Did you know that it’s estimated that around 40 million children are obese around the world (Cathaoir 250)? That's more than twice the amount of people who died in World War I. What do we do to take action against this issue? Unfortunately, not a whole heck of a lot.
I mean really how hard would it be to shed some light on a serious problem that's causing so much trouble? How hard would it be to stop a worldwide plague known as child obesity? In truth...very.
Before I get into why we need to stop child obesity, I need to explain to you what is considered obese. It’s quite simple really. If a child (depending on their age) is above the 95th percentile range than they would fall into the class of being considered obese (What is Obesity?). It may sound confusing at first, but just bare with me for a second so I can explain. Just as an example, if a child is 17 years old and ranks 85th on the scale that means out of 100 children (that are also 17), he or she will be heavier than 85 of them, and lighter than 15 of them (What is Obesity?). In America, nearly one-third of all children are obese which means out of every 100, 33 are at or above that 95 percentile (Werner). We have a problem.
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And who and what is the cause of the problem? Childhood obesity “dooms its victims to a lifetime of chronic illness, psychological disorders and even early death” (Werner). As adults, obesity can lead to strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. All this comes at a cost. Childhood obesity costs the U.S. alone $14 billion (Werner) in annual medical spending. Those obese kids, when they turn into adults, turn that $14 billion into so much more. Who is the cause of the problem? Well, it’s the adults, more specifically, almost all cases of obesity in children can be traced back to the parents