Childhood Obesity And Its Effect On Children - 1784 Words

Obesity is a condition where someone is significantly overweight for their age and height. On a child, it can lead to life-threatening diseases and health problems in the future. This excessive amount of weight that a child bears can lead to future diseases and mental abuse from peers and even on rare occasion s parents. Childhood obesity has become a national problem in the United States and continues to grow at a substantial rate. This growing health problem presented with children is affecting them negatively for the future. Is fast food really to blame, or is it the new lazy lifestyle that revolves around technology? With technology growing quickly, children seem to be less likely to play outside and live an active lifestyle than†¦show more content†¦While all of these circumstances are unique for every child for genetic reasons, there are many ways that these unhealthy habits can still be physically detrimental to a child growing up and being obese. There are several negative effects on children struggling with obesity, these include future health problems, becoming more susceptible to bullying, and depression. In this analysis, I will explore different resources that will explore the negative effects on childhood obesity in the United States. Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is occurring in both genders across the 50 states, but now more than ever it is affecting children. While numbers vary, throughout the nation about 11%-14% of children are now considered obese (Ferraro et al. 2002). This rate is slowly increasing and according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2011-2012) in 2011 to 2012, that number increased to 17% or 12.7 million children. These numbers are staggering, and while parents believe it s just a phase obesity can lead to life-threatening diseases if not treated quickly and soon. Helen N. Sweeting suggests that there is an imbalance of input and output of energy (2008). Children are eating more and playi ng less. HOW MEDIA IS CONTRIBUTING TO OBESITY: Ever wonder what commercials are playing on the television when your child is upstairs? According to the documentary Fed Up, as