{Childhood Obesity}

There is no doubt that children are getting heavier and heavier as we are progressing in society, but the question is: how did this happen, and how will this effect the future of our society?  Life has changed a lot for an American over the past decade and these changes do not have the best effects on out health.  Baker Harrell is right in his article, “A Perfect Storm: An Analysis of the American Youth Obesity Epidemic,” that this problem of childhood obesity is not just an epidemic, but is really a cancer.

I worked at a summer camp this past summer and from seeing all the children who came through camp, it was apparent how different things have changed even since I was a kid.  Parents are only getting busier and busier, and often times the easiest thing to give their children to eat is also the unhealthiest option.  It isn’t the norm now for families to have sit down dinners together every night, and they normally end up eating in front of the television which causes them to not think about what they are eating and consume way more calories than they realize.

This is even a bigger problem for low-income families who may have to work two jobs and find time to get dinner for their family.  Fast food is the go to food for these families who don’t have time to make food for their children between their crazy work schedules and their family life. Buying fast food is cheaper than driving to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients to make a healthy meal.

School lunches for children are not helping the problem. Think of the items that you typically see in a cafeteria line: fries, mac and cheese, chicken tenders, burgers, pizza. The food we are feeding children is causing major harm to their health.

Time indoors and not engaging in physical activity is also fueling the obesity epidemic that is occurring. People are watching more and more television every year and children probably watch more than anyone. The tv is an instant babysitter for an overwhelmed parent, but this convenience is causing children to not get the physical activity they need.

Think of all the problems with health care in America. How much of that would be solved if Americans took preventative measures now to make sure they have better health in the long run? If the right preventative measures were taken, many health and economic problems could be solved in our society. Some major priority checks need to happen fast in America to save us from this health catastrophe that will inevitably occur if we don’t change our behaviors and reduce obesity.