Childhood to adolescent obesity in America is becoming an over-whelming issue. Most schools have decided that physical education isn’t critical due to budget cuts and the increased pressure to excel in standardized tests. One out of three children in the U.S. is over-weight or obese according to the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. I believe that childhood obesity is the result of lack of exercise and poor diet due to a fast-paced lifestyle. Junk food is attractive for many reasons including price, taste, and convenience. My own research outside of school has led me to learn and value the importance of healthy food as it preserves and protects our body from diseases because it contains the vitamins, minerals, and protein that our …show more content…
is also in the upper percentile in the overall amount of people obese. These alarming statistics should be enough reason to allocate more resources towards the physical education of our population starting at an early age. We should not only be teaching young kids the importance of sufficient exercise, but also the implications of consuming junk food. With an increasingly fast-paced society we tend to forget to eat a proper nutritious diet. From my perspective, the convenience and over-marketing of junk food is the main reason why kids seem to be drawn towards processed foods. As a part-time Herbalife health coach I help people create meal plans so they are not tempted by the convenience of fast junk food. I have found that proper nutrition is an even more important factor in reaching fitness goals than the exercise aspect because no amount of exercise can mask a bad diet. A tax on the same sugary beverages and junk food that our youth cannot seem to get away from, could generate money that can create, fund, and endorse preventative fitness programs such as Herbalife to teach the youth the importance of balancing healthy eating with …show more content…
Most schools simply don’t require physical education. This puts the task of educating the youth about healthy eating habits and exercise entirely on their parents. If parents aren’t educated on proper nutrition, kids are left to their own devices to figure out how to give their bodies the nutrition it needs, often to no avail. This creates vicious cycles of obesity in certain family lineages. I believe that the proposal to have a tax levied on junk food and sugary beverages is imperative to our nation’s longevity. The money generated can also be used to fund and make physical education a requirement for schools
SUMMARY Food columnist for the New York Times and author of culinary books, Mark Bittman, in his essay, Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables, published in July 2011, addresses the topic of unhealthy eating habits and argues that the government should tax unhealthy foods and use the money generated from the taxes to subsidize staple foods. Bittman supports his claim first by appealing emotionally when discussing the negative effects of bad eating habits such as diabetes and cancer, second drawing a comparison to other items that are taxed by the government which are unhealthy, and lastly by utilizing a substantial amount of evidence to back up his ideas. The author’s overall purpose is to discuss the current relationship between the government
Although limiting the amount of junk food in school would help better nutrition opponents argue that taking away these options would decrease the revenue made by the school, “Critics of rules banning junk food in schools say that they cut off valuable sources of revenue. The income generated by vending machines supports activities such as music, sports and field trips, they note. As an example, they cite the experience of the Seattle, Washington, school district, which implemented a nutrition policy in 2004. Schools in that district, which had previously received $340,000 a year from Coca-Cola as part of an exclusive contract, found themselves without revenue that they had used to fund school yearbooks and newspapers, and activities such as dances, they note.” (Seaton)
I think this because eating junk food and drinking soda is bad for you. Not only will it make you fat, but after consuming large amounts of sugar you’ll go on a sugar high, then you’ll go on a major sugar crash afterwards. 1 The rate of obesity has doubled for kids and 2 and tripled for adolescents. I, personally, would prefer apple slices and peanut butter for snack. Building a McDonald’s between the middle and high school would cost money not save it, even though 10% of proceeds will go to both schools.
The high demand for medical care also increases the financial burden on the families and therefore the community as well. As one can see the community health is greatly effected by the high rates of obesity among its individuals. Children in particular have a massive effect because not only are they the future of that community, but they also influence the schools in that region. Healthy People 2020 regard obesity in America as a very serious problem especially among children. It is such a major issue because childhood obesity easily leads to obesity in adulthood that increases the risks for heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer (Nutrition).
America is growing as a nation, and its citizens are growing in pant size. Obesity is a growing problem in America for children and adults; therefore, steps need to be taken to promote healthy foods to stop future health problems. In hopes of decreasing obesity rates, some political leaders like New York Governor David Paterson, have proposed a tax on caloric sweetened beverages (soda tax). This will reduce the consumption of sweetened beverages, thereby reducing the weight of the individual. The money collected from this tax could be returned to communities to support programs promoting wellness.
