Childhood Obesity

Submitted By Blaise3
Words: 1492
Pages: 6
Open Document
Childhood Obesity
The most important aspect of publishing research is the credibility of the researcher and the sources from which the author collects data. Without credibility it is impossible for the reader to trust the information in the article. Throughout the article, “Childhood Obesity,” the researcher, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, presents surveys from other researchers who have conducted studies on childhood obesity. She covers different possibilities of the source of childhood obesity, and uses other researchers to convey information to the public to show the importance of the prevention of childhood obesity. The author of the article entitled “Childhood Obesity” uses credible resources in order to validate her research and to back up the statements she expresses throughout the article.
This article published by Sebelius covers the causes of childhood obesity. She states that there are several reasons as to how a child could become obese such as the child’s nutrition and eating habits, his or her physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors, the parental influences, genetics, and advertising and marketing from television. The items and time a child eats is directly related to whether the child could become obese or not. If a child eats fast food or foods high in fat and sugars the risk of their chances of becoming obese greatly increase. The amount of times and the time of day a child eats also heightens their chances because a child is less active at night meaning they will not burn the calories off like they would during the day. Also, too much food is an overdose of calories and fat, and the child cannot burn off the extra calories quickly. Sebelius states in her article that when a child has time to relax or down time the child would go outside and hang out with friends but now children spend most of their time in front of a television or computer. This increases their chance of becoming obese because they are not engaging in any physical activity throughout the day. Parental influences also affect a child’s chances of becoming obese. The influences a parent has on a child range from if they breast feed or not all the way to how a child interacts with food while the parent is absent. If the parent makes the food available to the child while they are alone, they will more than likely snack on it. However, if the unhealthy food were not readily available they would not be tempted to eat it. Offspring of obese parents will often have a higher body mass index. There is around a seventy-five percent chance that a child with two obese parents will end up obese, and a twenty-five percent chance that the child will be obese if only one of his or her parents is obese exclaims Sebelius. While a child is watching television or on the computer there are often commercials or advertisements that promote unhealthy food and fast food. These advertisements influence children to want to eat these foods because they make them look appealing, but these foods are high in calories and fat and low in nutrients.
The article “Childhood Obesity” is posted on the website of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The secretary and article writer of the website is Kathleen Sebelius. The “Biography” article about Sebelius on the HHS website states “she was named one of Forbes 100 most powerful women in the world.” In the article, Sebelius says that the HHS organization provides several different resources for people who need them. It is one of the leading organizations that provide services, like healthcare, for Americans. It is also one of the nations leading health care insurers, which include but are not limited to, Medicare and Medicaid. One in four Americans have one of the two insurances, which prove how reliable the HHS is. Sebelius states in the article “the HHS programs provide for equitable treatment of beneficiaries nationwide, and they enable the collection of national health and other data.” Their main
Show More

Related Documents: Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity Essay

Childhood Obesity Demographic HCS/490 January 27, 2013 Childhood Obesity Demographic Childhood obesity is a public health problem that has become increasingly more serious in the United States. Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. A person is considered overweight if he or she has a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg/m2; a BMI of greater than 30 kg/m2 is considered obese. This growing overweight…

Words 847 - Pages 4

Obesity: Obesity and Childhood Obesity Rate Essay

Obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping the nation and growing exponentially. Currently more than 500,000,000 adults worldwide are suffering from obesity. Most people look at obesity as only being caused by overeating, but there are many other factors that contribute to the spreading of obesity. One in particular is technology. Between the last 100 years and now technological advances have played a big part in the climbing obesity rates and will continue to do so in the future. In the past, many…

Words 804 - Pages 4

Essay on childhood obesity

241-803 Childhood Obesity Did you know that in today’s society obesity is threatening the health of not only adults but of our future, our children? “For the first time in U.S. history our children’s lifespan is shorter than their parents” (Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, et al, 2005). Obesity is increased body weight caused by excessive accumulation of fat. This is an ongoing issue that has intended to be corrected for several decades. There are many problems that can lead to childhood obesity;…

Words 908 - Pages 4

Obesity: Obesity and Childhood Obesity Rates Essay

Obesity: Government or Personal Responsibility? As of 2012, there are 33,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the world (How many are there). Because of evidence that obesity is a serious health problem facing children today, school officials and food manufactures want to provide children more nutritious food. Obesity has become a global epidemic. Some states have tax on soda and some are considering this. Unless obesity is shown as a matter of personal responsibility, we should not blame fast-food restaurants…

Words 1207 - Pages 5

Childhood Obesity Essay

Reflective Essay on Childhood Obesity PSYC 100 Tasha Mac University of Maryland Childhood obesity is a major concern for parents, teachers, and the medical community with differing philosophies and theories on causes and prevention. Inactivity, genetics, technology and parenting attitudes and beliefs are factors which contribute to childhood obesity. Peer pressure and social circles also create an epidemic of children overweight or obese. Intervention…

Words 717 - Pages 3

Childhood Obesity In America

Childhood Obesity in America and its Leading Factors In the United States seeing an obese child is not very uncommon and because of how many people are affected by obesity, it has assimilated into American society. This pandemic has remained in the shadows of many other disorders and diseases, creating a large group of people and children that have been affected because of how the proper measures haven’t been taken in order to prevent it. The increase in Childhood obesity in the United States in…

Words 824 - Pages 4

Childhood Obesity Essay

the Causes and Effects of Childhood Obesity ENG 122 English Composition II August 13, 2012 Understanding the Causes and Effects of Childhood Obesity Introduction Is it difficult to escape the fate of becoming obese with high calorie foods and snacks available around every corner at vending machines, fast food restaurants, convenience stores and even at home? There is much controversy on obesity being a choice rather than an uncontrollable lifestyle. How does obesity occur? What are the causes…

Words 2206 - Pages 9

Childhood obesity Essay

Facts and figures of childhood obesity in New Zealand Childhood obesity Statistics from: http://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/obesity-data-and-stats Surveyed 2012/13 by the New Zealand Health Survey 1 in 9 children (aged 2-14) were obese (11%) A further 1 in 5 children were overweight (22%) 19% of Māori children were obese 27% of Pacific children were obese Children living in the most deprived areas were 3 times as likely to be obese as children…

Words 685 - Pages 3

Childhood Obesity Facts

Childhood Obesity is Rising in Epidemic Proportions “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years” (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). If our society doesn't make a change, our children will be at a greater risk for becoming obese as an adult. They will then be at a higher risk of developing health problems such as; heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and cancer (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). Not only does being obese as a child…

Words 1062 - Pages 5

The Importance Of Childhood Obesity

parents. It is one of the reason why the diseases like obesity are so common in this days. Lack of taking care in general, and the lack of care, including diet particularly, lead to the diseases like obesity. To be obese means to be above one's normal weight. A person has traditionally been considered as obese if he or she has more than 20% over their ideal weight. According to Green, Hargrove, and Riley, in recent years the percentage of obesity in elementary school students grew exponentially and…

Words 1844 - Pages 8