Download - English Paper Final Research Paper
Briana Vincent
ENGL 015
12/14/11
Final Paper Rough Draft:
Obesity is a simple seven-letter word in the English language that is used quite frequently
today. Unfortunately, it’s one of the most complex and serious problems in the American
society. Although, some do realize that obesity is a nation wide problem, our society’s most
crucial focus should pertain to the rising obesity rates in children. Sadly, this horrific epidemic
affects more than 1/3 of the children in the United States (Nanci, 12b). Why is this problem so
difficult to tackle? Are parents, teachers, doctors, and our communities, doing enough to avoid
this widespread issue? Do the economics and extreme stress levels in our home environments
contribute to this massive struggle for children in today’s society? Although there are some
programs being developed to help aid in the reduction of child obesity, we as a community aren’t
putting in enough effort to tackle this epidemic properly. Child obesity rates, as high as they are
today, can be viewed as a result of poor parental dietary supervision, lack of nutrition programs
in our school systems, possible depression, technology, and lack of personal fitness activity.
Therefore, my question is, even though we as a society are beginning to tackle this issue, why
aren’t we seeing a more widespread and positive outcome? In order to reduce the alarming
escalation rate of obesity in children, nutritional and physical education is essential. Jointly, both
schools and parents must work together to make this issue the upmost priority in young kids’
lives. It must start with parents and schools to take the initiative to motivate children to live a
healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, if these high obesity rates aren’t taken more seriously, the
children of our future will face serious consequences. These might include the onset of
depression, chronic health issues, serious diseases, and earlier mortality rates. the end, these
children are our future, and we aspire to have healthier children to make our world a better place
where they can thrive without having to worry about struggling with health problems.
Striving to stay healthy in today’s society, although difficult at times, is extremely important.
Journalist Barbara Mantel has taken notice of how hard eating healthy actually is in today’s
society. She states that researchers have understood that sometimes gaining a significant amount
of weight can’t always be controlled. On the other hand, they have noticed a few factors that
significantly impact the weight gain of individuals in our society today. Amongst these factors
are, consuming low quantities of fruits and vegetables, the American “obesogenic” environment
that produces larger portion sizes, consuming unhealthy food, and performing no physical
activity whatsoever (Mantel). Do you still question why statistics have revealed that 1/3 of
children are obese in today’s society?
Childhood obesity results when a child’s health and/ or wellbeing is affected by their
excessive weight. It has been noted, that resulting from unhealthy eating habits, children who are
obese are more likely to develop serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension
later on in their life. These life-threatening diseases have an emotional impact on the obese
individual along with their family and friends. What is most upsetting is the lack of control and
knowledge these younger children have when it comes to healthy eating habits. Being deprived
of proper nutrition and routine physical activity will only lead in one unfortunate direction, that
of being obesely over weight.
Overall, in today’s society the grand total of obese adults comes to a surprisingly large
number of 72.5 million nationwide (Mantel). Obesity can be heritable, and due to the high rate of
adult obesity, more kids whose parents are overweight are likely to be overweight as well.
Concerning this issue, it is essential that, when there is a genetic concern pertaining to obesity
proper care is obtainable. It is in the child’s best interest if their parents seek medical and
nutritional advice. Considering these cases, it is not the fault of the child’s genetic
predispositions, but their health issues should not be ignored.
Moreover, childhood obesity can be both a controllable and an uncontrollable disease; most
importantly, I am focusing on the controllable aspects of childhood obesity. Obesity for children
was not as problematic in our society until the mid 1970s. From the 70s to present day, the
amount of obese children has nearly. The numbers have risen from 5 – 17 percent, demonstrating
an extreme escalation during the first two decades, of this time period, and eventually stabilizing
during the past ten years (Mantel). Although, these numbers seem small, when you take into
account the amount of children that reside in our country today, the percents demonstrate that a
change is needed. In 1999 a survey, called the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey recorded that one out of every five children are overweight in society (Bettelheim). Let’s
put this into perspective. Think about your neighborhood perhaps, for every five children that
live on your block at least one of them will suffer from being overweight. Predictions given by
nutritionists, as displayed in studies, have shown that if a child maintains a constant weight gain
through the ages of 10 -13, then they are more likely to be obese when they enter into adulthood
(Bettelheim). How will this affect them in the long run? These children will be placed at a higher
risk for long-term health problems such as, high blood sugar, blood pressure, blood fats, and
possibly face social humiliation from their peers.
How and why do children become so overly obese? Some research shows that family has a
huge impact on the weight gain and healthiness of the child; others will say the advertisements,
for unhealthy foods, in the media have a greater impact than family. Personally, I think it is a
combination of both. The generations have relied more and more on the information provided to
them by TV ads. Therefore, due to constant advertisements of foods and drinks with high sugar
and fat content, studies have shown that teen and young children obesity rates are definitely
effected a great deal by the ads they view on the television screens (Becker). A majority of the
parents don’t monitor what their kids watch to begin with so nothing is really done to enforce
that their children don’t pay attention to those ads. Another reason why parents probably
wouldn’t care enough to stop their kids from paying attention to TV ads about fast food
restaurants is because fast food provides a cheap and easy way to give your child dinner.
