Obesity in Children: Causes and Solution (Essay Sample)

Obesity in children
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Obesity in children
Ladies and gentlemen, the alarming rate of increase in children that are overweight throughout the nation is worrying. Most of the families, school and the society at a large are in a state of panic on how to resolve the matter. The impact of this problem is deeply felt by all stakeholders because one out five children in US are overweight Scherer, L. (2013). It is of much concern that the obesity policies in US is failing to address the issue Scherer, L. (2013).
The problem of child overweight affects us directly and indirectly. Most us tend to assume that health is self-obligation but it is not. The effect of child obesity goes beyond the adolescent stage. Today most families have to endure increased cost of health due to the problem. A child that is overweight many times experiences harassment in school hence affecting their performance and directly lowering self-esteem Scherer, L. (2013).
I stand in front of you to persuade you of the importance of addressing the child overweight. The problem becomes minimal when all of us collectively approach the issue than when individually approached. Let us give life again to these innocent children by helping them to have a brighter future. Please take consideration of becoming the champions of eradicating child overweight. From statistics, the number obese children in the US are approximately 17% (12.7 m) and they are between the ages of 2-19 (Burniat, 2014). From a report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on overweight, it shows that there is significant increase of obesity in children from 7% to 18% in the last 30 years. This calls for great concern (Burniat, 2014), (http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/facts.htm ).
As we sit here today, I would like to share my views about obesity in children. The factors that cause obesity, the impact on the child's life and us and finally a solution to this problem will be adequately addressed.
Ladies and gentlemen, a child who is overweight means that a child has too much weight than what is being considered normal by doctors. When the BMI of the child is above 95% on the growth chart then the child is on a verge of becoming overweight (Burniat, 2014).
There exist several factors that make a child overweight. These factors are to be categorized into two main groups that are physical activity environment and the type of food taken. Let us begin discussing physical environment activities (Burniat, 2014),(http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Obesity_In_Children_And_Teens_79.aspx ).
Today our children assess limited playing grounds due to pressure on land usage. Due to this, most of the children do not participate in games. This results in children becoming overweight because fewer calories are burnt in the body. Once again, most playing places are unsafe for children to play thus their parents discourage them to go and play in fear of security. From the statistics done children spend at least 6-8 hours to watch television hence they dedicate less time to physical activities (Scherer, 2013), (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000383.htm)
The type of food we give our children