the statements written in this article because I also believe that health care costs are rising, which is hurting our economy, and the number of children who are obese specifically between the ages of six to twelve is increasing rapidly. I am going to use all of this information for my paper because it will help strengthen my proposal.
Torgan, Carol. "Chlidhood Obesity on the Rise." National Institutes of Health June 2002 17 Nov 2008 <