Overweight and Obesity

I am interested in researching child obesity because I know that it is a growing problem that is effecting many Americans. I am a very active person, and I am hoping to get others involved in lowering obesity in the USA. I am going to be looking into causes, such as foods or lifestyles, and also into programs that are helping decrease the growing rate of obesity.

As it says in the first article I am reading, Overweight and Obesity, obesity increases the risk for many diseases. These diseases could be type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Diseases or not, obesity also leads to teasing, bullying, and being cast off by their peers. These types of direct issues cause many kids to look into anorexia, bulimia, substance abuse, and to become depressed. Being obese is a hard situation because most of the time, the weight is never lost. It puts a hardship on the child as well as his/her family.

Obesity can be caused by bad lifestyle habits, genetics, or even medications. Technology has played a major role in this because it increases children to take part in it rather than exercising or playing outside. For instance, "kids younger than 6 spend an average of 2 hours a day in front of a screen, mostly watching TV, DVDs, or videos.When computer use and video games are included, time spent in front of a screen increases to over 5½ hours a day! Kids who watch more than 4 hours a day are more likely to be overweight compared with kids who watch 2 hours or less."


"More than ever, we as parents and a nation must do something about the growth of obesity in our children. We must do more than just talk, we must be concerned enough to act." - Lee Haney

Bibliography

Haney, Lee. Obesity Quotes. 2012. 2 February 2012 <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/obesity.html>.

Nemours. Overweight and Obesity. 2012. 2 February 2012 <http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/overweight_obesity.html#>.

Tenz, Top. Childhood Obesity. n.d. 2 February 2012 <http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/childhood-obesity.jpg>.