Position Essay

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Childhood Obesity

Dr . Robert Keith of Alabama Cooperative Extension said that there is an epidemic of childhood obesity not only in the United States but throughout the world (Keith 2007

Obesity is a nutritional problem where one is in the state of being extremely overweight . Technically , obesity and overweight terms are used interchangeably , but in fact obesity is ahead of overweight Genetic and family environment are factors that affect the obesity of a child . Infants of obese parents have 80

percent chance of being obese also . Obesity occurs when an infant or child consume more calories than what the body can actually use (Penn State Children 's Hospital 2007

It is estimated that one out of five children in six to seventeen age range are overweight . Obese children are on the higher risk of developing diss such as hypertension , diabetes , heart disease , and other adult-onset diseases . Studies have also shown that obese children have an exceptionally hard time to lose weight and follow through in the changes of lifestyle in their adulthood (Keith 2007 . Childhood Obesity can be a lifetime serious problem , and thus should be prevented as early as birth . And then the issue of whom to blame on childhood obesity is also there . Some argue that parents are the ones to be blame because they are the primarily responsible on their children 's health

I believe so that there are many contributing factors causing the increase in childhood obesity . But first , let 's discuss more about the childhood obesity , its causes , treatments and the possible prevention measures to articulate how serious this problem is that we look for someone to blame

As the child is still growing , the first treatment is to slow down the rate of weight gain but there is not need to reduce the food intake of a child just to promote weight loss . It should be prevention with healthy eating habits . An infant should not be overfed . American Academy of Pediatrics said that newborns should only be nursed or breastfed whenever they show signs that they are hungry . Moreover , children should not receive sweets until after one year and it is important not to use food as a reward or reinforcement . In doing so , children would use food as their stress reliever in the future . On the other hand underfeeding children is more harmful than overfeeding . This is because when they had a chance to eat , they will tend to eat more than what they need and thus more prone to obesity (Penn State Children 's Hospital

The problem is not just the high calorie foods widely available , or the overfeeding and underfeeding . It is also a problem that children are less physically active as they spend more time with the increasing visual media . Instead of playing outside with sports and burning calories , children nowadays spend their day sitting in front of television or computer playing video games (Keith 2007

Some schools have removed the mandatory...