Dear all,
Let me take this opportunity to invite you to our cooking class scheduled for the last Friday of this month. We will be talking about ending childhood obesity by teaching you how to cook good food in healthier ways. As we may be aware, childhood obesity prevalence in the United States is still high. According to a report by CDC (Childhood obesity, 2019), the prevalence of obesity among 2 to 5 year olds was 13.9% and 18.4% among 6 to 11 year olds. Childhood obesity also results in high mortality and morbidity rates in adulthood (Johnson, 2012). Obesity, sadly, is now the second leading reason for deaths in the United States. These obese children die early, having lived a poor quality life characterized by diseases like diabetes.
Childhood obesity has often been described as an epidemic (Koplan, Liverman, & Kraak, 2005). Obesity prevalence in children has been increasing across all age groups since 1970 with the numbers doubling by 2000. Once a child becomes obese, the body is open to diseases, which may be chronic affecting quantity and quality of life. There is a high tendency of obesity to follow one up to adulthood once there is an onset in childhood (Must, Phillips, & Naumova, 2011). Childhood obesity therefore has short term and long term effects. Sadly, no one is immune to obesity, making it necessary for everyone to live a healthy life. If one consumes too much sugars and fats yet does little to no exercises, then the excess energy is stored in the body as fats which when accumulated to high levels, results in obesity.
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In the past, half of U.S children walked or biked to school. Today, less than 15 percent bike or walk to school (Johnson, 2012). It is evident that the levels of inactivity have gone up, hence the rise in childhood obesity. Dietary habits have also changed, and it’s common to find children feeding on fast foods and junk. Some ethnic groups have also been identified as highly at risk when it comes to childhood obesity (Koplan, Liverman, & Kraak, 2005). These are non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Mexican Americans. Boys are also known to be at higher risk of obesity than girls.
Obese children are at risk of contracting chronic diseases like heart diseases at that tender age. It is therefore paramount to work on reducing the health impact of obesity (Gortmaker et. al, 2015). This can be done by treating obesity as soon as it is noted as well as preventing excessive gain of weight. While treating may cost some amount of money, preventing excess weight gain can be attained by change of lifestyle practices which include regular exercise and proper nutrition.
Our social media campaign steps in to help achieve the elimination of childhood obesity by addressing the healthy eating option during our cooking class. Healthy eating should be introduced to children as soon as they start eating solid food. Most adults tend to give in to children’s demands of junk food, not knowing they encourage weight gain. Children must be taught at an early age to appreciate vegetables, fruits, and a properly balanced diet. In cases of those just getting into the bracket of obesity, the calorie intake can be completely reduced and exercise introduced. This is still manageable. It is extreme cases that may need medical intervention, after which, they can continue with a healthy lifestyle.
Children on their own may not be able to observe healthy lifestyles, and it is therefore upon the parents to follow up. Meal times should be supervised to ensure no junk is introduced and the portions are balanced. The community can also come together with initiatives like ours aimed at educating the public on obesity and its effects. They can also organize events like sports days that encourage children to exercise and keep active. By the end of the campaign, I hope there will be more parents willing to take their children through proper nutrition habits. I also hope there will be more events organized in honor of eradicating childhood obesity. Lastly, I hope to have frequent training sessions on this because many people lack the necessary knowledge on childhood obesity.
I hope to see you all there.
Regards.
References
Childhood Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity | CDC. (2019, June 24). Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Gortmaker, S. L., Swinburn, Gortmaker, Luttikhuis, O., Kelleher, YC, W., … Taveras EM. (2015, November 1). Three Interventions That Reduce Childhood Obesity Are Projected To Save More Than They Cost To Implement. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0631 .
Johnson, S. B. (2012, July). The nation’s childhood obesity epidemic: Health disparities in the making. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/newsletter/2012/07/childhood-obesity .
Koplan, J. P., Liverman, C. T., & Kraak, V. I. (2005). Preventing childhood obesity: health in the balance. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Must, A., Phillips, S. M., & Naumova, E. N. (20122, December 17). Occurrence and timing of childhood overweight and mortality: findings from the Third Harvard Growth Study. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3397161/ .
