OBESITY

Does Children's Media Lead to Obesity?

[Name of the Author]

Does Children's Media Lead to Obesity?

Introduction

In the last hundred years, childhood obesity has gone from nearly non-existent, to something we deal with each and every day. In just the last decade however, it has tripled. Seeing children running in their yards used to be something normal, but now, it is something rare. Instead, 25% of our children are watching over 4 hours of television a day. The obesity epidemic has become more common in recent years, and it is only going to continue. Becoming involved with your children, and encouraging them to exercise will reduce their risk(Calle et al, 1999).

Obesity epidemic is widespread phenomena and becoming the biggest concern of developed nations. There can be numerous factor contributing to the phenomena and among them media is considered as important one. Media is the outcome of technological advancement and it has evolved with the passage of time. The volatile condition of world has seek the attention of media, where every kind of news had broadcasted and every event has been provided with media coverage. This broadcasting includes commercial programs gaining the attention of children, including content for both children 6-12 and separate programs for teen agers. This has increased the viewership of T.V and much of their program is consumed in watching them.

Childhood obesity may result in number disease, including diabetes, hypertension, hyper-lipidemia, liver and renal disease, and reproductive dysfunction. Childhood obesity is likely to continue in adulthood and chances to inherent cardiovascular diseases. The obesity epidemic is considered to be multifaceted disorder. the phenomena is increasing at fast rate that it has become the biggest concern of developed countries. According to survey conducted by The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reveals that dominance of obesity is increasing mostly in in all paediatric age groups, in both sexes, and in various ethnic and racial groups.

Obesity is defined as disease in which body weight is adversely affected but excessive body fat (Royal College of Physicians, 1998). The body mass index is the most popular parameters to measure body weight. BMI is calculated weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres. body mass index is a parameter that is utilized in calculating a person's health using his weight and height. It is an important parameter is determining if the person is obese or not (Calle et al, 1999).

Discussion

There are multiple causes of obesity in children, some are things they can't help; such as genetics, or their families having a low income. Others, are lifestyle habits that, with a little time and effort, can be changed. Genetic characteristics are passed from parent to child, and many of them can lead to weight gain. Obesity is to be genetic to run in family trees, than it is to only affect one person in their immediate family. Another cause of obesity is screen time (Dietz & Gortmaker, 1985).

Sedentary behaviours in front of the television or computer, such as playing video games, watching movies ...