Childhood Obesity A Growing Endemic - 939 Words

Childhood and adolescent obesity is a growing endemic in the United States. It affects more than thirty percent of children, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. According to the research article Prevalence of Childhood and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity from 2003 to 2010 in an Integrated Health Care Delivery System by Lynn Acknerson â€Å"this number has more than tripled since 1980.† It has now become a major health issue. Today, more and more children are being diagnosed with morbid health conditions associated with obesity. According to the research article Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis by Amar Kanekar and Sameera Karnik, a child is defined as â€Å"affected by obesity† if their body mass index-for-age (or BMI-for-age) percentile is greater than 95 percent. A child is defined as â€Å"overweight† if their BMI-for-age percentile is greater than 85 percent and less than 95 percent. One out of every five children in the United States is overweight or obese and this number continues to rise. Children typically tend to have fewer weight-related health and medical problems than adults. However, this is not true for overweight and obese children, who are at a greater risk for a number of conditions, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, early heart disease, diabetes, and bone problems, skin conditions such as heat rash, fungal infections, acne, sleep apnea, and cancer. They are also more prone to develop anxiety, depression, and suffer fromShow MoreRelatedThe Battle Against Obesity Is A Health Issue Of Great Importance1237 Words   |  5 Pagesalike, the battle against obesity is a health issue of great importance. Obesity is shown to be directly responsible for many of the negative health issues we see today. It contributes to higher risk of having chronic disease and poor health (which will be explained). Obesity is a nationwide epidemic stretching across the whole human development spectrum: from childhood obesity, adolescent obesity and adult obesity. The prevalence of children being overweight is growing and moving rapidly fast.Read MoreObesity And The World Health Organization1701 Words   |  7 Pagesliving continue to boost, weight increase and obesity are posing a rising threat to certain well-beings in countries all over the world. Obesity, now confirmed as a nationwide endemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is likely to get worse and amplify over time. â€Å"The World Health Organization (WHO) predict s there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults in the world by 2015 and more than 700 million of them will be obese† (Obesity: in Statistics, 2008, 2nd Statement). It is definiteRead MoreEssay Childhood Obesity: Is Technology To Blame?2340 Words   |  10 PagesAmerica is facing a rigorous obesity plague that is endangering the health of millions. Moreover, we are passing our bad practices down to our children. Obesity is a stipulation in which anomalous or excessive fat buildup in adipose tissue that damages health. Obesity is defined in adults as a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 30 (kg/m). Obesity is one of the most discernible, but until recently, most deserted public health problems. The present high pervasiveness of obesity and the brisk increase inRead MoreThe Issue Of Childhood Obesity Essay3223 Words   |  13 PagesObesity is a health issue that we are going to discuss in this case. The target population is children are most prone to diabetes. The Center for Disease Control asserts that roughly 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and juveniles aged 2—19 years suffer from obesity. Since 1980, obesity frequency amid boys and teenagers has virtually tripled (CDC, 2012). 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We are all familiar with the saying, You are what you eat, and more than ever, people are focusing on nutrition to help them live healthier, longer and happier lives. Growing evidence suggests that many people suffer from diseases that can be controlled or prevented through diet and lifestyle, and the last fifteen years has seen an explosion of research into the links between nutrition and health. Along with the interestRead MorePublic Health Paper12265 Words   |  50 Pagesby reformers such as John Howard. Public health, at this time under the auspice of the social medicine movement, adopted enlightenment principles and a trend for paternalism (Turner 1990). Iron and steel, ship building, cotton and coal were all growing industries and many industrial philanthropists at this time were expressing concern about the health and welfare of their workers, going as far as building housing and hospitals, schools and villages for them to live and work in. It could be argued