POLICY ANALYSIS FOR CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Policy Analysis for Childhood Obesity

Policy Analysis for Childhood Obesity

Problem Statement

What action should President Barack Obama take to reduce the Childhood obesity?

Background

What is childhood obesity?

For many specialists worldwide, defining obesity is difficult because as previously mentioned, there are many factors that cause and vary between populations. It is important to know that it is normal after four months of age has a large amount of fat, which decreases steadily between two and six years and increase by about seven years.

However, if a child is obese between six months and seven years old, likely to remain obese in adulthood is 40%. If a child is obese between ten and thirteen, the odds are 70%. This is because fat-storing cells multiplied in this stage of life which increases the possibility of the child being obese as an adult. One child (6 to 19 years) considered obese when their weight exceeds 20% over ideal weight for their age, height and sex. One of the best parameters for assessing overweight or obesity is the body mass index. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a ratio between weight and height. BMI indicates the risk of diseases related to overweight and obesity, likely to remain obese as adults and most importantly, the urgency of care.

Facts about Child hood Obesity

The problem of obesity in the United States has become the focus of multiple private and government organizations. It has become such a concern, in fact, that entire departments of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control are dedicated to statistical tracking of obesity. Below are 100 surprising facts on obesity in the United States.

Obesity and Socioeconomic Data

Aside from keeping too many empty-calorie foods in your home, certain environmental and socioeconomic factors relate to obesity. Higher-income Mexican-American men and non-Hispanic black men are more likely to be obese than their lower-income counterparts. Also, Higher-income women are less likely to be obese than low-income women. If you're a man, education has no relationship to your body mass. If you're a woman, you're less likely to be obese if you're college-educated. Physical inactivity is directly related to obesity data. That might sound obvious, but inactivity at work is just as damaging as inactivity at home. Income and education made no difference between 1988-2004 and 2007-2008. Obesity increased for all adults in these years, regardless of situation. Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest rates of obesity overall at 44.1%. Hispanics overall have an obesity prevalence of 37.9%. Mexican-Americans have obesity rating of 39.3%. Non-Hispanic whites have an obesity prevalence of 32.6%.

Children who grow up in rural, minority, or low-income neighborhoods are less likely to have access to healthy food choices and are more likely to eat from convenience stores or restaurants. More than half of U.S. middle and high schools sell sugary soft drinks and snacks to students. In 2009, only 33% of students in U.S. schools attended a daily physical education class. Only about 65% of obese adults have been told by a ...