Argumentative Research Paper: Parents Responsible for Childhood Obesity

In the past three decades, rates of childhood obesity have increased precipitously. Between the years and 1980 and 2000, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 6.5% to 19.6% among 6 to 11 year old children and 5.0% to 18.1% among 12 to 19 year old adolescents x(National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2010). This condition is accompanied by many physical and psychological consequences for these children. There are two common postions in the debate about the causes of this condition. One belief of the cause of childhood obesity is that it is a question of “personal responsibility” or in the case of children, of “parental responsibility.” That is, increasing rates of obesity are due to

Do you get enough exercise? Are you sure about that? Or how about this, are you overweight, do you even know? Today’s adolescents don’t. In fact today’s adolescents face serious risk from their lack of activity. Today’s children are obese because they have developed some very bad habits related to healthy living and as result can suffer serious physical and psychological damage.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than one third of children are overweight. This figure is increasing rapidly. This epidemic puts children at risk for various health problems such as type two diabetes and heart problems. Although they are several risk factors for obesity, parents play a significant role in this issue. This paper will look into how parents are influential to their children, how they contribute to this problem and how they may help fight the fight against obesity. Obesity is a very serious problem and there are solutions that parents can apply to help their children lead a healthy lifestyle. Obesity does not only affect a person physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.

The question that has been debated for years is who is responsible for the children’s weight. In the articles that where researched during this paper the parents were responsible. The reason that they were responsible was because the decisions that parent make about their family and the lifestyle that they live affects their child’s health and it can also affect their health in the future. When you move out of your parent’s house you tend to mimic things that they did such as if they always bought Tide as their laundry soap when you got out on your own you probably bought Tide. Now when you were in a pinch one time you may have tried another brand because it was cheaper but for the most part you revert back to what you know. As a parent you should want your children to be as healthy as they can be a lot of parents that where talked to while researching the subject of childhood obesity seemed to just not have the knowledge about obesity.

Childhood obesity is not just an issue in United States- it is an growing epidemic. Obesity epidemic in kids has increased by alarming rate just in last few decades. Nearly one in every five child is obese in the United States. If the pattern of obesity continued on most of America’s children will be living with diabetes, heart disease, and dying young due to obesity. The American Heart Association reported this year that childhood obesity is the top health concern among parents in the United States, beating out smoking and drug abuse. My own younger siblings suffer with child obesity. Their craving for fast food and very limited physical activity has made them overweight and currently they suffer from health problems. Is this the future of our young generation? How much contribution should a parent have in their child’s diet? Fast food has taken over American diet and it has lead to poor nutritional diet among American youth. Fast food companies spend billion of dollars every year on commercials, convincing youth to love and eat their product. It’s just not our eating habits that has lead our young generation into obesity, lack of physical workout has also played a major role in obesity epidemic. TV, computer, video games and other technology entertainment has contributed to children getting no exercise. Obesity in children can put them in high risks of developing chronic and serious illness. Unhealthy weight leads to having weaker lungs, poor blood quality, heart

In 2014, two parents were arrested because their son was obese. The boy weighed 210 pounds; however, his parents did not consider his weight to be a problem. They did not think that being obese was a big deal. Like this case, these days, the rate of childhood obesity is increasing greatly, and childhood obesity is becoming a serious issue for children. Childhood obesity has many poor aspects for children. For instance, it is unhealthy for children’s bodies, and it also negatively influences their future bodies. Also, it causes bullying at school because of childhood obesity and truancy that are related to mental issues. Scholars assert that childhood obesity is the fault of parents; however, some scientists claims that it is due to genetics or diseases, such as an internal predisposition and hypothalamic disease. Despite these claims, the evidences shows that childhood obesity is a result of a lack of parental care, and parents should be held accountable on childhood obesity.

In the United States alone children’s health is rapidly deteriorating. Since the early 1980’s childhood obesity in America has skyrocketed, leaving overweight children in danger. While obesity is defined as the condition of being very fat or overweight. One third of children “qualify as obese” (Davies), and meet the criteria to be labeled as “overweight as a result of poor eating habits, and a minimal amount of physical exercise. However, the lack of knowledge parents possess surrounding childhood obesity is determent to youngster future. When dealing with such an austere problem as obesity, parents should become more knowledgeable, supportive, and increase family activities to diminish childhood obesity.

