My reflections on obesity

Obesity is one of the biggest problems in the United States which is also associated with severe adult deceases. Public health researches assume that increase in percentage of obese people is due to a high caloric intake and low physical activity. Early childhood educators became more focused on cognitive, social and emotional development to enhance children’s pre-academic abilities. Due to the cuts in physical education in schools fewer children are aware of the importance of sports. This habit brings on to the adulthood which increases the likelihood of obesity.

 Observations have shown there are three critical periods for developing obesity. Early infancy, period of adiposity rebound (5-7 years old), and adolescence. During these times children develop extensive fat which is supposed to help the body to function properly. In the early infancy fat helps the child to regulate body temperature and accumulates rapidly for a year. During the other two periods children acquire nearly all of their body mass. For example, adults need to consume about 15 to 20 calories per pound. On the other hand, infants need about 50 calories per pound and preschoolers about 40 calories per pound. Good and healthy diet for children should include grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans, preferably daily. Not every child receives the proper nutrition. Due to that child’s development might slow down and accumulate the extensive fat from the diet.

 TV advertisers encourage eating tasty but fattening food. Children who watch television more often are being exposed to the ads. When they see a fast food restaurant they don’t think about the quality of the food. Advertisers don’t talk about the nutrition on purpose. Parents who are not aware of the ingredients of the fast food let their children eat it. They don’t realize what kind of health problems it might bring in the future.

 Early undernutrition may also predispose to later obesity because it impairs the regulation of food intake. Many parents don’t know how many calories from fat they need to eat. For example, burgers from McDonalds have about 500 fat calories which is more than enough for the body for the entire day. Only 30% of daily caloric intake should come from fat. Adoption studies have shown that children and adolescents weight is related to the weight of their parents. Genes may influence obesity by influencing a person’s activity level. Besides, it also regulates metabolism which is the speed of the body to consume calories. It means that adults who don’t eat healthy put their children at risk of obesity.

 Every person has internal signals from the body, hunger is one them. When parents force their children to clean up plates they teach to ignore the internal signal to stop eating when full. This pattern prolongs into the adulthood and makes people eat whatever they have on the plate disregarding the internal cues. Adults with this habit consume more food than they need. On top of that, they usually don’t burn these calories by exercising. Body adjusts to the amount of food we eat and it becomes very difficult to change the habit.

 Majority of overweight children become overweight adults. Something has to change in the way we think about our lifestyles. Healthy food is a one step towards healthy body. When you have a healthy body, less likely you need to go to the doctors. Moreover, in order to exercise we don’t have to buy an expensive gym membership.  Our laziness is the biggest problem because all the exercises our body needs we can do at home. In order to save the planet from the diseases we have to begin changing ourselves.