Every child in America can rattle off ten or fifteen different sugary snacks that they like with no problem, but not nearly as many can name the same number of fruits or vegetables that they enjoy. Junk food marketed towards children is a real threat to their overall health as they are too young to recognize that it isn’t healthy or good for them, they only see a brightly colored package and something that they think tastes good. Children in America are more obese than ever before due to the accessibility of junk foods, by letting children eat these foods adults are doing them a great disservice. Junk foods contain unhealthy or even cancer-causing chemicals that get added into the body, it can destroy mental health, and is the leading cause of obesity in America. Most junk foods like snack cakes, cookies, chips, and anything canned or frozen contain preservatives.
Many schools face issues where vending machines and heavily processed food are prevalent. These are main contributors to a big problem many schools are facing, obesity. Obesity is a problem on the rise and wont stop until the quality of food is improved. “Fifteen percent of U.S. children and teenagers are overweight—triple the rate of 35 years ago, and a higher percentage than in any other industrialized country” found by the American academy of Pediatrics amplifies the thought that obesity is definitely a rising problem and is growing at a rapid rate (Harkin). A recent study tracked fourth graders going into fifth grade and found astonishing results in a bad way, “…where they gained access to school vending machines, snack bars and other food sources.
government and school districts to enforce state school nutrition laws in order to support elementary students’ physical and mental health, and to effectively improve elementary students’ standardized test scores. Every school year, school leaders gather at the faculty meeting to discuss plans to change all of elementary students’ physical bodies and minds. School leaders also need to conduct more research and rely on helpful resources in order to educate elementary students about nourishment and exercise. Anderson then suggests “a push to combat childhood obesity, [and enforce] the Hunger-Free Kids Act” (2). This new, enforced law, creates an effect that Anderson persuades elementary students to get out of their comfort zone and participate in fitness-based activities, such as running on the treadmill, performing yoga poses, and doing push-ups for muscle endurance.
The popularity of technology and fast food eating is causing the childhood obesity epidemic to progress at an alarming rate. Unless actions are taken, there is no chance of it slowing down. Childhood obesity in the United States has become an epidemic. There are several factors that influence obesity in children. Research shows how genetics play a role
Childhood Obesity Change can be considered the epitome of fear due to the act of grasping on to old habits and being reluctant to move on; however, change, change needs to be imminent to deal with a deadly issue at hand. People around the world are dealing with the new era issue of obesity. America, the land of the free, has reached a point where ingesting sugar and unhealthful foods has become a habit rather than a delicacy. The solution to start making advances to a healthy society is to start by getting rid of childhood obesity. The younger generation is at risk for continuing the almost unstoppable obesity epidemic.
Fortunately, taxpayer actually want their money to go towards improving the federal school lunch program. The $11 Trillion Reward was about how much America’s economy would save in healthcare and other externality cost to diet related health issues if Americans ate healthier. Three key points were that even small dietary adjustments could save America money, almost 100,000 cardiovascular-related mortalities could have been prevented and that eating more fruits and veggies could save Americans approximately $17 billion dollars in medical bills. (O’Hara
Because these CFBs are usually higher in fat and less healthy than food sold as lunches, regulation appears to be a logical way to build healthy habits in young Americans (Datar and Nicosia). As counterintuitive as it may be, prohibiting children from purchasing junk food, in fact, harms
Are school meals really that unhealthy? Why do so many people want healthier school lunches? Although many students don’t believe that the school lunches are unhealthy, schools should try to make every effort to increase the amount of healthy foods and to decrease the amount of junk food being sold because healthy foods are more nutritious and energy-rich so students can stay focused in class. In addition, much of the American population is obese and the rate of obesity is growing. And finally, junk food leads to other physical and emotional problems.
The percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s. Nearly one-fifth of school-aged children have obesity” (US Regents, 2019). School lunches should be filled with more nutritional foods and should be taken more seriously (Dixon, 2023). Schools can be more strict about what they allow students to purchase each day; they could limit the number of extras each student
"It states that “Laws strictly curbing school sales of junk food and sweetened drinks may play a role in slowing childhood obesity” (Tanner 1). If schools stop selling junk food early it can really make a huge difference, and also actually stop childhood obesity. Schools that allow junk food to be sold are more likely to cause children to have obesity. All schools have to do is stop selling junk food to stop kids from having obesity (Tanner 1).