CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND COMMUNICATION

Watching your child’s diet is very important, at one point in time it felt good to eat what you wanted, and not worry if it would effect you nor your children. Over the course of time, children's health has became an issue overtime. Obesity has became the new era for children and adolescents. If we don’t take action and control of our youths eating and activity levels, we will be setting them up for health issues in their futures.

WHAT IS OBESITY Obesity- is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death. Obesity is also one of the most important contributing factors in heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers (Schmitt,2005)

HOW IT EFFECTS OUR KIDS 1/3 children in Minnesota are obese or overweight 1/5 children are obese or overweight by the time they enter school. From the percentage of youths with diabetes or prediabetes increased from 9 to 23 (The weight of childhood obesity, 2012) childrens hospitlal.jpg

HEREDITARY OBESITY Obesity is defined as weight-to-height ration in the 95 th percentile Obesity occurs in 10% of American children ages 2 to 5 and 15% of those ages 6 to 19 Overweight children usually comes from inheritance, if one parent is overweight, 50% of the children will be at risk for being overweight. If neither parent is overweight less than 10% of the children will be at risk for overweight. (Schmitt,2005)

CHILDREN OBESITY 2012

PREVENTABLE MEASURES Keeping the weight off is hard. Choosing the right foods and allowing your children to put down the video games, and play more outside is the key to being healthy. Less pops- more water Consume more fruits and vegetables Doctor visits Check on them at school Play active sports Get involve with their physical activities Ask them how they are feeling about themselves And most of all consistency is key

KNOWLEDGE Type 2 diabetes has been diagnosed in youth overtime, it is said if this continues in 2000, the risk of longtime type 2 diabetes will be 30% for boys and 40% for girls(lytle,2012) Childhood obesity goes beyond a cosmetic issue. The most significant short-term consequences are social and psychological. These may include discrimination and prejudice, with ensuing effects on the developing sense of self and self-esteem, potentially leading to a poor body image, which may increase susceptibility to eating disorders in later life, and depression.(phillips, 2012)

CONCLUSION Communicating is the key to a healthier life, get involved with your children daily activities. Watch your children’s diet. Less soda and sugars would be a great start, along with consuming more protein, vegetables, and fruits. Sometimes you may not know if your child’s at risk for diabetes, so its important that you communicate with your family doctor for check ups. In the future this can truly help build stronger lives for our children so that they can have a healthier future.

SOURCES schmitt, B. D. (2005, november 29). your child's health. (n.d.). Retrieved from the-weight-of-childhood-obesity/?gclid=CKSf-72Jz7MCFYpFMgodXRcAlQhttp:// the-weight-of-childhood-obesity/?gclid=CKSf-72Jz7MCFYpFMgodXRcAlQ eimear, K. (2012, august). Measured parental weight status and familial socio-economic status correlates with childhood overweight and obesity at age 9.. Retrieved from 892f- Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl 892f- Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl phillips, F. (2012, july 20). facing up to obesity. Retrieved from lytle, L. (2012, 10). Dealing with the childhood obesity epidemic: a public health approach.. Retrieved from