issues societies face in fighting obesity

Running Head : FIGHTING OBESITY

Issues Societies Face in Fighting Obesity

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The Issues that Societies Face in Fighting Obesity

Obesity has been regarded as the biggest public health threat of the 21st century (BBC News , 2004 , n .p . This disease is responsible for numerous chronic diseases like diabetes , cardiovascular ailments , and cancer . Obesity was once widely observable in developed countries but at present , it is also evident in developing countries , especially in urban areas (World Health Organization [WHO] , 2008

. Being the case healthcare professionals are thinking of ways to solve obesity and one of which is the participation of teachers , educators , and parents in changing the habits of children that lead to this disease

Energy balance is an essential factor to maintain a healthy lifestyle An individual must be able to maintain the stability between energy intake (i .e , what a person eats ) and energy expenditure (i .e , how much a person exercise . As such , the important factors that must be looked at are the dietary habits and activities of an individual

Wrong choice of food is one issue that is related to obesity . This could be attributed to children 's perception that junk food is fun trendy , sexy , and exciting (BBC News , 2004 , n .p . Thus , promoting healthy foods should also follow the kind of marketing strategies that most junk foods have . Healthy foods should look as glamorous in the eyes of children in for them to consume it

The role of teachers and educators is also highly important in encouraging children to engage in a healthy diet . The teachers and educators should be able to properly impart to their students the importance of eating proper foods , which they can do by giving this due emphasis in their curriculum . However , merely imparting this message is not enough they should also see to it that the children are following a healthy eating habit . They should also guide their students in the right way of inspecting the nutritional facts of the food they eat . Moreover , the school should also discuss this issue with the parents . The health of their children should also be included in the main agenda of parent-teacher meetings . Educators should conduct trainings on how to choose foods that are healthy for their children and how to prepare healthy foods (citation

Another essential concern is the activity of children . Nowadays , many children are not physically active because of the presence of computer games which these children tend to prefer over physical activities such as sports . The school can highly contribute to affecting change in the habits of children . Educators should have higher targets for physical activities by enhancing sports activities such as basketball , football baseball , tennis , and others . Moreover , they could also introduce other programs like dance and aerobics in their curriculum in to capture the interest of their students and motivate them to engage in physical activities (BBC News , 2004

Parents also have an important participation...