Obesity
...involved in baseball, football, basketball, and other active sports. They maintain a healthy diet and are fortunate that they are blessed with good genes. However, 25 percent of children in preschool through adolescence are obese (“Childhood Obesity”). These children suffer many physical, mental, and visible issues that most children do not.
Obesity is defined as the excessive amount of body fat in relation to body mass (Abramovitz 15). Obese children are often denied educational experiences and are viewed negatively because of their appearance (“Attitudes Toward Obesity”). They often have to purchase two tickets just to ride comfortably in an airplane. They need special beds toilets chairs, and scales (Spurlock 10). Because of all these special needs, obese children are often made fun of, which results in a lowered self esteem.
The main causes of childhood obesity are poor diet, insufficient exercise, and family genes (“Mobilizing to Fight Childhood Obesity”). Obesity has increased in children aged six through eleven 54 percent since 1963 (“Childhood Obesity). Studies show that the overweight youth levels of activity are lower than normal weight youths. This shows that lack of exercise is a factor in obesity (“The Effect of Weight”). Video games are a major factor to decrease activity in children. Many kids are only exercising their thumbs rather going outside and using their whole body. From 1991 to 2003, the percent of high school students who took Physical Education daily dropped 15 percent. Studies show that for as little as an hour of exercise a day could reduce the number of overweight kids nationally by 43 percent (Spurlock 28-127). However, getting the kids to exercise is not always the problem. Many times, it is the negative feedback that comes after an obese child tries to become physical, which lowers their self-esteem. This reduces the child’s...
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