Introduction

The epidemic of childhood obesity has been on a sharp rise in the past few decades in America. While many people are trying to combat this epidemic, it still needs more than just one solution. Childhood obesity has been linked with many health problems in children and adults. It increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, cancer, and other illnesses. It also impacts the ability to lead an everyday life at home or work with physical limitations caused by obesity, such as mobility problems or arthritis. Since childhood obesity affects not just adults but children themselves, its impact is felt even before adulthood; there is now a greater need for prevention early on in children’s lives to prevent these future health problems from developing as they grow into adults (Katzmarzyk et al. 848). Containing childhood obesity is an issue of a problem that needs to be addressed and has the possibility of being one of the best ways to improve society as a whole. Obesity in children is having a significant impact on the economic costs of this epidemic. It has been estimated that childhood obesity costs 16 billion dollars a year in health care (Strauss et al. 85). In addition, obese preschoolers are more likely to become obese adults, and obese adults are more likely to produce even more obese children, which keeps costs related to childhood obesity at an exponential rate. Obesity also negatively affects society by increasing health care costs due to its effect on children’s ability to lead everyday lives and the inevitable loss of productivity that results from lack of physical limitations caused by obesity later in life. This research paper will focus on looking at the factors, causes, and prevention of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a growing public health problem in the United States requiring immediate action and long-term prevention.

Literature Review

Childhood obesity has always been around, but rates of increase in the United States have been on a sharp rise since 1980. In the past few decades, childhood obesity has been one of the most commonly discussed issues in American politics. In 2018, a bill was introduced to the House of Representatives that would research the epidemic of childhood obesity and put forth recommendations to combat it. Renee Johnson of the House Education and Workforce Committee said, “Obesity is an epidemic that affects every community in America. It is not only a health issue but also an economic issue” (Strauss et al., 87). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report in 2019 showing that childhood obesity has increased by 30% in the past thirty years, with 11.3% of children aged 6-19 being obese, which rises from 8% in 1980. While these numbers are high, they are just estimates, and actual numbers may be even higher since not all schools report data to the CDC (Lee et al. 660).

Obesity News has also been focusing on this epidemic for some time now. The article “Fast Food Nation” discusses the many reasons why society needs to make a change regarding how we look at food in our community. It suggests that the main issue with childhood obesity is the high amount of calories present in most fast food meals. “It’s not just about a few isolated cases of individual children who eat at fast-food restaurants too much and exercise too little; it’s about the mounting body of evidence showing that our entire culture is becoming fat, sedentary and diseased – because we are what we eat, and increasingly, we’re eating this” (Katzmarzyk et al. 848). Other news sources have also been providing information on this epidemic as well. The article “How to Solve the Obesity Epidemic” suggests that we need to look at many different factors to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity. It also shows that it may not just be one solution either. It is a combination of changes in society, including family life, food, physical activity, and education (Lee et al., 661). This epidemic’s literature has been enormous and often includes many statistics from outside sources. These statistics allow us to get an idea of the potential magnitude of this issue based on known numbers.

Factors Leading to the Epidemic of Childhood Obesity

Factors & patterns that have been identified concerning the increase in childhood obesity include:

Physical Activity

Physical activity has a direct correlation with obesity levels in children. Studies have shown that children who participate in physical activity are, on average, less likely to be obese than children who do not participate in any form of physical activity. The lack of physical activity has become a significant issue in the lives