Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

A long time ago, people thought a child being chubby was cute; it was assumed their baby fat would melt away and a healthy adult would be left. Back then, it happened more often than not; nowadays, however, the exact opposite is true. Lifestyles changes in family, diet, activity level, and more has brought a new ‘disease’ - Childhood Obesity. We now know that childhood obesity can be very harmful for our nation’s children.

Childhood Obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and teenagers, causing health and psychological problems. It is becoming a great concern for parents as children are getting heavier and heavier (Eberstadt, 2003). There are preventions and treatments that parents can execute to help their children live healthy lives, however, this requires parents to educate themselves about obesity. Obesity, which should be identified before any problems can occur, has become an epidemic in the United States.

What is obesity? Obesity is defined by Webster’s dictionary as increased body weight due to an excessive accumulation of body fat. It is a condition or disease in which the “the natural energy reserve of humans or mammals, which is stored in fat tissue, is expanded far beyond usual levels to the point where it impairs health.” Obesity is most often measured by using the BMI (body mass index). BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height squared in meters. The free online medical dictionary states, “twenty to forty percent over ideal weight is considered mildly obese; 40-100% over ideal weight is considered moderately obese; and 100% over ideal weight is considered severely, or morbidly, obese.” (Farlex)

Childhood Obesity has been around almost thirty years, and has doubled among young children and adolescents in the United States (National Institute of Health, 2002). Current estimates are that one in every three to four children are obese. “If the current childhood obesity trend in the United States continues, by 2050, at least half the population will be obese and could very possibly be less educated than the overall population today.” (Rogers) Obesity in children usually starts when kids do not intake nutritionally necessary foods, exercise less, and sometimes it comes from your family who could be overweight (genetic traits).

Psychological factors are when children are dealing with stress or boredom, or have low self-esteem from teasing or their feeling ‘ugly’, they tend to eat. According to research conducted on overweight children, “there is therefore a greater chance that children with a low physical self-image will view themselves in a negative way in other domains of the self as well. It follows that the psychological effects of obesity on the self-image are not negligible.” (Braet, Mervielde and Vandereycken) Socioeconomic factors could be low-income parents may lack the time