Extreme obesity is prevalent in children and adolescents according to new sources. There is about 7% of boys and 5% of girls who are obese according to a research by Koebnick. They think that the number is around 3%-5%. It’s on the news and even first lady Michelle Obama is launching a campaign to help reduce child obesity. According to a study by Koebnick, a 10 year old boy or girl can weight around 140lbs when their normal weight should be 70lbs. This will be considered as obese in their research.
Why is childhood obesity so prevalent today? If you look at the lifestyle of most children, it’s hard for them to stay in top shape with busy parents who don’t cook regularly and leaving their children to eat out at fast food restaurants. Fast food is a common diet for students who stop by for dinner or lunch because their parents don’t have a healthy meal at home for them. Parents work until 6 or 7pm and their children are left with eating frozen food or fast food. Fast food is so good too that a lot of children find it hard to let go. Kids love sweets and fries. They consider it a treat if they could eat fries and ice cream.
There have been many TV campaigns trying to address childhood obesity too. It’s a serious problem in America. Doctors and researchers are saying that children are overly exposed to junk food and less family meal time. The doctors are suggesting that parents focused on providing healthy food counseling to their children and address problems like teasing and bullying at school because it makes kids eat more. Childhood obesity is a severe problem in America that needs to be tackled right away by family and the community.
Perhaps it’s time to wake up and realize that adding growth hormons to our food animals should be stopped.