Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

Introduction and Thesis

In today's society obesity has risen greatly, causing a major health concern, in children, in part this is due to unhealthy food choices and physical inactivity. The percentage of overweight children from 1980 to present time has more than doubled. Eighteen percent of children six to eleven years olds are considered over weight and seventeen percent of twelve to nineteen year-old adolescents are weight, and the number of children between the ages of two to five has almost tripled in the last forty years (The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2005 as per Fogel, Miltenberger, Graves, Koehler, 2010). A detailed study is conducted which provides a thorough analysis over the obesity issues among the children of U.S. The scope of this paper will include definition of childhood obesity, the overview of current state of obese children, techniques used to measure obesity in children, health concerns related to childhood obesity, physical activity, and issues that impact quality Physical Education in a positive way, and an action plan that will improve motor skills of children (Winick, 1975). This study constructs a postulate of all the reasons and possible solutions that can be helpful for the remedy of this risky disease and provide prevention measure.

What is childhood obesity and how it can be measured?

The definition of obesity is “an excessive accumulation of the body fat.” Since, The Center of Disease Control (2012) has defined obesity in adolescents as those individuals who have the body mass (BMI) at or even above the 95th percentile (Smith, 1999). However, the methods for measuring the level of obesity in children are through measuring the thickness of their skin folds, height, weight and their body mass index if the total equals thirty pounds or more the child is considered obese.” (http://www.cde.gov/obesity/childhood/ basics.html)

The Effects and Health Concerns related to Childhood obesity

According to Wittberg, Northrup, & Cottrel, (2009) Studies have shown that overweight children's physical, social, and emotional developments are significantly affected. Overweight children are prong to be more socially withdrawn, depressed, and anxious. Health concerns related to childhood obesity include the risk of high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and issues of high blood pressure, breathing problems such as asthma, joint problems and musculoskeletal pain, compared to children of lower weight categories. Studies have indicated that obesity of a child affects his/her academic performance (Snetselaar, 2009). A child becoming obese is greater among children who have parents that are obese, due to genetic factors or parental modeling or eating and exercising habits. The child who is obese is more prone to be obese as adults.

Analysis form Researches

The health of children and the young adults in U.S, in a particular obesity has become a major concern in the past few decades. Around the gflobe U.S has always been viewed as a country full of healthy and attractive people, however in the last two decades there has been an increase in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension among the adults and children ...