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DiAsia Frazier
April 27, 2016
CSCI 101-01
Spring 2016
Childhood obesity on the rise
Childhood obesity is an increasing issue in American society because of the long term
effects of poor diet, a low income household, and lack of education about healthy eating;
therefore, the level of childhood obesity cases in America will continue to rise until families are
able to afford nutritious foods and children are properly educated about living a healthy lifestyle.
A combination of taking in fewer calories and obtaining more exercise will result in an increase
of physical productivity and a decrease in the possibility of becoming unhealthy.
To begin, when children are more physically active they have a greater attention span
because their brains are engaged, which insinuates better knowledge comprehension in classes.
Studies have shown that brain breaks (ten to thirty minutes of light physical activity) during
classroom learning sessions help students focus and engage more in future lessons because
physical activities help form connections in the brain. Poor nutrition leads to poor performance
with academics at school. Children who are unhealthy or obese are prone to have more sick
days or absent days than a healthy child during the school year (Health Education, 2001).
Inactivity and poor diet are the top two causes of childhood obesity. Some of the risks
associated with obesity are hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes, heart failure, and even some
cancers (Health Education, 2001). Chronic diseases that used to only be found in adults are now
being found in children which is quite alarming to physicians.
Source Citations
Telljohann, Susan Kay, Cynthia Wolford Symons, Dean F. Miller, and Dean F. Miller. Health
Education: Elementary and Middle School Applications. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill,
2001. Print.
"Childhood Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 27 Aug. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
"Preventing Obesity in Children, Causes of Child Obesity, and More."WebMD. WebMD, n.d.
Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
"Obesity Action Coalition What Is Childhood Obesity?" Obesity Action Coalition What Is
Childhood Obesity Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.