If You Pitch It They Will Eat It Analysis

Is this fast and easy food many young people are eating today helping keep us alive and nourished or actually just taking years off of our lives in the long run? Up to 31% of teenagers in the United States are considered overweight or obese. The percentage of obese children has tripled over the last 40 years. The exact reason why this number has become so high can be from a number of things. Obesity can be caused from bad family eating habits that most children are born into, easy access to all of these foods because the overwhelming amount of fast food restaurants on almost every corner, or simply because these foods taste good. The number of medical cases related to bad eating habits is extremely high and is only going to grow higher if we

These include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol levels, increased risk of heart problems, and trouble breathing. Overweight children have an 80% chance of becoming overweight adults, which can lead to many more health problems. In the article “If You Pitch It, They Will Eat It” by David Barboza, the author states ”Since 1980, the number of obese children has more than doubled to 16% (p.9)”. Obesity can become a problem if a child has poor eating habits, overeats frequently, does not exercise, is going through stressful life events or changes, or can even be caused by some medications. But the biggest reason is because of the foods very high in fat, salt, and other things that are bad for our body that many American children eat almost every week. Obesity can not only have a negative effect on the body, but also a negative effect on their emotions. It is sad to say, but there is a lot of cruel people that bully or harass someone for being overweight or obese. This constant bullying can cause depression, anxiety, and also obsessive compulsive disorder which is seen in many overweight children and

Heron states “ After all, eating well requires education. We can teach students to choose good foods and to understand how their choices affect their health and environment(P.9)”. Schools should make nutrition information a bigger part in their curriculum. If children are exposed to all of the bad health effects that these foods can cause, maybe that will persuade them to eat better. Parents also need to become educated on this growing problem, because after all it really does start with the food choices of the parents. Health classes should be offered for students and their parents and should show the nutrition facts of the foods they are currently feeding their children and hopefully that will make them choose healthier alternatives. The program can possibly grow to where they can become an actual cooking class that shows parents how to make their fruits and vegetables taste better, so they can take those healthy food choices home with them and continue the journey to a healthy and longer