Childhood Obesity in America - 3479 Words

Controlling Childhood Obesity in America By Jessica Spencer English 102 Dr. Grimes 1 May 2006 Outline Thesis statement: Childhood obesity in American can be controlled if a healthy lifestyle of exercise and healthy eating can be incorporated into each child’s day. I. Childhood obesity in America A. Growing epidemic 1. Statistics 2. Problems 3. Define epidemic B. Advertisements 1. Fast food 2. Sesame Street 3. Groups II. Safety issues A. Safety seats 1. Statistics 2. Price B. Junk food/fast food 1. Trans fat 2. Portion sizes III. Health A. Body mass index (BMI) 1. Accurate/not 2. School system Spencer i 3. Psychological effects a) Depression b) Stress c) Low self esteem 4. Physical effects a) Diabetes b) High blood pressure c) Asthma, etc†¦show more content†¦Advertisements have a big impact on the spread of childhood obesity. According to Common Sense Media, one food commercial is shown every five minutes during Saturday morning cartoons (par. 2). McDonald’s commercials has cute little costumed people running around eating Happy Meals, candy commercials use cool visual effects, and other products use celebrity endorsements to get their points across. According to Ellen Bernstein, in 2004, food and beverage companies spent over $10 billion on marketing fattening products directly to American youngsters (par. 3). Sesame Street introduced the Cookie Monster in 1972 on the Public Broadcasting Service (par. 1). The Cookie Monster sang about cookies and sweets for over 30 years and some say that was a Spencer 2 contribution to the rise in childhood obesity (par. 1). â€Å"Healthy Habits for Life† was introduced in April 2005, having a segment in each episode with Cookie Monster and his friends eating healthy foods and talking about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle (par. 2). Millions of people remember waking up every morning and watching Sesame Street while they were getting ready for school, so it is no wonder that the Cookie Monster might have had such an impact on the child population. In 2005, President Bill Clinton, Nickelodeon, and the American Heart Association sat up a program called Alliance forShow MoreRelatedThe Epidemic Of Childhood Obesity In America. Childhood1080 Words   |  5 PagesThe Epidemic Of Childhood Obesity In America Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that is affecting children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height and can result in serious medical conditions. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased significantly over the past ten years. Childhood diabetes has been on the rise since the early 90’s and continues to rise. 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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is defined