Especially in these hard economic times most parents will do anything they can to save whatever
they can. Through the advertisements the media displays concerning food, including fast food
restaurants and candy companies, much of the information is portrayed in ways that would
definitely appeal to children. What kids don’t realize when they are watching these ads is that
they are subliminally being drawn in because of what these companies put in their ads. For
example, fast food giants such as Burger King, McDonalds, and Wendy’s stress the latest toy
crazes they are giving away. It is okay for parents to give in once in awhile, but they should have
limits. Moderation is the key, the food establishments are offering healthier alternatives, but the
parents also have to supervise and help their kids make healthier decisions. This is how I feel that
family and the media interrelate with one another in this important fight.
Furthermore, the two most important factors today that do indeed lead to child obesity are,
the low prices and convenience of fast food restaurants along with the inactive lifestyles of
adolescents due to more time spent on computers, browsing the Internet, playing video games,
and amount of TV being watched (Becker). An important statistic unearthed by the APA dealt
with the idea that for every hour increase in the amount of television and young child watches,
they will result in having higher daily intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fast, red and
processed meat, and overall calories (APA). Studies have also shown that children who watch
TV at least three hours a day are fifty percent more likely to become obese than children who
watch TV for less than two hours a day (American Psychology Association).
Concerning the long-term effects of childhood obesity, not only are the physical appearances
of these children altered, but many psychological problems occur as well. In today’s society the
pressure to be super skinny has affected many to the point where they feel horrible about their
physical appearance. In overtly obese children, studies have shown that if their weight gain
continues to increase they will acquire a low self-esteem, be less likely to marry, and are at risk
for not being able to achieve professional success (Bettelheim). I fear that children dealing with
obesity have to cope with an excessive amount of negative social problems. Amongst these
problems, the most brutal is that of bullying, both exhibiting via Internet and in person. How, as
a whole nation, can we now start to make a difference in reducing the amount of obese children
in our society today?
President Obama and his administration created a special White House Task Force on
Childhood Obesity; while, first lady, Michelle Obama also launched her “Let’s Move” campaign
in an attempt to end childhood obesity in this generation (Mantel). The “Let’s Move” Campaign
aims to help children learn how to eat healthy and stay physically active. So far these two acts
have shown our society that obesity is a real problem among children and that it is something
that needs to be dealt with. Fortunately, having two of the most important role models in our
society today take actions in attempting to create more awareness of obesity, is a great start to
help prevent childhood obesity. The Council of Better Business Bureaus in 2006 also made an
attempt to help lower the child obesity rates. They dealt with lowering the amount of TV ads that
were aired displaying unhealthy foods (Mantel). Their ultimate goal and promise to the nation
was to air more advertising pertaining to healthier foods rather than airing aids that displayed the
unhealthy foods in our society. Huge companies like Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Hershey and Mars
have guaranteed they would not advertise any unhealthy food and beverage items on
programming that was shown to children twelve and under (Mantel).
Overall, we as a society need to take charge in fighting this very severe epidemic. Education
is the root in the attempt to alter this issue. Doctors and nutritionists need to work along with our
educators in the school system by setting up required curriculums centered on nutrition and
physical activity. These courses should be taught to children in an extremely fun, creative, and
applicable way. Classroom experience should include, growing healthier food products, making
healthier meals, learning how our body works, and the importance of exercise and good
nutrition. While learning in school, at the end of the day, children and parents should be
encouraged to utilize the information provided to them in school, in their homes.
Involving our home environment, I am sure one has heard of the saying a family who eats
together stays together? Well I feel this phrase should be altered to, a family who workouts
together stays fit together. It is understandable that in todays society our lives are filled to the
brink with a great deal of busy work, but with proper time management families can workout
together as a whole. Working out with one another is not only a bonding experience, but being
surrounded by loved ones who are all aiming for the same goal of staying or getting fit, helps
accomplish living a healthier lifestyle in a more effective manner. Some examples of this could
be accomplished with a few easy options. These include, taking a family walk after dinner or by
playing dance video games that gets you up and participating. This adds laughter and fun for
everyone, while accomplishing a goal at the same time.
Conclusively, our fight against childhood obesity has to be quick yet effective. The nation, as
a whole, needs to make this a priority because the children and young adults of our society are
our future leaders of tomorrow. We need to be strong, healthy, determined, and positive in both a
physical and emotional way. If we feel good about ourselves, then the future will look bright in
our attempts to make it a more productive and effective society.
Bibliography
American Psychological Association. "Fast Food Advertising Is Linked to Rising Childhood and Teen Obesity." Ic.galegroup.com. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints>.
Becker, Gary. "Fast Food Advertising Is Not Linked to Rising Childhood and Teen Obesity." Ic.galegroup.com. Becker-Posner Blog, 2005. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010512222&mode=view&userGroupName=psucic&jsid=c588cabeea4bba0edeaa318816c401c5>.
Bettelheim, A. (1999, January 15). Obesity and health. CQ Researcher, 9, 25-48. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
Mantel, B. (2010, October 1). Preventing obesity. CQ Researcher, 20, 797-820. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
Nanci, Hellmich, and TODAY USA. “Family plays key role in monitoring kids’ weight.” USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete, Web 6 Dec. 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=9500cb03c8e344c9b0ca90d3fdb1a51f%40sessionmgr112&vid=4&hid= 14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=J0E152098772311.