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The Childhood Obesity Epidemic in America

By: Mauricio Uribe


Have you ever been walking down the street or just driving your car and watched people
walk by recently? If you have, then you could probably notice that there has been an increase of
obese people, and even more surprisingly, obese children. This is an epidemic that has been
increasingly affecting American children in the last decades, and has gained a lot of media
coverage because of the risks that this epidemic entails. Children in America have been gaining
weight significantly in the last decades, so much so, that childhood obesity has doubled in
children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years (CDC, 2015). One third of American
children (25 million) under the age of 17 are considered to be overweight or obese (NBC News).
Childhood obesity is a problem that needs to be addressed because it is a problem that affects
Americas future generations in very drastic ways, this is the first generation of children that are
in danger of dying before their parents do because of the risks brought on by childhood obesity
(NBC News). Childhood obesity is a problem that causes several short and long term risks to
children affected by it. Childhood obesity is linked to many diseases and illnesses such as
cardiovascular disease and pre-diabetes, but not only during childhood, being obese as a child
increases the risks for many diseases during adulthood because children who are obese are more
prone to obesity when they are adults (Llewellyn, Simmonds, Owen, & Woolacott, 2015). All of
this can be avoided if the number of children affected by childhood obesity is reduced.
Children nowadays do not get enough, if any, daily physical activity to lead normal,
healthy lifestyles. According to the Center for Disease Control, 2 out of 3 American children do
not get any daily physical activity, and 96% of elementary schools do not offer any physical
education classes. This is a shocking statistic that is directly connected to the rise of obesity in

American children in the recent years, and what I found most disturbing is that so many
elementary schools do not offer physical education classes because elementary school is where
children are cemented with the most basic ideas of healthy living and and how to conduct
themselves throughout life, so this is where daily physical activity should be first introduced so it
can become a habit to children. Many efforts have been introduced by the Obama administration
to try and stop the increase of childhood obesity in the U.S., and in many the leading person is
the First Lady Michelle Obama, it has been her focus for many years to combat childhood
obesity. With the support of her husband many laws have been passed to help bring healthier
meals to school cafeterias such as the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which helped establish
healthier nutritional standards to school lunches and breakfasts (Bobrovnyk, 2014). But I have
seen that not enough has been done to make kids have daily physical activity, most of the laws
that have been passed in the recent years deal with the nutrition of the kids instead of helping to
encourage daily physical activity. I believe that stricter laws pertaining to childrens physical
education in elementary school would have a greater impact on reducing the number of
American children affected by childhood obesity. I believe that the combination of the already
established healthier nutritional standards for children and the proposed stricter physical
education laws could have a great impact in the fight against childhood obesity. It is important
for children to go out and play or have activities outdoors in order to get their daily exercise and
get away from the computer and TV screens. Children can live longer and healthier lives if more
is done to reduce childhood obesity but everyone has to contribute and help spread the word to
make things happen.

References
Bobrovnyk, M. (2014). Confronting Childhood Obesity. Policy & Practice (19426828), 72(5),
28-30.
Childhood Obesity Facts. (2015). Retrieved March 08, 2016, from
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm
Llewellyn, A., Simmonds, M., Owen, C. G., & Woolacott, N. (2016). Childhood obesity as a
predictor of morbidity in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity
Reviews, 17(1), 56-67. doi:10.1111/obr.12316

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