ipl-logo

Childhood Obesity Epidemic Essay

1047 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How to prevent childhood obesity essay

Did you know that there are more than 3 million cases of obesity in the United States? Most cases of obesity are self-treatable and self-diagnosable. Obesity can last for months or it can be life-long. Obesity most likely occurs from having a much higher calorie intake and not burning off those calories by doing exercise and doing normal daily activities. Obesity can also occur from genetics and/or from a sedentary lifestyle. Obesity is measured by your body-mass index. If the body mass index is greater than or equal to 30, you are considered obese. The main reason obesity is a real problem is because the main symptom is having excessive body fat, which greatly increases the risk of having a serious health problem. The main treatment for most …show more content…

21.3% of adults in Colorado are obese. Obesity in children ranges from 10% to 11%. In Colorado, as of 2012, 21.1% of men are obese and 19.9% of women are obese. The age with the highest range of obesity ranges from 45 to 64 years old. In 1990, only 6.9% of people were obese in Colorado. Arkansas has the highest rate of adult obesity as of 2014. 35.9% of adults in Arkansas are obese. Obesity in children ranges from 14.2% to 20%. In Arkansas, as of 2012, 34.1% of men are obese and 35.1% of women are obese. The age with the highest range of obesity ranges from 26 to 64 years old. In 1995, only 17% of people were obese in Arkansas. According to the most recent data that was released in September 2015, rates of obesity in every state in the United States are above 20 percent. For most people, their body-mass index provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. However, your body-mass index does not directly measure your body fat, for example, muscular athletes may have a body-mass index in the obese category, even though they don’t have excess body fat. The risk factors of obesity include genetics, family lifestyle, inactivity, unhealthy diet, medical problems, certain medications, social and economic issues, age, pregnancy, quitting smoking, and lack of …show more content…

Also, maybe you haven’t been taught the healthy ways to cook, or you don’t have enough money to buy healthier and natural foods. Even the people you spend your time with may influence your weight. Obesity can happen at any moment of your life.
As you age, the more your hormones change, and having a less active lifestyle increases your risk of having obesity. If you don’t do a lot of physical exercise as you age, the amount of muscle in your body will usually decrease. Since you have less muscle and muscle mass, that leads to having a weaker metabolism. If you do not watch and control what you eat and the amount of physical activity that you do as you age, there is a very high chance that you might gain weight.
When a woman is pregnant, she usually tends to gain weight. For some women, it is difficult for them to lose the weight gained after the baby is born. That weight gain during pregnancy can be a contribution to a women developing

Show More
Related
751 Words | 4 Pages

There are many complex conditions to consider when discussing the influences that create the problem. Whether the factors are biological, genetic, behavioral, social, cultural, or environmental it is rapidly growing to an epidemic. Obesity is caused by the increase in the size and the amount of fat cells in the body. Doctors measure body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference to screen and diagnose overweight and obesity. Obesity is a serious medical condition that can cause complications such as metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure,

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

African Americans have the highest percentage of obesity in Connecticut with 37.7%, white have 24.3 % and Hispanics have 30.3%. (The State of Obesity, 2017) Connecticut

Read More
885 Words | 4 Pages

Merriam Webster dictionary defines obesity as a condition that is characterized by excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body and that in an adult is typically indicated by a body mass index of 30 or greater (Merriam-Webster, 2015). In the United States, health costs related to obesity continue to rise and public impact is significant. “Obesity has become a public health issue because the consequences of obesity in terms of higher risk of morbidity and mortality for an individual translate into increased medical care costs, not only for the individual but also for society, and these costs are both large and growing” (Okrent and Alston, 2012). In North Carolina adult obesity rates have increased from 12.3% in 1990 to 29.4% in 2013. North Carolina now ranks eighth in the United States for obesity related diabetes and eleventh for obesity related hypertension (Levi, Segal, Laurent and Rayburn, 2014).

