Have you ever caught somebody looking at your overweight child, your heart sinking to the ground? Childhood obesity has become a serious problem in today’s society; many children are now suffering from a disease that used to only occur in adults. An excessive amount of eating, unhealthy food, lack of physical activities, and heredity all play a part in being overweight.
One of the major factors that have contributed to an increase in children’s weight is unhealthy food. Nowadays, fast food restaurants have been increasing and these restaurants sell unhealthy food that attract children. They use many deceptive techniques to get consumers’ attention, such as media and television advertisements. Many of these advertisements make the food look quite appetizing, even resorting to methods such as using colored glue and bright lights to make the fast food shine and appear to be nutritious. Instead of promoting bad food, advertisements could focus more on advertising healthy foods. Unhealthy food contains some types of ingredients that are bad for one’s health, such as fats and sugar, which can this leads to one of the modern disease of obesity. Fast food restaurants also tend to Super-Size meals, which results in a meal containing too many calories. These extra calories increase the likelihood that one will become obese.
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Another crucial cause that leads to children’s obesity could also be the lack of physical activities. A child who is sitting all the time in front of a monitor, either TV or a computer, or laying all the time on his bed would be able to gain weight faster than the kid who is playing outside all of the time. 20 years ago, most kids were playing sports and other games outside, such as hopscotch, kick the can, or freeze tag. Today, children are not as active. Physical activities are very important in everyone’s life. Children and adults have to free their time for some activities in their day.
Heredity is another possible reason for children’s obesity. Usually, children are born with strong genes that they get from their parents or other relatives; as a consequence, these genes might carry the likelihood of developing obesity. Because of genes, children are considered to be overweight. This type of cause is the most dangerous one because it is born in them and is also much harder to get rid of. However, child obesity can be managed by monitoring what a child eats and helping a child to eat healthier foods and control one’s portions.
However, parents should be aware of their children’s food intake. For instance, a mother should take care of her children by illustrating some daily schedules for the right time to have sports and the perfect time to eats meals. Meals should be healthy most of the time. A free day of unhealthy food can be given one day a week. This will help children to be fit and be in a good shape.
In conclusion, factors like a poor diet, lack of physical activities, and large portions have led to an increase in overweight children. Obesity can cause serious problems to children’s health, but with some proper planning, awareness, and lifestyle changes, the chance of becoming obese can be reduced.
