America is known as the country that is able to overcome adversity and hardship. It is what allowed us to become the great nation we are today. However, there is a growing epidemic we have failed to accommodate for and is quickly sweeping the nation. This disease isn’t from pathogens, but originates from the food we eat. This disease is known as obesity and if not stopped will impact the health of children’s future. We can’t rest knowing that in the near future, one out of every four children will be obese.
We need to address this problem and in order to be healthy, students need to make healthier choices, parents need to take control of what their child is allowed to eat and schools need to provide lunches that will allow students to consume the nutrition they need. Many people believe that it’s just the poor kids that consume calorie packed meals. However, they couldn’t be more further from the truth. A study shows that, “ The average percentage of calories coming from fast food for kids with working and middle-class parents is 9. percent but poor kids only get eight percent of their calories food. ”
Kids of all types, whether they are poor or rich tend to ingest unsound meal. Kids are at the age where they aren’t able to make intelligent food choices. There are outside sources that influence what the children should eat. Many children are “bombarded with advertisement for fast food. The industry spends billions of dollars each year on marketing, much of which is used to target children and teenagers. ” We must teach children how to develop positive eating habits and to say no to fast food restaurants.
Students will develop excellent eating habits if they have the guidance of their parents. Parents need to educate their children as to what is healthy and what isn’t. Most parents failed to inform kids about the benefit of healthy eating and it comes back to haunt them[children]. Students who are unhealthy now “are at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type two diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis. Parent can also restrict the amount of unhealthy food their child is allowed to eat.
The parents have the power to “decide which foods to buy and when to serve them. Though kids will pester their parents for less nutritious foods adults should be in charge when deciding which foods are regularly stacked in the house. ” Parents putting restrictions on unsound snacks allows the child to want beneficial alternatives such as an apple. Parental influences and student eating habits are important, but the type of environment the students are in such as a school can have an impact on what the students eat.
It is seen that “schools play a critical role in promoting the health and safety of young people and help them establish lifelong healthy behavior patterns. ” Schools can allow for the student to be independent and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. Schools can also provide lunches that are filled with nutrition vital for our everyday lives. However many people argue that instead of focusing on healthy eating, the real solution to staying is exercise.
While exercise is a good option in helping to maintain a healthy lifestyle, everything starts with what people put into their bodies. A study showed that, “weight loss is generally 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise. ” Even though, exercise contributes somewhat to being healthy the best solution is to consume lively foods. In conclusion, the road to healthy living is a hard one, but the benefits outweigh the temptations of eating unhealthy meals. Obesity is a rising problem that we choose to ignore.
The fact remains that the United States is now known as the world’s fattest country and we have done nothing to change that. The health of student lives is at stake if we dismiss the threats of obesity any longer. The path to maintaining a healthy life begins today and in order to do that, the students must learn to eat more nutritious foods, parents have to put restrictions on the food children eat and schools have to provide proper foods that will encourage students to eat healthy.