Veicht 1 Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction.

This quote by Annie Sullivan is extremely true about children, in that they do need a great deal of help from their parents. They rely on their parents not only for food and shelter, but also for guidance and sympathy. For these reasons, parents need to watch and control what their child consumes so they can make sure the child develops in a happy and healthy way. Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that needs to be taken extremely seriously. The initial goal was to find some data that explained the dramatic increase in child obesity. Surprisingly, there was a great deal of information available on this topic, and apparently several other people noticed this trend in Americas children. According to the University of Michigan, in the years 2003-2004, 17.1% of children and teens, aged 2-19 years (over 12 and a half million young people) were overweight. Obesity is common enough among children and has gotten so out of control over the past twenty years that we can consider it an epidemic. Studies have shown a dramatic rise in the number of obese children in the last few decades in the United States. Between 1980 and 2000 obesity rates doubled among children and tripled among teens (Obesity and Overweight). One specific case is child named Jennifer. Jennifer was described as being about nine years old and between four and five feet tall. She weighed one hundred and fifty pounds, which is about eighty pounds higher than what she is supposed to be for her age. Because Jennifer was miserably overweight for her height and age she was required to come in for weekly weight checks with a physician to see if she was losing any weight. Jennifer is just one example of this terrible obesity dilemma. After discovering this source showing the sudden increase in child obesity, curiosity came into play and more research was done to see if diseases related to obesity increased in

Veicht 2 children also. Adult obesity causes many disorders and diseases so it was necessary to find out which ones were applicable to children. Being obese increases a child's risk for some serious childhood medical problems such as pre-diabetes and diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia (too much fat in the blood, which can clog the arteries), sleep apnea and breathing problems, bone conditions, gastro-intestinal diseases, and psychological problems (Obesity and Overweight). These reasons seem pretty obvious, because a childs body cannot handle the high amount of fat tissues and sugar intake. Take Jennifer for example, she herself had high blood pressure, heart disease, and asthma just from her obesity. Her pediatrician told her if she lost weight, she would most likely be rid of at least her issues of heart disease and high blood pressure, if not asthma also. Also, another interesting factor that was found in this same research was that kids can become overweight because of their environment. Some studies indicate that environmental chemicals may play a role. Researchers hypothesize that in utero or newborn exposure to chemicals such as chemicals in a childs baby bottle may damage the bodys weight-control mechanisms and lead to obesity (Obesity and Overweight). Another environmental factor is once again, depending on who the child is around a lot. If the child has a playmate that constantly is eating or is eating poor foods, the child is more likely to partake in this behavior. This is mainly because children learn from who they are exposed to, and how much discipline their parents give them. CBS News addresses the issue with fast food being problematic with children, because of the large issue with childhood obesity. Children in the twenty-first century are much more obese than children were thirty years ago, and the issue is continuing to get worse. Parents need to cut back the amount of fast food they allow their children to eat. Fast food has also become a large

Veicht 3 issue with childrens growth in obesity. Every day, nearly one-third of U.S. children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food, which likely packs on about six extra pounds per child per year and increases the risk of obesity, a study of 6,212 youngsters found. The availability of fast foods over the past few decades is phenomenal (Fast Food Linked to Obesity). Over the past few decades women have also been more involved in the work force, which causes both parents to be too busy to cook dinner. They instead decide to just hit a drive-thru restaurant to nourish their children instead of a healthy home cooked meal. Families with higher income and that live in the South tend to have higher fast food intake, and seem to be the ones effected by the high weight gain (Fast Food Linked to Obesity). The main reason for this is because families with higher income have a tendency to have parents that both work full-time jobs and have little to no time to cook for their family. Fast food provides a quick and easy drive through service and requires little to no time to just pick up food and go. This is a dangerous habit to pick up for parents, because it increases the childs chances of becoming obese. Another reason parents need to take the time to prepare dinner and eliminate the amount of fast food because their children will mimic this behavior when they get older. If children do not learn proper eating habits, they will continue to eat improperly and become obese adults as well, and have high cholesterol. This cycle just becomes worse and even deadly as the child grows into the adult and so on because of all the dangerous diseases that come with obesity such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, and so forth. Another contributor to childhood obesity is the characters in the media that portray obesity and make it seem acceptable. Various stereotypes of obese people have found their way into expressions of popular culture. A common stereotype is the obese character that has a

