CHILDHOOD OBESITY

1. A SOCIAL PROBLEM AFFECTING ALL OF AMERICA BOTH TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE CHILDHOOD OBESITY

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS • DEFINITIONS • CDC FACT SHEET • MAYO CLINIC FACT SHEET • US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FACT SHEET • CONCLUSION • WORKS CITED

3. DEFINITIONS • Childhood--persons between the age of birth and 18 years of age • Overweight--having excess body weight for a particular height from fat muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. • Obesity--having excess body fat

4. CDC FACT SHEET • A caloric imbalance is the cause of overweight and obese children. • This occurs when too few calories are expended while too many calories are consumed. This imbalance may be affected by various genetic, behavioral and environmental factors • Short term health problems • increases risk of cardiovascular disease • High cholesterol • High blood pressure • Pre –diabetes (increased risk of developing diabetes • Bone and joint problems • Long term health problems. As adults obese children are • Heart problems • Hear disease • Type 2 diabetes • Stroke • Cancer • osteoarthritis

5. MAYO CLINIC FACT SHEET • Normal weight obesity-is prevalent in children. It is the result of having excess body fat and therefore children who weigh a normal weight or close to a normal weight may be overlooked. Children who are very active and eat healthy but are large may on occasion be at less risk of health problems then children suffering from normal weight obesity. The Mayo Clinic does not have a “scale” to define this but recommends the following • Feed children healthy meals • Keep children active • Consult your pediatrician if you are concerned your child may suffer from Normal weight obesity.

6. US DEPTARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES FACT SHEET -Percentage of children in specific age groups who are obese

7. US DEPTARTMENT OF HEATH AND HUMAN SERVICES FACT SHEET • According to the US Department of Health and Human Services there are two main ways of reducing childhood obesity. • Increase the amount of hours children are active throughout the day • Increase the amount of healthy foods while decreasing the amount of unhealthy foods children eat.

8. US DEPT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES FACT SHEETvegetables consumed by children

9. US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FACT SHEET

10. US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FACT SHEET • As you can plainly see children receive a whopping 45% of their vegetables as fried potatoes • In addition they receive 88% of their grains as “other grains”

11. CONCLUSION Childhood obesity is a very important social problem that our country needs to address in the near future to prevent our people from suffering through their adult years from a condition that could have easily been prevented in childhood. According to my sources if we make the following simple corrections to our children’s lives we can reverse the course • Make sure our children are getting out and exercising/playing at least an hour every day • Feed our children more healthy meal • Less fried potatoes and more dark leafy greens, and more fruit • Replace the “other grains” which are generally highly processed and have many ingredients added with natural whole grains • If medical conditions are contributing to the obesity of children we as parents need to get the proper medical care to keep our children healthy.

12. WORKS CITED • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm>. • "Childhood Obesity." Document Moved. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/child_obesity/>. • Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 05 Aug. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/normal-weight-obesity/AN02007>. • Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 05 Aug. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/normal-weight-obesity/AN02007>.