When you look at this picture, what do you think? How delicious that cheeseburger looks… or the chubbiness in that child's face? This picture is the definition of CHILDHOOD OBESITY.
Childhood obesity--> is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height.
-Mayo Clinic
The varieties of fat acceptance ranges from mild to extreme; while for health and safety, obesity must be acknowledged as something that exists in society and is likely to continue. Is it something that we want to continue to be known as in the United States? Childhood Obesity is a big issue in the United States. There are too many people these days that are either born with obesity, or have become obese. This is not something that should be a "hot topic" in today's world. Lets try to help this issue and reduce the number of obese children.
With the nation's childhood obesity being so high, there is an expectation that schools should help out with this issue. Lately, this has not been happening and the question these days is will it help in the future? First lady, Michelle Obama, has taken a stance against childhood obesity. When she was a working mother, her doctor had told her that her diet wasn't right. She was experiencing what working mothers usually experience, which includes: working full time, a husband that is always busy, taking children to activities or sports, and too tired to cook at the end of the day. This is called Stress. Changing her ways, Michelle decided to start by eliminating sugar and instead drinking more water. With Michelle Obama's new program "Lets Move!", she has set national goals to end childhood obesity in one generation. Lets Move comes with four oppositions to help childhood obesity:
- Offering parents information they need in order to give their children healthier nutrition.
- Getting healthier foods within school systems.
- Improving affordability of healthy foods.
- Increasing opportunities for physical activity.
With this new program influencing me, I decided to take a stand. After my freshman year of college, I wasn't feeling the same. I knew something was up and turns out it was how I was eating. Going into the summer, I had realized that I didn't eat the best that past year and had gained a little weight with not being as physically active as much as I should have been.
Going into sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, I knew something had to change. Whether that was eating healthy or getting more physical activity, I knew I could make it happen. Starting out, I ate at the school cafeteria less, due to have a horrible amount of non-healthy food. From there I ate on my own, but then eating in my dorm room started getting old and I knew there was something I had to change. I knew that one thing I needed to change was to purchase a gym pass. Purchasing an Anytime Fitness pass, I was able to work out daily and by the time it came to the one month point, I had lost five pounds. Continuing on this route today, I have confidence that physical activity along with watching my diet can continue to make me healthier and persuade me to get the body of a model.
Information needed to know if you are overweight:
Risk Factors:
- Diet: Are you regularly eating high-calorie foods without even knowing it? Stay away from fast foods, baked goods, vending machine snacks, candy, and desserts. Yes, junk food is very tasty, but this kind of food can easily cause weight gain way faster than you would ever expect.
- What to eat? Protein-Chicken, Fruit, Milk, Vegetables, Water
- Lack of Exercise: Those children whom are attached to their "new" technology are the ones whom don't get out and about much. If you are someone who is known to not get a lot of exercise, you will most likely gain weight from not having the ability to burn calories through physical activity. Examples of activities that are known as the inactive actives include: television, video games and technology.
- How to fix this? Exercise
- Family History: If your child comes from a family of overweight people, he or she may be more likely to put on excess weight.
- Psychological Factors: Stress, Relationship Issues, Boredom, Fighting
Now, lets think about the simple solutions to reduce your risk of obesity. Start by turning off the TV and your personal technology devices (iPad, iPhone, Computer) and instead go for a walk with your children, or have a dance party. Also, think about cooking meals more often at home. Think about it, you don't want your children growing up eating fast food all the time. Instead, cook meals at least twice a week to help them get the nutrition they need.
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