The New Age Epidemic: Obesity

Obesity is the most common form of nutritional problems; it is an epidemic that is affecting millions of people globally, and has a great impact on Canadian society, as seen in children today. In an article from a by CTV News, it was reported that Canada has one of the world's worst records in the battle of childhood obesity (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). The rate of childhood obesity in Canada has risen dramatically from 2 per cent in 1981, to between 10 and 15 per cent in 1996 (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). According to a study by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, it was found that more than half of Canadians are obese (Obesity Research in Canada 1). Furthermore, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children in some regions of Canada are shocking. Patricia M. Canning from the Faculty of Education in Memorial University says, that more than 1 in 4 preschool children in Newfoundland and Labrador are already overweight or obese (Canning 1). In addition, Doctor Ross E. Andersen from the Baltimore School of Medicine, states that from 1981 to 1996, the occurrence of overweight children climbed up the scale to 92 percent in boys and 57 per cent in girls (Andersen 1). Obesity is causing health care costs to rise and is also reducing national efficiency (Obesity Research in Canada 1). Obesity was costing Canada $1.8 billion in 1997 (Obesity Research in Canada 1). In responses to these concerns, some treatments have been developed for overweight children and address this growing problem. This essay will examine the causes, challenges and solutions related to obesity among children and adolescents in North America.

Behind each problem there are several leading factors that cause the problem to

arise. Similarly with the obesity problem, there are several factors that are causing the epidemic to grow including the consumption and the availability of unhealthy eating options. One contributing factor to this problem is that in today's society there are too many fat-food options that are accessible anytime and anywhere to children (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). The fact that there are a lot of unhealthy eating choices accessible to children is a cause of obesity. This is mainly due to the fact that the availability of unhealthy food seems to discourage kids and distract them from eating healthy meals. Another cause of obesity is the lack of physical activity. According to Ross E. Andersen in the article The Spread of Childhood Obesity Epidemic, schools have contributed to the problem by limiting and eventually stopping after-school activities. The lack of volunteer program leaders and the lack of funds have caused many schools to stop reduce extra curricular programs (Andersen 1). Arnold P. Goldstein from Syracuse University says that the lack of losing calories is also one of the major causes of weight gain, due to the fact that the amount of kilojoules taken into the body exceeds the amount of kilojoules expanded (Goldstein 3). The lack of losing calories is happening because the eating style of children is not an appropriate healthy style (Andersen 1) and this is magnified due to their lack of exercise, which is essentially a mechanism for calorie-burning.

In addition, another factor that is causing the obesity epidemic is the wide use of technology. Mark S. Tremblay, who is the dean of kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan, says that children tend to spend their free time at home or after school watching TV and playing video games instead of getting involved in more dynamic activities (Tremblay 1). According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, the average Canadian child watches 23 hours of TV each week, with some watching up to five hours a day (Establish ground rules for TV watching: CPS statement).

Lastly, there are many other genetic and environmental factors that cause obesity due to their affect on how we eat and how active we are (Obesity Research in Canada 1). Each one of the above leading causes of obesity must be addressed if Canada is to beat this epidemic or else society will live with the consequences and challenges of having an unhealthy nation.

Challenges are a result of any problem, especially one that goes untreated. One of the major challenges that obese children have to face is the fact that there is a greater chance for them to be overweight as adults, which will cause health problem and complications as they age (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). It increases the chances of chronic illnesses including hypertension, heart diseases, Type II diabetes, and respiratory illnesses (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). Obesity can also increase mortality due to cardiovascular disease (Hersen 1). In addition, there is a social and psychological consequence of being obese, especially in North America where there is a strong cultural prejudice against obese youth and an obsession to be thin (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). The obese child suffers both short-and-long-term psychosocial consequences, which can again affect the child in his/her mental development (Hersen 1). It can also develop low self-esteem, which can lead the child to commit crimes such as homicide and suicide (Goldstein 2). Furthermore, kids will have to endure teasing and harassment from other kids, even some awful and demeaning comments from adults (Experts Say Canada Losing Child Obesity Battle 1). Lifestyle is a big issue when it comes to obesity, however the problem is not changing the unhealthy lifestyle, but actually keeping up with the new healthy lifestyle commitment (Nutritionists advocate fast food tax to stem diabetes epidemic 1). The