childhood obesity

childhood obesity

Childhood Obesity

Obesity and just being overweight is a major concern for adults and health professionals. The problem of being overweight and obese is not affecting adults alone, our nations children and adolescents are now losing the war with weight.   Childhood obesity afflicts approximately one third of our children, and is a complex problem that comes with many deadly affects.
In 2004, of six to eleven year-old kids that were obese rose to 18.8 percent.   Just over 30 years ago, in 1971 only 4 percent kids of the same age group were obese.   The number rose from 6.1 percent to 17.4 percent in the twelve to nineteen age groups with in the same period.   In children age two to five, the number rose from 5 percent to 13.9 percent.
Today children are more sedentary than children were 55 years ago.   With the electronic age came the cell phone, video games, computers, and satellite television with hundreds of stations for viewing pleasure and entertainment.   Kids today spend upwards of three hours a day in front of some sort of screen, as opposed to being outdoors being active.
Fast food chains became more available across the nation, and as we super sized our meal, so too did we super size ourselves.   The average person only needs about 2,350 calories today to survive, and children and adults consume this amount or more at one meal under the golden arches.   In addition, cafeteria food in our schools has been high in calories, fat and sodium.   However, schools are making great strides to provide more nutritious meals for our children and eliminating junk food.   Across the nation schools are having soda vending machines removed.
Overweight and obese children are already starting to develop illnesses of excess originally associated with adults in their 40s and older.   90 percent of overweight kids already have at least one avoidable risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or hypertension.   Type 2 diabetes is not being diagnosed in teens as...