Child Obesity

Child Obesity

In the United States people think "big," which makes them want "big". Children watch commercials and want everything that comes out on the commercials from food, to toys, and games. Every year the statistics and numbers of children who suffer from obesity just gets higher and higher. Who's fault is it? A child is young and does not see the damage they are doing on themselves but a parent can make changes from an early age. Parents should make time to create schedules and change their children's way of eating. Children have to be pushed to have at least one daily activity and to eat healthy. In a society like today's, parents should try to be very attentive and alert to their child's life. Children struggling with overweight or obese problems will not only have a short term effects but in the long run it can bring many diseases that shorten a person's life span.

According to The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, "Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese" (Obesity in Children and Teens). Obesity in children has a lot to do with the rush people live in. Parents need to work and anything that will not take to much time such as buying a happy meal rather than preparing a home cooked meal. Throughout the generations adolescents have become more attracted to spending more time on the computer or watching television instead of carrying a more active lifestyle. Due to the lack of inactivity and poor eating habits, many of these children will suffer from long term medical diseases such as high blood pressure.

The formation of a child's diet begins with the guidance of the parents. Many parents do not realize what an impact they make until the child becomes over weight. "Today's busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals" (Overweight and Obesity). Children who have always ate healthy food are going to be less likely to eat something that is fattening or high in calories. A parent can provoke a child to form poor eating habits by creating different types of traumas such as making them eat all of their food or not allowing them to have their say in what they like or do not like. Children are very gullible which allows all these fast food restaurants to catch their eye in every television commercial, billboard, and advertisements. They know what it is children want and they start by giving that free toy that the adolescents must have because all his or her friends have it. It becomes a routine if it is not stopped before it brings problems of not wanting to eat food at home or always wanting junk.

When the child is brought up in a manner to eat at home and that their will be food everyday at home, he or she is not going to eat food at home and will strive to do everything in their power to get to eat what they want. Unfortunately every month something from McDonald's, Burger King, and every fast food place gets larger and larger which gives people the temptation that for fifty cents more they are getting the bigger one and more full. Parents though feel as if his or her child is happy and thats what matters but how can they really be happy when food is something that does not have measures in their dictionaries which causes them to eat and yet not feel full. Making small differences in a child's eating habits and increasing the importance if healthy foods and what a difference it can make in the way their body functions and a step to getting fit.

The lack of exercise in adolescents plays a major role in child obesity, "Fewer than half of children in the United States have a parent who engages in regular physical exercise" (Ferry). Exercising is very important especially when children are growing up and might no have such strict eating habits. Their is many kids who want to be active and play sports in school but because of the parents schedules or work lifestyle they do not pursue those extra curriculum activities. Parents have a very busy and always running around ethic but their has to be an hour a day at least to dedicate to family and activities. Television, video games, computers have created one of the greatest controversies in this obese issue. A child will sit for more then three hours playing a video game or watching every show on there channel of choice but the problem is when doing this they munch and take naps which means not even one percent of