Samantha Lorenzo

Professor Alexa Doran

ENC 2135
18 October 2016
Childhood Obesity in America: An Annotated Bibliography
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children, and Youth, et al.
Preventing Childhood Obesity Health in the Balance. Washington, DC: National
Academies Press, 2005.

The authors of this book offer insight into the growing childhood obesity epidemic and
outlines several long-term and short-term preventive measures. Although life expectancy
has increased tremendously and we have made many medical advances, the 21st century
has begun with a shocking increase in obese children. The authors explain how the
social, environmental, medical, and dietary factors are contributing to this epidemic and
also provide suggestions for the roles and responsibilities of caretakers.

The contents of this book are both informative and simple to read making it easy for
everyone to understand regardless of their educational background. This book will help
me explain what actions must be taken to stop childhood obesity from growing any
further. I am attracted to the credibility of this source because the United States
Institution of Medicine contributed to this book. I feel like this book will help me

effectively inform my audience about measures that can be taken to prevent childhood
obesity.

Farquhar, John W. The American Way of Life Need Not Be Hazardous to Your Health. Da Capo
Press, 1987.

John W. Farquhar explains how to eliminate health issues that are related to diet and
exercise habits. Such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. He also
provides step-by-step plans to change these habits and improve ones health. Many
health problems that people have today are a reflection of diet choices and exercise
habits.

Farquhar is the founder of Stanford Center for disease prevention which makes
him a credible source. He is also a professor of medicine and preventative medicine at
Stanford Medical School. Farquhar not only explains why our eating and exercise habits `
can directly affect our cardiovascular health and overall health but he also creates a
prevention guide. Farquhar also explains ways to progressively stop habits that are
harming us like smoking cigarettes. This book adds to the credibility of my paper because
the author of this book is a trustworthy educated person. I think this source will help me
suggest plans to prevent childhood obesity and as a result, preventing the diseases that
accompany it.

Dalton, Sharron, and Inc ebrary. Our Overweight Children what Parents, Schools, and
Communities can do to Control the Fatness Epidemic. University of California
Press, 2004.

Sharron Dalton begins her book by explaining what obesity is and other basics. She
explains how parents, teachers, health professionals, and others need to work together to
stop childhood obesity. She also explains how childhood obesity can have a negative
impact on the mental health of the child. Dalton states, The discrimination is entirely
predictable, and the resulting devastation is foreseeable as well. These experiences result
in lower self-esteem, alienation, and denial of the benefits of activity while unnecessarily
curtailing the kids' future opportunities (185).

This book is effective for my argument that parents and caretakers should take
responsibility for preventing childhood obesity. I agree with Dalton that there are many
other health issues that accompany childhood obesity like anxiety and depression. Many
childrens self confidence plummets when they are obese due to being excluded and
being made fun of. Daltons information will help focus a portion of my paper on creating
healthy habits from a young age so that children will be less likely to deal with weight
related bullying.

Gunter, Barrie, Caroline Oates, and Mark Blades. Advertising to Children on TV: Content,
Impact, and Regulation. Mahwah, N.J, 2005.

This book explains the effect advertising has on children. There is on average 10 food
commercials for every hour of television (Gunter, Oates, Blades 19). The media,
commercials, and other types of advertisement greatly influence people's choices
especially children. Children are easily influenced and if they see a food commercial they
may be more inclined to want that particular food. Typically the food commercials on TV
are not for healthy foods like apples and bananas, they are normally advertising fast food
restaurants and desserts.

The information in the book will help me add statistical evidence into my paper. It was
shocking to find out how many food related commercials are targeted towards children.
This will be educational for parents and teach them how to actively regulate their child's
television use. Repeatedly watching food commercials has some psychological effects
on children and may morph their views on food and health.

Yu, Hyunjae Jay. "Parental communication style's impact on children's attitudes toward
obesity and food advertising." Journal of Consumer Affairs, 45.1, 2011, pp. 87-107.

In this article, Yu describes that parental communication is crucial in determining

childrens obesity level and their attitude towards advertisements. Yu stated that
Henderson and Kelly found that Children from households in which the parents are rarely
available, believed that the unhealthy snacks and fast foods advertised on TV were

healthier than other foods. As stated in the article, children will naturally have the same
views and beliefs as those of their parents therefor parents should focus more on
supervising and managing what might be influencing their childrens decisions

This article defends my argument that parents are the ones who decide whether or not
their child becomes obese. Although there are many advertisements swaying children to
choose unhealthier food options, I believe parents should be educating their children on
why these food commercials are wrong or closely regulating what they let their child
watch on TV. One aspect of this article that attracted me was that he used several
different sources to come to his conclusions which means he did extensive research to
formulate his thoughts and ideas on childhood obesity.

