Childhood Obesity a Growing Epidemic

Abstract

The paper discuses the problem of obesity among children, its causes and prevention tips. Obesity is defined as unhealthy excess of body fat, which increases the risk of medical illness and premature death. In the United States of America, it is considered to be the most widespread pressing nutritional condition prevalent amongst children and adolescents alike.

The research paper contains introduction of obesity among children, discussion including factors of obesity and in the last, the paper concludes with the summary of the entire content.

Childhood Obesity a Growing Epidemic

Introduction

Obesity is a chronic disease characterized by excess of fat. It can occur in early age of life and is difficult to cure; therefore its prevalence increases with increasing age. Due to social, economic and biological factors, it has been observed that the causes, consequences and solutions of the problem, and etiology genetic determinants involved birth, social and cultural factors. However, the greatest impact on excessive fat is due to the change in the lifestyle pattern with a sedentary daily life, which is influenced by the adoption of new cultural patterns (Ogden, et. al., 2002). Obesity in children involves much health problems, which includes Type II diabetes, blood pressure, high cholesterol, and many more.

The paper contains discussion part which is focused on causes of obesity and its prevention and conclusion part summarizes the whole content in a short paragraph. As obesity is increasing among children, the dangers to health are also rising. Obese children are facing and suffering from diseases which adults do. That means the diseases affect obese children before the actual age comes. This has a great impact on individual, family and society. The most important factor contributing to obesity is poor diet. Unhealthy, oily, and fast foods are some of the reasons for poor diet. the discussion part will discuss the major factors contributing to obesity among children and its growing epidemic in detail.

Thesis statement

The causes of high obesity and its effects on the health of children in United States

Discussion

As discussed in introduction, obesity is a health problem that causes many severe diseases. It is a risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, several types of cancer, and other chronic health problems. It is a significant health problem in the United States of America and has reached a level that at which it can be considered as an epidemic worldwide and has now even become a significant problem amongst children and adolescents, alike. Adults and children, suffer from obesity that has seen them become an object to ridicule amongst their peers. They are subjected to bigotry treatment and suffer from frequent health problems (Ogden, et. al., 2002).

Causes of obesity

The main causes of obesity in children are:

Portion size:

It refers to consuming more calories than are essential for energy, due to which, the overload stores fat in the body. The quantity of food is the first and basic factor which tends to cause obesity. According to previously studied data, some with the increase in body weight may ...