User:Sarrrah87/sandbox

Childhood Obesity in Canada

If published (once approved by my professor), this would be an addition to the Obesity article.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is creating a generation who will be outlived by their parents. According to the National Audit Office, Britain's burgeoning weight problem costs the Health Service £500million in consultations, drugs and other therapies. Obesity causes 30,000 deaths a year.

In this digitally enhancing world of ours, factors like easy food (fast food), lack of physical activities, expensive organized sports and neighbourhood not being safe are also some reasons why kids gain weight. Subsequently, childhood obesity is a big concern now more than ever, because it leads to many health problems later in life. That is to say the least, but obesity can be linked to kids and adolescents' low self-esteem and body-image issues as well. Statistics Canada research shows at the age of 12, Canadian boys and girls are now taller and heavier as compared to kids in 1981.

Another Statistics Canada survey shows, one out three kids in Canada is considered to be over-weight. Based on a variety of direct measures of anthropometry from the Canadian Health Measures survey, the Canadian youth and children are less healthy now. In addition, significantly lower flexibility strength scores have also been observed between boys and girls and all measures of adiposity have increased. As a result, present day children tend to be less; taller, and stronger than their parents.

Children are paying dearly and because of their tender age they aren’t realizing it. Obesity-related medical problems such as, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and disability that obese kids might be threatened to in later years. The doctors believe that an immediate plan of attack is needed to save the health of a generation after finding signs of weight-related diabetes in children as young as 13. According to World Health Organization, 31.5 per cent of five to 17-year-olds — an estimated 1.6 million Canadians — were classified as overweight (19.8 per cent) or obese (11.7 per cent) from 2009 to 2011.

Preventive Measures

As the reasons for childhood obesity vary, like wise do the solutions to instill a healthy lifestyle. Kids need to make healthy choices, be encouraged for a daily fitness routine, and physical education classes. Participation also plays an integral role when it comes to breaking the stigma of obesity. The key to keeping kids healthy is taking a whole-family approach — it's the practice what you preach mentality. Research shows parents that are involved in their children's lives tend to raise healthier and happier kids.

Finding the balance

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, eight to 18-year-olds watch about 4.5 hours of television a day and the average kid spends seven hours on all screen media which includes TV, DVDs, computer time outside of schoolwork, and video games. That kind of lifestyle combined with other social factors hinders children’s growth not just on a physical level but also on an emotional level. Behavioural research shows connections between fitness and brain patterns that naturally impact all areas of brain function, such as cognitive skills and memory. . Thus, maintaining balance in kids habits and diet is necessary. Parents should make it healthy eating and exercise a family affair by getting kids involved while grocery shopping so they can learn how to make good food choices.Children tend to lead by example, so a healthy diet and three complete meals in a day should be encouraged, while keeping a check on the way a child eats.

Because child obesity affects not just one child and his/her family, but also has a long lasting effect on society and other kids as well. Therefore, parents and teachers should find ways to encourage children to engage in outdoor activities such as physical education classes, and sports while at school. A physical fitness experiment done by Naperville Central High School in Illinois illustrated the power of exercise boosts brain adaptability. The students who took part in morning exercise had free access to gym balls and bikes all day. The result of that experiment was surprisingly positive. The kids who participated nearly doubled their reading scores and further research has also shown that after 30 minutes on the treadmill, students solve problems up to 10 percent more effectively.