Is the Child Really to Blame? Childhood obesity is a serious epidemic in America. Over half of the children in America are classified as obese or overweight. The worst part of childhood obesity is that people are blaming the child for their weight. A child is almost entirely dependent on others. Their lifestyle relies on that of their parents and school. The food they eat, the exercise they get, and even the beverages they drink are all a result of their guardians. Therefore, their diet and amount of exercise is a result of their parents and school. The largest influence on a child’s weight by far are their parents, or guardians. Every meal and snack ate at home is controlled by the parents. Whatever decision they make at a grocery store directly …show more content…
School lunches by far are some of the unhealthiest meals a child can consume. They are jam packed with fat and cholesterol, both of which are extremely unhealthy in large quantities (Barnard 2). Most children don’t receive another form of exercise outside of school. This makes school based activity and recess critical to a child’s health (Chin 208). Most articles claim that recess is increasing for children and many programs are being put in place for children (Chin 209). Unfortunately, I have to disagree with this. My brother attends a middle school and he has his physical education class once a week. Yes, he received a twenty minute recess everyday but during this he is usually goofing off with friends. In twenty minutes a child is not receiving the exercise they need to burn off the calories they’re ingesting. Especially after consuming school lunches. When a child is given extremely unhealthy meals five days a week and only receives twenty minutes of recess (usually doesn’t consist of exercise) a day they’re bound to gain weight and become obese. We’re setting them up for …show more content…
Today the internet has taken control of our future generation. We physically cannot function without our electronic devices. In some ways these can work to our benefit like tracking how much we’re exercising or what foods we’re consuming. But in most cases these devices make us a very sedentary generation (Sahoo 190). Children get wrapped up in their “kill streak” on their video games or in their number of likes on an Instagram post. They end up living their lives online and not outside in the real world. This causes them to receive little to no physical activity. Most people would tell the child to just “put their device down and get outside and play.” This is much easier said than done. Not only are children obsessed with their devices but so are their parents. If the parents can’t control their own poor internet habits, how can people expect them to control their children’s? If a parent can’t limit their child’s device time then children are going to spend multiple hours a day on a device, usually sedentary. These devices are robbing children of the physical activity they need in order to maintain a healthy
Because of this, it has become a borderline between parents and children on how much internet they should be using. To protect the health of a child's well-being and future parents need to encourage their kids to go out and do something or just talk about their day without having to look at their phone or computer.
I am the mother of a middle-school student, and I recently read the article ‘The Junk Food Lobby Wins Again’. From it, I have learnt that you voted against the nutrition law, and this fact has concerned me, since it threatens our children’s health. Overall, thirteen kilograms of weight were gained by my son after he went into middle school. Moreover, this is not a problem of his own as his peers are facing the same situation. The fault should not be placed on them as the rate of childhood obesity and diabetes are increasing rapidly due to the junk food lobbyists continually working to block laws that may stop their misconduct.
This creates a barrier between the parent and child, thus leading to a toxic relationship because parents would rather use technology than spend time with
Many studies have found that regular exercise improves mental function and academic performance. Many students will say too, that they feel better after they take a break. Way to often is recess taken away as punishment even though research shows that this practice deprives students of health benefits that is important to their well-being. Many parents and students would agree with this too. Although recess is a good thing, some teachers do not think the same.
Obesity: There is a direct link between young children’s eating habits and them becoming overweight and obese later on. Children in families with insufficient access to nutritious foods are in fact significantly more likely to be obese in early childhood than other children. This is the result of excessive calorie intake and an emphasis on foods that have high levels of fat, sugar and sodium.
This change in mood clearly shows how these benefits outweigh any negatives. including recess time in the student’s daily routine can help them balance their school work and physical activities and maintain a healthy
In the past thirty years children have become more and more susceptible to weight gain due to the way they have learned to eat. The fast pace that the society has forced our children to be in a hurry children have stopped taking the time to eat a meal setting at home at a table. I have found
Keep reading and soon enough you’ll agree. Many health problems can be solved when having recess before lunch. First of all,kids tend to throw up after eating. They also get stomach aches because they are jumping and running around after eating.
In the past 30 years, children obesity has more than doubled (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). It increased from a 7% in 1980 to a 18% in 2012. For instance, Kansas schools’ obese students increased from a 10% in 2011 to a 13% in 2013. C. Since 1982 the American Obesity Society is committed to the study of the causes of child obesity and the findings include the lack of exercise and poor eating habits as two of the main causes. 1.
It can be socially hard for a child to fit in if they are overweight or trying to eat healthy. If you teach your child the healthy habits and staying active. In hope you can encourage those habits on other children. It is easier to guide the children at the earlier age then it is later on down the
Since 2000 research has shown that ⅓ of child are now overweight. Teenagers are blaming fast foods industries for their health problems, but no one is forcing them to eat the food. Obesity is a serious issue in the United States now causing some public health groups in california to ask the governor to declare a childhood obesity state of emergency, recording to Daniel Weintraub. I believe that children obesity does start at home and parents are to blame because they are letting their children eat unhealthy foods, lack of exercise, and overall poor choices. Fast food industries have exploded
Child development is affected by all things leading up to nutrition such as health, behavior, and safety. “Obesity is characterized by the accumulation of excess body fat and can be conceptualized as the physical manifestation of chronic energy excess” (Chaput, Tremblay, 2006). Some blame obesity on genetics alone, “but genetics alone cannot explain the rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity in our population” (Groark, Song, 2012, sec. 2.2). Obesity can have a short and long term affect on a child’s physical and mental health.
Childhood Obesity and Its Effects on Health 70% of American adults and 32% of American children were obese as of 2012 , since then these numbers are on the rise. The numbers of obesity in America, especially in American children, have been rising for decades. These increases have been partially due to growth in the industries like fast food, television and videogames which are causing americans to be less active all across the country. Obesity, especially in children is disastrous to a person’s mental and physical health, to fix this people of all ages need to be made aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
But what the parents fail to see with this is how the kid will be affected as they get older. For example, if they are hooked on games they may neglect to do their homework and that could have a bad influence on their grades. If a parent does allow their kids on these devices, one way they could make it more beneficial for the child is to give them an educational game. If a child is given an educational game they may not notice and play it like a normal game. After a while, they will
Indeed, health professionals blamed computer exposure, gaming devices, tablets, and other electronic devices for the rise in diabetes and obesity among children. In addition, several studies pointed out other health problems when children are overexposed to technology such as poor eyesight, back pain, lethargy, and weak bodies. The lack of physical activities when using technology has promoted sedentary lifestyle for children. 3. Promotes negative psychological health.