Our Obeses Environment
...youth obesity. Contemporary articles in the American Medical Association reported that 15% of 5-19 year olds, which is estimated at 9,000,000 in the United States, are overweight, and the amount of childhood obesity has raised attention regarding both the psychological and physical health of our nation's youth.
How did this happen? The National Institute of Diabetes, & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDD), National Institutes of Health, documented that children become overweight for the same reasons grown ups do by burning less energy than they are consuming through their food. Even though genetics does play a key factor in obesity, it does not account for all the rise our nation has seen in children and youth who are obese or overweight. This rise goes across all ages and racial groups in the U.S. (NIDDK, 1998). Socioeconomic status is the most important key factor when dealing with obesity. Children of all races who are of low socioeconomic status are approximately 70% more likely to be obese when compared to those of a socioeconomic status.
As stated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), several environmental factors have contributed to increasing numbers of obesity among youth, including frequently more time spent in sedentary activities such as playing video games and watching T.V., and the accessibility of fast foods and the very harmful supersizing of fast foods that points to diets high in sugar and fat. And guess who suffers most from these dilemmas, children in poverty. Children in poverty are less likely able to have the opportunity to engage in physical activities because of the lack of resources needed to do them. Parents are unable to provide the necessary tools or environment for their child to participate in any sports. So this would be a case of "insular poverty" according to Galbraith. Youth leagues that use to be affordable to the vast...
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