Veicht 4 warm and dependable personality, but equally common is the obese vicious bully. Some examples include Dudley Dursley from the Harry Potter book series, Eric Cartman from South Park, and Nelson Muntz from The Simpsons. Gluttony and obesity are commonly depicted together in works of fiction. In cartoons, obesity is often used to portray a comedic effect, with fat cartoon characters such as Piggy, Porky Pig, Tummi Gummi, and Podgy Pig having to squeeze through narrow spaces, frequently getting stuck or even exploding (Obesity). Children are constantly growing, even until they grow into being adults, so it is extremely important for them to consume enough calories to grow, but not to become obese. Children, unlike adults, need extra nutrients and calories to fuel their growth and development. So if they consume about the number of calories they need for daily activities, growth and metabolism, they add pounds in proportion to their added inches. But children who eat more calories than they need gain weight beyond what's needed to support their growing frames. In these cases, the added weight increases their risk of obesity and weight-related health problems (Childhood Obesity 1). What the child eats, as one would assume, is extremely important also for their elevated growth patterns. Children grow at such a rapid rate, that a few extra calories will not hurt them because of their high metabolism, but in the long run it can be extremely detrimental to their growing bodies. According to the American Heart Association, the easiest way to lose weight is to just control what you consume. Reducing calorie intake is the easiest change. Highly restrictive diets that forbid favorite foods are likely to fail. They should be limited to rare patients with severe complications who must lose weight quickly (Overweight in Children). If parents would just discontinue with their purchases of high calorie sweets and snacks the child would be able to cut down on their calorie intake, and begin to lose weight fairly quickly. Parents' involvement in

Veicht 5 modifying overweight children's behavior is important. Parents who model healthy eating and physical activity can positively influence their children's health (Overweight in Children). Another issue with obesity in children is they mimic their parents and role models behavior a great deal. If a childs parent, for example, does not exercise on a regular basis and chooses to watch television instead, the child will be less likely to partake in exercising or participating in after school extra-curricular activities as well. One personal observation of this fact that comes to mind is of a girl named Sarah I knew in grade school. Sarah was an overweight girl, and never participated at recess or physical education unless she was forced to by a teacher. One day all of the students in my class went to a field trip, and we got back late so we had to have our parents come and pick us up. When I was waiting for my mom to pick me up from school, I saw Sarah getting picked up by her mom, who also was overweight. It was clear to me that her mother did not enforce exercising because she was overweight as well. Recent medical research on childhood obesity states One of the best strategies to combat excess weight in your children is to improve the diet and exercise levels of your entire family. This helps protect the health of your children now and in the future (Childhood Obesity 1). If families begin to exercise together, not only will the child lose weight, but the entire family can get into shape and start engaging better eating habits together. Recently, scientists have found that sleep deprivation is tied with childhood obesity as well. Children who get less than nine hours of sleep a night are more likely to be overweight or obese, new research shows. Sleep-deprived kids also have more than a 3 percent increase in body fat on average compared to youngsters who sleep for more than nine hours nightly (Children Who Sleep Less Weigh More). Parents that do not regulate their childs bedtime are allowing them to stay up late where children typically watch television, play video

Veicht 6 games, and consume caffeine and snacks. According to this research, children typically sleep less on weekends and during the summer, which makes sense because they do not have to worry about getting up for anything the next day. Parents are also likely to be more lenient on the weekends and during the summer because of the fact that their children are not obligated to do anything, and this allows the children to begin this bad habit. Many parents also use snacks as a reward to get the child to complete tasks and chores that they want them to accomplish. For example, many parents reward their children with dessert if they finish their entire dinner. This is a bad idea because the child might be full, but they continue eating anyway just so they can have the dessert. According to the Mayo Clinic of Medical Research, this scenario can also lead to unnecessary arguments with the child, because they will not want to finish eating their dinner they will just want their reward. As a general rule, foods aren't recommended for behavior modification in children (Childhood Obesity 1). The schools children attend have not been a huge success either in pointing the students toward healthier solutions. The majority of elementary and high schools offer high cholesterol and sugar filled foods available to all of their students on a daily basis. Yvonne Sanders-Butler, principle of an Browns Mill Elementary school in Georgia decided to change this aspect. We changed the menus, we put in more fruit and vegetables. We took out all of the processed sugar, about 90 percent. Sugar, high fat, and processed foods and drinks are no longer on the menu at Browns Mill Elementary. Dr. Butler even invested her own money into the development of the sugar-free program because she believes that we must serve and support the whole child. The results of Dr. Butler's 'sugar-free' school have soared to new heights with higher test scores, fewer disciplinary programs, and fewer weight problems among students (Healthy Kids Smart Kids).

