Childhood Obesity In Children

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Although many people consider their child’s health one of their main concerns, they forget to consider what we they feeding their kids and what effects it can have on their health. Most kid’s diets are consumed with sugar. Although sugar in moderation can have a healthy place in children’s diets, most youth are getting more than double the sugar needed to maintain a healthy diet (Sachs, 2004). High sugar diets have many negative health effects in children such as obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. The measurement used to determine healthy weight is called body mass index. Obesity is considered to be at the 95th percentile or higher compared to other children the same age and size. Obesity is caused when children gain too many pounds because they intake more calories than they burn. Most of the unneeded calories come from sugary drinks/food. Parents give their kids high sugar foods and drinks for many reasons. It is much more convenient for kids to be given a candy bar than it is to prepare them a healthy snack. When children are given these high sugary foods, they are more likely to crave them than they are a healthy snack. These factors have increased the average of obesity in preschoolers up to 60% (Ward, Edmonson &Wheeley, nd). Obesity is preventable in our children and the …show more content…
The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin. Insulin is what lets blood sugar into cells for energy. Over time when there is too much sugar introduced into the body the cells stop responding to insulin. In turn the pancreas starts to produce more insulin to get cell response. Eventually the pancreas wears itself out so blood sugar starts to rise and Type 2 diabetes is now in effect. Type 2 diabetes can have many effects on children\adolescents and the future of their health (high blood pressure, high cholesterol and P.O.S). Although this is a very bad disease it can be controlled by limiting sugar intake and