Technology is one of the most harmful factors contributing to childhood obesity.Video games are one of the major factors of technology that affect childhood obesity in a tremendous way. “Unlike playing on a playground, playing at the park or playing a sport, playing a videogame is largely passive for most children” (Loop, 2015). The children do not complain about video games like the way they complain about going outside. Children have gotten so use to video games that they rather play soccer on a video game, then real life. The change is so fast that parents do not seem to even notice when the child does not want to even go outside and play anymore. However, computers are also contributors towards childhood

Childhood obesity has both short and long term health effects. Obese youth are more likely to develop health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol or blood pressure, and prediabetes. Prediabetes is a condition where blood glucose levels show a high risk for development of diabetes (Gavin, September 2010). Children who are obese are also at a greater risk to develop bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as poor self esteem. Children who have developed obesity as early as 2 years of age are likely to develop into obese adults. Obese adults are at risk for even more health conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis, and several different varieties of cancer.

The cause of childhood obesity is widely debated. There are some who believe childhood obesity is caused by socioeconomic factors while others believe it is caused by media marketing junk food to children. As a response to this ongoing debate, food markers, mainly fast food, try to defend themselves by blaming childhood obesity on physical inactivity and the lack of parental influence on a healthy diet. Despite what many researchers may believe, childhood obesity is caused by a combination of key factors. According to a well-written article by Erica Roth, Childhood Obesity, she along with other doctors believes that obesity could be caused by many different factors. Some may include “family history, many psychological factors, and lifestyle” (Childhood Obesity). However, the causes of childhood obesity are not limited to these life threatening factors, childhood obesity is almost always

Does one ever wonder what factors contribute to the increase of childhood obesity? Childhood obesity is a major issue and common disease that is becoming prevalent and widespread. The amount of children that are obese has doubled and the amount of adolescents who are obese has quadrupled within the past thirty years. Children at a young age are already being diagnosed with medical issues such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity itself is the second leading cause of preventable death. Currently, every one out of three kids is diagnosed as obese. Over the past years, obesity has highly increased in children and there are three things that lead to this issue; which are the consumption of fast foods, lack of physical activity, and certain family situations, like upbringing. Many critics and doctors believe that the best way to battle childhood obesity is by having the child engage in physical activities, cook more healthy meals at home, and reduce their portion size.

Parents should be aware that if they let their kids eat fast fastfood or any unhealthy food, the kid would end up being overweight. Parents should teach kids the importance of eating right in order to prevent obesity later in life. Kids usually pay attention on what they eat. They only get distracted by the media and what the media advertise, and all they advertise are usually unhealthy food. The kids often let their parents buy them what they see in the media. Instead the parents should buy snacks which are healthier version. Brody also tates in her article that “for those who become obese by age 10 or 11, he or his co-authors said, family based programs are needed to keep overweight from carrying over into adult hands” (20”. This shows that not only adults are eating unhealthy but even the kids are eating junk food that causes them to be overweight. The parents aren't really doing anything to stop the kids from eating unhealthy food. Parents should start to raise their kids in a proper way and feed them healthy food and encourage the kids to go

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of obese children ages 6-19 have tripled to 16% over the last twelve years. That is an alarming figure. One of the main causes is lack of physical activity. This may seem like an obvious cause, but it seems to be the one our youth have the most problems with. Physical education is being

A growing number of children are demonstrating unhealthy eating habits and as a result are becoming obese due to lack of physical activity, nutrition and genetics. Children in today’s society are not motivated to exercise and participate in after school activities. If we were to go back in time 15 to 20 years ago, children were encouraged to explore the outdoors by engaging in activities such as camping, bicycling, walking, running and playing sports. Now, living in the 21st century, technology has taken a major toll on our children health; they are spending more time indoors watching television, playing video, games, surfing the internet and texting on their mobile phones.

Childhood obesity may not seem like a serious problem, but it is a serious medical condition that can have major effects on a child. Although genetics play a role in determining a child’s weight, it is usually due to a child’s amount of exercise and the consumption of healthy meals. Doctors are concerned with the issue, as we all should be, and they are creating new programs that are geared toward helping children learn how to follow a healthier lifestyle. There are some promising outlooks with these programs, and most doctors agree that parents should help their children create a more active and healthy lifestyle. They also agree that the government should provide more attention to the issue as well. Since the growing problem of childhood