According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, thirty percent of children are overweight (Hunter Eating). One third of all children and teens in the United States are obese (Scobey 1). American spends more money than any other country on health care. This epidemic is caused by inadequate eating habits that form in childhood. American children need to be taught how to establish proper eating habits, knowledge is power. Children need to be given the power to control their own life, the root of most health problem can be traced back to diet. America is currently on the verge of a healthcare epidemic due to poor dietary habits; American children need to develop better eating habits to ensure a lifetime of health and wellness. Childhood obesity is a real dilemma is American culture. As a country, America is a …show more content…
According to a recent government survey, cases of anorexia nervosa have doubled in the last ten years (Hunter Eating). Anorexia is when one has an obsessive desire to lose weight and stay abnormally thin. When one has anorexia they starve themselves, refusing to eat food in order to loss or maintain weight. A symptom of this disease is excessive exercising. Parents pass on their generalized anxiety about food to their children (Wilson First 3). This makes children more aware that the way their body looks is a problem, when in most cases it is normal. The most common type of anorexia patient is a white young woman from the middle to upper-middle class. Anorexia is thought to result from psychological or emotional stress (Hunter Eating). In America the rate of eating disorders in children is increasing at a frightening rate. Children see that they are gaining weight from the food they eat and want to take control of the problem.When children do this they are creating a whole new set of problems. Anorexia is not the only type of eating disorder to affect young children, girls in