Veicht 7 In the UK, children have also gained weight in the past decade, but they have not gained as much as American children. The Social Issues Research Council, or the SIRC, said average child weights have only risen faintly. SIRC, which compared average weights in 1995 and 2003, said obesity levels have started to rise amongst older teenagers but the middle age people were most at risk. The survey showed that an average 15-year-old boy weighed 60.7kg in 2003, compared with just over 58.8kg in 1995. For a 15-year-old girl, the average 2003 weight was slightly under at 58.9kg compared with 58.5kg in 1995 (Child Obesity Fears Over-hyped). Children were also looked at in accordance to their overall height change in the past eight years. According to the SIRC, they said the international measure - which it said was better because it took into account the increase in children's average height since 1995 - showed rates had increased from 3.9% in 1995 to 6.75% in 2003 (Child Obesity Fears Over-hyped). The main reason for the UKs only minor weight increase change is due to their country having fast food not as readily available as the U.S. Also, public transportation is not as predominant so they have to walk at least twice as much as the average American. Studies conducted in the last 20 to 30 years show a strong correlation between obesity and lack of physical activity. Nearly half of youths aged 12 to 21 years old are not vigorously active on a regular basis (Childhood Obesity 2). One major issue that is associated when children and adolescents find out or feel they are overweight can lead to serious psychological and physiological problems. Negative physical consequences of excessive dieting can include delayed linear growth. In a study evaluating children with short stature and/or delayed puberty, approximately 7% of the subjects fit a pattern of growth-failure due to malnutrition resulting from self-imposed calorie restriction, arising from a fear of obesity. Normal weight gain decreased in these adolescents at 12 years of

Veicht 8 age, followed by a decline in linear growth velocity. Puberty was also delayed in half of the subjects, and bone age was delayed 0.5 to 5.5 years (Negative Consequences of Dieting). Children who diet too frequently or too excessively usually have problems with puberty, amongst other issues. This is especially bad, because now they went from being slightly overweight to having malnutrition issues so severe that even with their fast paced growth schedule they still cannot seem to grow. Adolescent weight-loss has been linked

with an increased risk of long-term weight gain. A study of high school females found that those who restricted their dietary intake, exercised for weight control, and labeled themselves as dieting were at increased risk for obesity later in life. Appetite-suppressant and laxative use, vomiting, and binge eating also predicted greater weight gain over the 3-year study period. After controlling for initial body mass, adolescents who reported dieting and other weight-loss efforts, either healthy or unhealthy, were more likely than those who did not report these efforts to gain weight (Negative Consequences of Dieting). The reason these teenage girls will

have problems with weight gain when they get older is because they are putting their bodies into starvation mode. This means that since they are not giving their bodies proper nutrients and are not meeting the daily calorie intake requirements their bodies think they are starving themselves. When these girls actually do begin to eat properly, their bodies will store all of their calories they intake because their body assumes this will happen again. This causes dramatic weight gain, along with difficulty trying to lose the weight. Dieting in obese adolescents is associated with decreased resting energy expenditure. A low-energy diet, comprised of calorie restriction only, causes a significant reduction in resting energy expenditure. The reduction in resting energy expenditure exceeded that accounted for by changes in lean body mass by 15% in one study. At a

Veicht 9 certain point in weight-loss efforts, obese patients have to either further decrease caloric intake or preferably increase physical activity to continue to lose weight (Negative Consequences of Dieting). The high rate of failure to lose weight in obese children and adolescents may be caused by this decreased resting. Dieting can also have a significant impact

on psycho logic health in adolescents, during a time of rapid physical, psycho logic, and social development. Several studies have correlated adolescent problem behavior with dieting status. The most negative patterns of psychosocial and health behavior were found among frequent dieters and purgers, while the most positive patterns were found among the group of neverdieting nonpurgers (Negative Consequences of Dieting). In summary, parents need to regulate childrens calorie intake, promote exercising habits, and sleep schedules. Children rely and look up to their parents for their guidance and assistance, so the parents need to step up and help their children grow into healthy and happy adults. If they do not, their children could wind up having health problems as adults, and will have a higher chance of developing a disease related to obesity. At the end of an article that talked about Jennifer it had mentioned that she had lost thirty pounds, and was on her way to a much happier and healthier lifestyle, all because she and her family actively worked at making her eat healthier and exercise more frequently. Obesity has been more predominant over the past few decades and is a dilemma that needs to be taken seriously, especially with the rising number of children being diagnosed with it. The reasons most children are diagnosed with obesity have to do with behavior and habits, environmental factors, media, availability of poor foods, and genetics. If we do not do anything about this issue

Veicht 10 children will only get worse in weight, and it will continually be passed along the gene pool for generations to come. Children are also consuming way too much fast food, and their parents need to regulate this issue. Although fast food is a fast and inexpensive option for meals, it is not an option that needs to be chosen on a weekly basis. Parents need to take the time to prepare foods that are healthier for their children in order to avoid obesity issues.