In today's society childhood obesity is considered to be an epidemic. The increase in obesity is not caused by the change in the gene pool, but rather by the change in the environment. This causes vulnerable populations to express the obesity phenotype. One in each seven children between 6-17 years of age is considered to be obese (Bryan, 2001). Most nutritionists will say that this is due to the lack of parental guidance. A child's parents should teach their child proper eating habits so that they won't run across problems in the future.
According to the article Facts about childhood Obesity and Over-weightiness obese children are statistically not active, and their diets are high in fats and low in energy foods, like carbohydrates. Most doctors will calculate a child's body mass index (BMI), to figure out just how overweight a child is. If a child's BMI is over 30, they are considered obese. In order to calculate one's BMI, one would divide the weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters.
What causes obesity? Weight gain among children is likely due to a combination of factors including: poor dietary habits, genetic makeup, family lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and a child's ethnicity (Bryan, 2001). Obesity is more prevalent among Hispanic, African-American and American Indian children, particularly girls. Overweight children are not necessarily overeaters. Unfortunately, much of the food they enjoy contains high amounts of calories. A child doesn't have to eat huge quantities of food to put on excess weight. An extra 200 calories a day (the amount in four home-made chocolate chip cookies) can cause your child to gain almost one-half pound a week.
Childhood obesity studies show that children's excessive consumption of high-calorie soft drinks and fruit beverages may be adding to the problem. The average teen drinks almost 65 gallons of soft drinks annually; school-age children have more than doubled their consumption of these beverages in the past two decades (Bryan, 2001).....
