Parental Decisions Impact Childhood Obesity Essay Example for Free

Parental Decisions Imp be industrious Childhood Obesity shewSociety, in general, has drastically changed all over the past century. Growth and expansion have paved the way for juvenile technological advances, yet non with some downfalls to go along with it. One such downfall of crude technology would be the public lavatory factor (convenient stores for junk fodder, convenient to read television, play video spicys, watch a movie, talk or text on a cellular phone as argue to carnal exercise, convenient for parents to barricade by fast food as opposed to healthy meals). wishing of parental controls in these welkins in attendant with the convenience factor has lead to babyhood corpulency.This is an increasingly maturement disease and result continue to be so if society does not stop being so convenient. The Ameri contribute Society forthwith has become obesogenic, characterized by environments that promote increased food in devour, unhealthy foods, and sensib le inactivity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). People (children and adults) spend to a greater extent(prenominal) clipping in front of televisions or computers and less time exercising. We drive a car everywhere we go as opposed to pass or riding a bicycle. Children play more video games instead of playing hide and seek, which requires them to fulfil around, being active and getting exercise.We lead busier lives so time does not al rugged for spending it in the kitchen preparing healthy meals. Parents live such hectic lifestyles which often lead to dining or getting take out at a fast food restaurant, making them guilty of contributing to childhood obesity. Children with heavy parents are in all probability to follow in their parents footsteps and become grave themselves. Overweight and obesity result from an strength deficiency. This compounds taking in too much food (too some calories) and lack of exercise thus delineate obesity.The imbalance between calories consumed and calories used weed result from the influences and moveions of a number of factors, including genetic, demeanoral, and environmental factors. Studies call for that certain genetic characteristics whitethorn increase an individuals susceptibility to excess body weight. However, this genetic susceptibility may pauperism to exist in conjunction with contributing environmental and behavioral factors (such as a high-calorie food add together and minimal material activity) to have a significant effect on weight. Genetic factors solely can play a role in specific cases of obesity.The genetic characteristics of the human population have not changed in the last three decades, but the prevalence of obesity has tripled among school-aged children during that time. Because the factors that contribute to childhood obesity interact with each other, it is not possible to specify one behavior as the cause of obesity. Behaviors include brawn intake, animal(prenominal) a ctivity, and sedentary behavior. Home, child care, school, and community environments can influence childrens behaviors related to food intake and physical activity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009).Parents in the workplace often lead demanding, hectic lifestyles that have a carry on reflection on home life activities. Activities, such as eating habits for their children, are a casualty of their fast-paced environment. Such lifestyles lead to quick unhealthy meals, such as stopping at a fast-food establishment and devour a high caloric meal. These types of meals are historically unhealthy with no nutritional value. Nutritional items, such as fruits and vegetables, are limited at these types of establishments. Healthy, home cooked meals are not the normal routine for parents to provide their children of this era.Time does not allow for parents to prepare healthy, home cooked meals. The evidence is have that the obesity epidemic is largely caused by peoples eating unhealthy food and consuming bigger portion sizes. These unhealthy behaviors are not just a matter of poor decisions individuals shuffle rather, the environment in which people live determines behavioral choice (Isaacs Swarts, 2010). Parents workplace habits can directly meet their childrens daily eating routines. Children are relying on parents to provide them with healthy meals.There are many things parents can do to assist children in developing healthy eating habits. Offering fruits and vegetables, dairy products or whole grain items as nutritious snacks, as opposed to allowing them to submerge themselves in chips or ice lolly filled snacks, is a viable alternative to an unhealthy diet. The obesity rate for children would decrement if parents would make time to plan a healthy weekly menu. By doing so, parents are ensuring that their children get the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in their diet, thus making for a healthier child.Parents should lead by exam ple. Children need to see parents eating antithetic things, to encourage the child to want to try new food items. Children and adolescents are dependent on their parents for twain economically and emotionally during much of this period of rapid growth (Davies Fitzgerald, 2008, pg. 25). One of the best ways to decrease obesity in children is to increase physical activity levels throughout the entire family. Parents, at home or at the workplace, are faced daily with busy schedules, long hours and time management issues (i. e. nsuring all mandatory daily activities, such as household responsibilities, errands are completed).These tasks are direct contributors for the lack of time amaze aside for physical activity with their children. Also, parents daily work schedules do not allow much, if any, time to incorporate a daily physical exercise routine for their children, let alone to monitor such activities. Parents should act as role models by limitting examples for their children, s uch as allowing their children to see them exercise and being active themselves. By leading by example, this should encourage children to emulate them.According to the American Heart railroad tie and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (Payne, 2010), children should get at least 20 legal proceeding of regular vigorous exercise that makes them sweat and breathe hard. With the apparent lack of physical activity, parents need to constitute an environment that is conducive to building a daily regime of physical activities that slowly grow over time. Minutes spent playing kickball with friends during recess count toward the hour-long daily goal, as does climbing trees in the backyard afterwards school. It doesnt have to be all at once, says Nancy Brown, CEO of the AHA.Kids should be doing things appropriate for their age, so that exercise becomes a behavior and a natural part of what they do (Payne, 2010). Providing just small increments of daily activity that i s geared towards the childs age category can foster a lifetime of behavioral changes that could prevent the flak of