Childhood Obesity

"Since the 1960s, Americans and people in other industrialized countries generally have been gaining weight, data show. In fact, Americans are the most overweight people in the world" (Gay 7,8). Obesity in American children ages six to eleven has more than tripled in the last twenty years from a mere four percent to over fifteen percent. More than nine million children in America over the age of six are considered obese. With these alarming statistics at hand, it is necessary for Americans to take action and fight the war on fat because the reality is that America's children are not immune to the obesity epidemic (Prater 1). America's most critical health concern is obesity as it is reaches epidemic proportions amongst children, who may be considered America's most overweight generation.

The big question is what is causing this considerable increase in childhood obesity. There are a number of parents who mandate for their children to finish all of the food on their plate, which allows some critics to argue that appetite is taught which eventually may lead to obesity. Some critics may argue that the obesity epidemic is due to genetics. Moreover, some researchers conclude that the obesity epidemic is a myth brought to life by the weight loss industry. Ultimately the obesity epidemic has been brought to light because of the types of food and the amount of food that Americans consume coupled with the lack of physical activity. Unfortunately, the diet craze in America has been a constant topic in newspapers, advertisements, magazines, and infomercials for nearly twenty years. The media has bombarded airwaves by promoting a healthy lifestyle attributed by weight loss and exercise. This constant focus on weight has caused some concern that perhaps obesity is becoming an epidemic in America. Accordingly, "a 1999 study estimated that 280,000 deaths a year in the United States alone are attributed to obesity" (Frazier 4).

During the 1960s and 1970s obesity trends in America were slow. Many American families valued dinner at home, which included lower fatty foods and less caloric intake. Even though the fast-food industry was beginning to boom in America, "Americans got only 18 percent of their calories away from home" (Crister 32). However, as society rapidly changed to a fast paced way of life, fast-food became convenience food. "But Americans of the1980s kept eating more for another reason. Increasingly, as the away-from-home numbers show, they ate in a kind of gastronomic time warp, justifying their larger portions because they were ‘eating out' or because it was a ‘treat'" (Crister 33). Eventually, this "treat" became a daily routine. It became easier for American families to drive through fast-food restaurants creating "a high volume of backseat or dashboard dining that reflects the reality of today's hurried lifestyles and poses a threat to healthy eating" (Dalton 95). This threat eventually establishes a lifestyle of high fat and large portions for America's children.

Unfortunately, the obesity epidemic is not just promoted in the home. Even in grammar school and high school, America's children are being taught to eat improperly; they are given choices that are rather unhealthy. Several schools allow children to choose from side carts, not approved by the USDA, instead of the regulated lunch. The carts are not within the confines of the cafeteria and are not controlled by the USDA guidelines. "Fast-food companies helped … ‘food carts,' to be placed strategically about the campus during lunch and break time- in essence becoming the new food service equipment program" (Crister 46). The side carts allow school