Mandal, Bidisha. "Use of Food Labels as a Weight Loss Behavior." Journal of Consumer
Affairs, 44.3, Fall 2010, 516-27.

Mandal states that people should learn to read and analyze nutrition labels. Paying closer
attention to food labels will ensure that children are getting the proper amounts of
vitamins and minerals in each meal and are not over consuming macronutrients which are
proteins, carbs, and fats. Reading food labels typically influence peoples food choices
and they become aware of how harmful or beneficial it may be for them.

Although Mandal never specially mentions children in his article I believe that label
reading is very crucial in creating a healthy and balanced diet. Certain foods that may be
considered healthy could be loaded with excess sugar and calories if not eaten in
moderation. Parents should reading food labels and when their children are old enough,
they should be taught how to read food labels.

Smith, J. Clinton. Understanding Childhood Obesity. Jackson, Mi, University Press of

Mississippi, 1999.

Smith discusses how to identify obesity and what environmental factors are causing
childhood obesity. He also helps parents determine what kind of help an obese child
needs and outlines diet, exercise, medical, and surgical treatments. The book contains
recent research done on childhood obesity and the latest treatment and preventive
strategies.
Smith is an associate professor of pediatrics and an assistant professor of preventive
medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine making him a very reliable
source. I like how Smith makes this book very easy to understand and makes all the
concepts simple enough for anyone to understand. Smith thoroughly explains the causes
of obesity and then provides a plan to prevent obesity and treat children who are already
obese.

Esteves, Tammy. Food for Thought: Is a French Fry a Vegetable? https://www.td.org/

publications/magazines/the-public-manager/archives/2011/summer/food-for-thought-is-afrench-fry-a-vegetable.

Esteves explains that unhealthy food choices and poor eating habits are not the only
causes why childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent. Physical activity, or better
said, the lack of physical activity, is one of the major aspects contributing to the
epidemic. Children are now, more than ever, spending more time sitting in classrooms,
playing video games, watching television, and expending extended times surfing the
Internet. Schools are even beginning to reduce extracurricular activities such as sports
and physical education because of the students' lack of interest.

I like how Esteves addresses the lack of physical activity programs in schools and how
physical education is being cut back. It was shocking to me that schools are trying to fund
more video game consoles but are cutting back funds on extra curricular activities like
sports. People are complaining that eating healthy is to expensive but the treatments for
obesity are much more expensive than eating healthy could ever be.

Michelle Obama. Learn the Facts. <http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhoodobesity>.

Obesity and nutrition have become such a large-scale problem that First Lady Michelle
Obama has made it the primary focus of her Let's Move Launch. Over the past three
decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and currently, nearly one in
three children in America are overweight or obese (letsmove.gov). Michelle Obama
explains that the amount of snacks children eat a day have increased and children are
eating more calories a day than ever before.

This is credible source because this movement was initiated by the First Lady, Michelle
Obama. This source helps me address how large the child hood obesity problem has
become Michelle Obama has made it one of her primary goals to make healthy
eating a priority especially in schools. The formatting of this website is very easy to
navigate and may be attractive for many people since it is a movement initiated by
someone of great power.

Stoneman, Scott. Youth, Health, and Lifestyle in the Aftermath of the Childhood Obesity
Epidemic. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/522200.

Stoneman addresses different lifestyle and cultural issues that are contributing to the
childhood obesity epidemic. In his article, Stoneman states that schools that offer
children junk food and soda while scaling back physical education classes and recess;
working parents who are unable to find the time or energy to cook nutritious meals or
supervise outdoor playtime; the exodus of grocery stores from urban centers, sharply

reducing access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables; and suburban sprawl and urban
crime, both of which keep children away (57).

Stonemason addresses the different political and social aspects that are feeding into the
epidemic.I like how he speaks of many cultural aspects that are drawing children
to eat unhealthy. Stoneman is a teacher of cultural studies and English at Saint Vincent
University and a graduate of the doctoral program in English and Cultural Studies at
McMaster making him an educated and credible source. Most of his studies are dedicated
to the youth and the rising obesity epidemic.