obesity at a later age. Another factor in the saga of fighting childhood obesity is the issue of rightty and having a safe environment in which to add physical activity.Advocate for well-maintained, safe sidewalks and bike paths in your neighborhood, and volunteer to supervise the use of school facilities after hours. Children are more likely to want to play outsideand youll feel more comfortable with them doing itif its safe, so attend neighborhood standstill or city council meetings to request proper upkeep of nearby sidewalks and paths. Also, consider gyms and tracks at local schools as options for physical activity after hours and on weekends.Often, schools are get outing to make gyms and equipment available on the weekends but simply need parents to volunteer to supervise, Brown says (Payne, 2010). This avenue of taking facilities that already exist and adding in a safety factor so that they may be used more often could reach into a vast majority of neighborhoods and schools that are currently excluding physical education programs. This seemingly mundane action by a few sets of determined parents could catch on and create new and exciting ways in which physical activities could be introduced to children.In todays day and age of electronics, technological advances in this area continue to rise at record numbers. Features and upgrades to many electronic devices are geared toward a more convenient, user friendly target market. Such markets, unfortunately from a health perspective, are focused on our children. Convenient and satisfying methods of entertainment, such as television, movies, video games, talking/texting on cellular phones, computers, etc. furthest outweigh pure physical activity and exercise. Parents lack of control in these areas, as opposed to physical exercise, is a factor in childhood obesity.Children would rather be seden tary playing electronic games on a television, cellular phone or computer, as opposed to playing games requiring physical exercise, such as hide and seek or kickball . The media may shape childrens food choices and caloric intake, including exposing children to persuasive messages about food, cuing them to eat, and depressing satiety cues of eating while viewing. According to estimates by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), children between 2 and 11 years are exposed to 25,600 advertisements per year, of which 5,500 (or 15 per day) are for food or beverages.A 2009 subject analysis of foods advertised during childrens television programming revealed that most foods marketed to children are high in salt, sugar, and fat and low in nutritional value, and that healthy food are virtually invisible (Jordan, 2010). This barrage of brain-altering subliminal messaging towards newly forming minds lends credence to how other areas of technology are creating pathways to enter impressionable yo uths. We live in a world that is technology driven in which new devices are created frequently to make life more convenient.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that television viewing by children older than two years be limited to two hours per day or less avoided altogether for children younger than two years. Surveys of United States parents piece that most families do not adhere to these recommendations (Jordan, 2010). These families that provide this amount of television viewing for their children use it as a virtual nanny to keep the child entertained and distracted throughout the day. In todays health conscious society, there are many reasonable alternatives to just keeping a child zoned out in front of various electronic devices.One such alternative that is detection on with many families is the Nintendo Wii. The AHA and Nintendo recently teamed up to promote the use of the Wii Fit to help Americans meet recommended physical activity guidelines. The goal of the partnership is to teach people how so-called active-play video games encourage regular exercise. If youre having a tough time getting your child to play outside, consider buying a video game that requires the child to get moving, Brown suggests (Payne, 2010). The use of this new video game device has provided many families with not only an opportunity to exercise, but to also interact as a family unit.Interacting together provides an environment that can create prospective positive habits that might help in the obesity battle. Following recent studies on childhood obesity, it has been found that In the United States, childhood obesity is on the rise the fate of obese children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past two decades, while the percentage of obese adolescents aged 12 to 19 more than tripled, during the same period as well (Li Hooker, 2010). medical checkup contributors to childhood obesity, such as genetics and/or heredity, are considered uncontrollable and unch angeable to the health and benefit of a child.The imbalance between calories consumed and calories used can result from the influences and interactions of a number of factors, including genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. Studies indicate that certain genetic characteristics may increase an individuals susceptibility to excess body weight. However, this genetic susceptibility may need to exist in conjunction with contributing environmental and behavioral factors (such as a high-calorie food supply and minimal physical activity) to have a significant effect on weight.Genetic factors alone can play a role in specific cases of obesity (CDC, 2009). Battling all these convenience issues will prove to be a lengthy social problem to be solved, but for the sake of future generations of children that will probably be the first to not outlive their parents, it is one that should have the highest priority. Parents establishing controls over guidelines set forth and immutable obs erve of such to decrease childhood obesity is not a elan, but more comparable to a marathon.This requires lifestyle changes both for the parent and the child. Constant monitoring on the parents part, along with both parent and child staying the course now will produce dividends for the future of a healthy America. We are all creatures of habit. In the end, the goal should always be for these changes to become second nature. We live in a society driven by a constant change. Growth and expansion will continue to generate new technological advances, with downfalls associated.One such downfall, the convenience factor (convenient stores for junk food, convenient to watch television, play video games, watch a movie, talk or text on a cellular phone as opposed to physical exercise, convenient for parents to stop by fast food as opposed to healthy meals) will have a direct correlation between parental decisions and the health of children for future generations. Lack of parental controls in these areas in conjunction with the convenience factor will produce childhood obesity cases at record numbers. This increasingly growing disease will continue to be so if society does not stop being so convenient.