Read More
670 Words | 3 Pages

A study conducted by the CDC, in 2013, with a sample size group of 1,470 found that 17.8% of Arkansas adolescents were obese. The study also concluded that 15.9% of the 1,470 children were overweight. Overweight and obesity in adolescents can be attributed to many different factor (“Data, Trends, and Maps”). These

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

So, when the child/adolescent equal or above the 85% through the 95% range mark on the BMI chart, they are already considered to be overweight and anything beyond the 95% mark is marked obese. Now reported by the Center for Disease Control, studies have shown that since around 2008, it has become a the norm within our society to not just see overweight children, but obese children based upon the BMI chart, which I see a lot of flaw in because we have to realize that muscle weights two-and a -half times more than fat and if you have a physical active or athletic kid/teenager who when weighed, their BMI is marked in the overweight or obese section, yet there physical appearance does not at all resemble an overweight or obese physique what does one do there? But back to the topic, the American problem and concern can be resolved with the works of exercise, diet, and the involvement of parents and a better surrounding when pertaining to one's eating

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

To sum it up, obesity is terrible and deadly disease that is affecting many of our youths today. It is caused by many different things, and has a lot of negative health effects. But, there are plenty of ways to fix this epidemic, both at home and as a whole. As a nation United, America has overcome many challenges and struggles, and this is simply another one that can be

Read More
478 Words | 2 Pages

Obesity in America Obesity is a worldwide issue. It has more than doubled since 1980. While there are other countries that are battling obesity, America leads the world in percentage of people who are obese. (3) According to the CDC website, almost 40 percent of American adults and nearly 20 percent of adolescents are obese.

Read More
1337 Words | 6 Pages

Preventing obesity in older adults in America. Obesity is a disorder involving excessive body that increases the risk of health problems. Obesity is known to be a big problem not only in North Carolina, but in America, that continues to grow each and everyday. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), "A person is obese when their body mass is 30 percent of greater"(pp.2). When a person is overweight or obese, it means the person has taking in more calories than he/she needs. "

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

Being obese is one of the hardest things a person can put their body through. Obesity has many harmful effects on the body. Obesity has become such a major

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

Children 8 to 18 spend 44.5 hours on average weekly watching television and using electronics (Fredericks 11). People wonder why obesity has affected so many americans and this is just the start of the problems. Some of the many contributions to obesity are poverty, gender, genetics, physical activity and diet. About 13 % of children and 61 % of adults are overweight, and with obesity causing 300,000 deaths annually those numbers sound even larger(Nakaya 33). Obesity is an easy problem to fix because of all the research that has been done and all the resources there are.

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

The obesity epidemic is only becoming more world wide spread as years continue to pass. Obesity has dramatically caused many negative effects on America and the way we live today. Obesity is simply defined as having excessive body fat usually resulting in serious medical problems. More specifically, though, obesity occurs when a person's Body Mass Index (BMI) — or, their weight in kilometers divided by the square of height in meters — exceeds 30 or greater. Studies have shown that about 13 million children and adolescents ages 2-19 are obese according to the article “Childhood Obesity: Can it Really Be Child Neglect?” by Abbie Goldbas.

Read More
1428 Words | 6 Pages

Advances in technology have made it easier for individuals to spend long hours sitting in front of screens, whether it be at work or at home. This lack of physical activity leads to a reduced calorie expenditure, which can contribute to weight gain over time. Other factors that contribute to obesity include genetics, certain medical conditions, and certain medications. However, these factors are less prevalent than lifestyle factors such as poor diet and lack of physical activity.

Read More
950 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the years, the obesity rate in America has been dramatically increasing. Obesity is when a person has too much body weight which can be defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. ("Obesity." 1). There is a difference between feeling fat or being slightly overweight and being obese. Feeling fat is a thought or perception that someone has about themselves or someone else.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

To understand when someone is considered to be obese, it is important to know the relationship among height, body weight, and body mass index (BMI). According to classifications by the CDC, a BMI under 18.5 is considered underweight, between 18.5 and 24.9 is a healthy weight, between 25 and 29.9 is overweight, and above 30 is obese (Public Health, 2017). Something that many might wonder is: what makes America so obese? Research claims that the obesity epidemic in the U.S. exists because of large portions, poor education on healthy diets, and lack of physical activity. The increase of meat consumption, added fats, and fast food options are putting more weight on Americans because these foods are not healthy, especially in large serving sizes (Public Health, 2017).

Read More
1076 Words | 5 Pages

It cause physical ,psychological , and social problems. This problem can effect on children's for the rest of their lives. Childhood obesity is one of the main reasons of adulthood obesity also earlier risk obesity-related disease in adulthood. Obesity is defined as the condition in which excess body fat accumulates to the point of causing adverse health effects. It is determined by the body mass index (BMI), a measure that corresponds to weight in length.

Read More

More about Childhood Obesity Epidemic Essay

Related Topics

Open Document