Obesity among children is a national health crisis and a terrifying reality. It can cripple our country for generations to come unless significant changes are made.
Not all obese infants become obese children, and not all obese children become obese adults. However, the older one gets, the more likely it is that one gains weight. Our metabolism slows as we grow older, and we also become less active. In addition, it is very likely that obesity beginning even in early childhood will persist through the life span. In other words, if your 14 year old son is obese, it’s likely that he will carry the extra weight (and put on more weight) during his adult life.
For parents of overweight children, the time to help your kids get in shape is now or never. Obesity presents numerous problems for the child. In addition to increasing the risk of obesity in adulthood, childhood obesity is the leading cause of pediatric hypertension, is associated with Type II diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, increase stress on the weight-bearing joints, lower self-esteem, and altered relationships with peers. Between 5-25 percent of children and teenagers in the United States are obese, according to some studies. Other statistics indicate that 17% of children between ages 6 and 19 are obese.
Childhood obesity is the result of an interaction between food, state of mind, family and the environment.
An imbalance between intake and output.
Intake: excessive consumption of fast foods and unhealthy food choices. Output: less time spent playing outside, more time spent on a computer, playing video games or watching TV.
The Family.
The risk of becoming obese is greatest among children who have two obese parents. This may be due to powerful genetic factors, the manner in which the child is raised, parental modeling of both eating and exercise behaviors. One half of parents of elementary school children never exercise vigorously.
Low-energy Expenditure.
The average American child spends several hours each day watching television; time which in previous years might have been devoted to physical pursuits. Obesity is greater among children and adolescents who frequently watch television, not only because little energy is expended while viewing but also because of simultaneous consumption of high-calorie snacks. Only about one-third of elementary children have daily physical education, and less than than one-fifth have extracurricular physical activity programs at their schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to take walks or otherwise get physical with their children at least once a week, to make up for shrinking levels of physical education in schools.
Fast food companies.
It is easy ad inexpensive to buy unhealthy foods from vending machines. The good news is that beverage makers have agreed to pull sugared sodas and whole milk out of all school vending machines over the next three years, as well as diet sodas and sports drinks from machines in elementary and middle schools.
Heredity.
Since not all children who eat non-nutritious foods, watch several hours of television daily, and are relatively inactive develop obesity, the search continues for alternative causes. Heredity has recently been shown to influence fatness, regional fat distribution, and response to overfeeding.. In addition, infants born to overweight mothers have been found to be less active and to gain more weight by age three months when compared with infants of normal weight mothers, suggesting a possible inborn drive to conserve energy.
Nitin Chhoda
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/the-causes-of-childhood-obesity-79902.html
#1 by TJ's_mommy on October 22nd, 2009
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What do you think causes childhood obesity?
I am taking a nutrition class for my early childhood education degree and childhood obesity is the topic I chose to write my research paper on. I would like to get some input on how you all feel about the subject. This will help in my project. No names or user id’s will be used in any part of this project. Websites to visit are appreciated. Thank you.
#2 by old lady on October 22nd, 2009
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Just a wild guess, but I’d say childhood overeating is the cause of childhood obesity. This is a more complicated topic than adult obesity because children don’t always have control over what they eat. Some mothers wrongly equate fat with healthy child, and continually urge their child to ‘clean up their plate’. That’s wrong. Children should be given smaller portions and allowed to ask for more, if they still feel hungry. In other cases, parents (and relatives) use food as rewards. If you’re a good boy (or girl) you get a cookie, or a chocolate bar, or an ice cream cone. Kids need to learn that there are other kinds of rewards – either non-edible (here’s a book, here’s a ball, here’s a hacky sack) or just the satisfaction of being praised for doing a good job.
Once kids begin to lard up, they also become inactive. So inactivity is another problem for the obese child. Again, it is something that is difficult for him or her to correct, as the parent usually has to supply the sport gear, make sure the kid gets to the games, etc. Once upon a time, kids would indulge in active play in a yard or a playgound, with almost no equipment needed. A ball, perhaps, or even just a game of tag or hide and seek. When is the last time you saw kids playing either of those games? We seem to have developed a preference for having our kids in supervised, structured sports, rather than simply learning how to play, but an hour or two a week in the sports arena doesn’t have the benefits of an hour or two a day spent running, biking, jumping, hiking or whatever.
This is turning into a rant — sorry about that — but I feel so sorry for those kids who are being set on the wrong path, even if their parents are well meaning. But ignorant.
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#3 by yellowskinnedguy on October 22nd, 2009
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I believe that our government’s requirements for fitness are way too lenient. Another cause is fast food, its cheap, and is very quick to get. TV and video games also cause children to not discover athletic activities. Or if you were to ask a fat person they might say its genetics or they’re big boned.
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#4 by sunshine on October 22nd, 2009
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too much technology, and a busy lifestyle..parents work hard to be able to afford the lifestyle of today.they work hard and so when they come home its just easier to get take out meals,which are high in fat and less nutritional than traditional meals.they are too tired to participate in getting out into the fresh air with the kids for excersize and do fun activiities.so they just allow their kids to sit in front of the computer or tv because it is easier for them to wind down after a long day at work.
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#5 by Raul D on October 22nd, 2009
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Children eating too much and not getting enough exercise.
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#6 by samitecx on October 22nd, 2009
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Weight gain or loss is the balance between food energy input and exercise energy output.
The government health department offers this insight – "Time trends show a decline in physical activity, but no significant increase in the number of calories consumed."
So maybe eating too much is not the main cause, and a lack of physical output is.
TV and video games have been blamed, but the studies have looked into this and TV is not to blame. "video game play, but not television use, is indeed displacing the time children spend in more physically demanding pursuits." (see source)
Video games then? Well the US state with the heaviest kids has 19% playing 4+ hours, and the state with the leanest youngsters – 3.5%. It does not mean it is a cause, just well correlated.
Could it be changes in not calorie intake, but changes to nutirtion? Maybe the food is less easily burned off and more easily stored?
Let us know the findings of your paper!!
References :
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/Obesity/DH_4133950
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040318073351.htm
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070904/aqtu086.html?.v=18