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According to the reports of Carroll Ogden and the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of childhood obesity doubled among children while the rate quadrupled among teenagers over the last three decades (“Childhood Obesity”). This means that more and more children and adolescents are becoming at risk of serious illnesses associated with excess weight, which include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure. In order to resolve this issue, children and teenagers must be encouraged to make a lifestyle change. For many, encouraging them to be involved with more physical activities remains a viable option.
Many people blame the lack of physical activities as the culprit behind childhood and teenage obesity. Based on a report published in the American Journal Preventive Medicine, around 40 percent of children who attended school in 1969 either walk or ride their bikes when going to school and when going home, but the percentage dropped to only 13 percent in the year 2001 (qtd. in “Physical Activity”). Clearly, the changes in the lifestyle of school children contributed greatly to the increasing rate of childhood and teenage obesity.
Indeed, being overweight and being obese result from taking too many calories and burning only too few of these. This is quite true nowadays. With the advent of technological devices, many children and teenagers are getting hooked with online games and social networking sites. Instead of playing outside or being involved in sports, many of them choose to sit for long hours to play computer games or to interact with their peers virtually. This is becoming the norm among children and teenagers, which is a bad habit that people, both children and parents, must be cautious of.
However, children and teenagers are continuously exposed to sugary foods and drinks in school, so the lack of physical activity is not the only reason behind obesity. According to Lasater, Piernas, and Popkin, “From 1989 to 2008, calories from sugary beverages increased by 60% in children ages 6 to 11, from 130 to 209 calories per day, and the percentage of children consuming them rose from 79% to 91%” (qtd. in “The Problem”). This means that for many children, a significant percentage of their calorie intake comes from sugary drinks and beverages. This is not a good calorie source, however, because sugar can be addicting. Avena, Rada, and Hoebel states that “sugar is noteworthy as a substance that releases opioids and dopamine and thus might be expected to have addictive potential” (20). The more children and teenagers consume sugary foods and drinks, the more they crave for it. On a daily basis, this means that they tend to take more and more calories which leads to gain weight. Due to the addicting nature of sugar, it is now a powerful contributor to childhood and teenage obesity.
With access to sugary foods and beverages, there is no doubt that more and more children and teenagers are taking in more calories than they should. Therefore, it is a good option to ban these types of foods and beverages in school to protect the welfare of the younger generations. Others may not agree with this since children and teenagers may opt to just burn the excess calories that they are taking in order to maintain a healthy weight. This is true, but then again, sugar is an addicting substance. By taking in a couple of fruit juices, ice cream, candies, doughnuts and other sugary foods and drinks in a day, few hours of physical activities may not be enough to burn the excess calories. In addition, children and teenagers also have a quite limited time for physical activities because they also need to attend to their studies and homework.
In the end, both the lack of physical activities and the consumption of sugary foods and beverages contribute to the obesity epidemic among children and teenagers. Aside from encouraging them to be involved in physical activities, it will also be helpful to ban sugary foods and drinks in schools. Children and teenagers are prone to temptations. For instance, no matter how much they are told to limit their sugar consumption, they will always be tempted to take another sip or to take another bite of a sugar-filled cookie. This means that they are more at risk of sugar addiction and over consumption of calories. By taking out these tempting foods and drinks from school, they will have no choice but to embrace what are offered to them – hopefully healthier food options. By doing so, the society will be one-step closer to resolving the issue of childhood and teenage obesity.
Works Cited
Avena, Nicole, Pedro Rada, and Bartley Hoebel. “Evidence for Sugar Addiction: Behavioral and Neurochemical Effects of Intermittent, Excessive Sugar Intake.” Neuroscience & Behavioural Reviews 32.1 (2007): 20-39. Web. 16 June 2016.
“Childhood Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 27 August 2015. Web. 16 June 2016.
“Physical Activity.” The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Harvard T.H. Chan, n.d. Web. 16 June 2016.
“The Problem: Sugary Drinks Are a Major Contributor to the Obesity Epidemic.” The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Harvard T.H. Chan, n.d. Web. 16 June 2016.
