Childhood obesity is a condition in which a child is significantly overweight for his or her age and height.  With an average of 30 million cases in the United States per year, childhood obesity has become an increasing medical epidemic in our society today.  While affecting our children’s development, childhood obesity is influenced by many controllable and noncontrollable aspects.  Environmental and behavioral aspects, such as non-nutritional foods, fast foods, and excessive viewing of TV, that accommodates a lack of physical activities, are two of the most prominent contributing factors of childhood obesity.  With the unregulated influences of those factors, childhood obesity has been very detrimental to children of the upcoming generation. 

 With the influences of environmental and behavioral aspects, there are many responsibilities when it pertains to the onset of childhood obesity. In which those responsibilities such as the types of food that children consume, how much they consume, and the amount of physical activity that they take part in.  Those responsibilities rely on the parents and the schools.  Which is why these responsibilities should be evaluated to produce solutions on regulating the types of non-nutritional foods that can be bought and consumed and increase the amount of physical activity that children can take part in, to reduce the chances of them becoming overweight or obese.  And to help resolve this health epidemic in children.  When children consume foods like, fast food, unhealthy school lunches, and the foods that their parents buy, these habits can cause children to continue these habits throughout adulthood.  Therefore, there should be better physical education programs installed in schools, regulation of school lunches with more healthier food options, and educating the parents. 

Childhood obesity is believed to stem from many factors such as; genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors.  Which makes childhood obesity a major health issue in the United States.  However, in the article “Incidence of Childhood Obesity in the United States,” Cunningham and Kramer perfumed an experiment to examine when and where childhood obesity was seen to increase.  From 1999-2000, the rate of obesity in children increased by 15.3 percent between the ages of six and eleven.  In the survey conducted, Cunningham and Kramer tracked obesity levels in children by; height, weight, parent-reported age, sex, ethnic groups, birth weight, and socioeconomic status.  By doing this survey, they were able to configure that childhood obesity was most abundant in kindergarteners.  Children that were entering kindergarten were 14.4 percent overweight and 12.4 percent obese.  Also in the survey, obesity in children seemed to be very outstandingly higher in Hispanic children that were entering kindergarten as well.  This shows that obesity in children begins in a very young age and is influenced by cultural tendencies.  Hispanics in United States, tend to work for less than the average diverse American citizen.  Which puts them in the lowest percentile of average income compared to other working Americans.  With that, it explains why low income can have an effect on the overall health of a child.  From their study, Cunningham and Kramer results entail that childhood obesity can influence adolescents transitioning to adulthood.  As well as, overweight kindergartners had four times the risk of becoming obese by fourteen years of age.  

There are also behavioral factors, that influence to the progression of childhood obesity.  An article in the HHS Public Access “Social and Behavioral Risk Factors for Obesity in Early Childhood,” implies that the physical and mental ideals of children can affect their overall health.  The article included a case study, that was perfumed and recorded by the Childhood Behavior Checklist.  In this case study, they monitored and studied the behavioral activities that five-year old’s were taking part in on an everyday basis’s.  They also enlisted statements from the mothers of the children.  The mothers reported the number of hours their child spent watching TV, sleeping, and the servings of soda or juice that the child consumed per day.  As a result, the Childhood Behavior Checklist found that children at the age of five, were consuming double the amount of soda and juice, and as well as processed foods.  These five-year old were also spending more than six hours watching TV every day and utilizing electronic devices, such as tablets and video games. 

With the results from this case study, it proves that children even at the age of five years old, spend a lot of time watching TV and playing on their tablets. But then again, they are only five-year old’s, and what more can they do but sit in the house and watch TV?  In a YouTube broadcast, by The Public Internet, “Childhood Obesity in America: The Causes,” they establish some of the minor behavioral aspects that contributes to childhood obesity.  In a case study that was reported in the broadcast states that, behavioral problems and health behaviors were associated with obesity among 9-year-old girls.  Also, watching more than two hours of television per day, was associated with obesity in 9-year-old boys but considerably not with girls of the same age.  But behavioral risk factors are associated with obesity with children of the age of 5.  

 However, at that young age, it’s not good for children to be subjected to that type of behavior each day.  There should be a sense of balance in the behavioral aspect of children’s daily lives.    Because when they are accustomed to sitting in the house and watching TV for more than six hours, then they are easily able to consume more foods that are not healthy for them.  And when children ask for foods, such as cookies, sodas, or juice, the parents are most likely to give it to them because they see no harm.    

Furthermore, the impending question is; to whom does the responsibility go to when it comes to the environmental factors of children.  Children are either in school or with their parents throughout the day.  However, the school system plays a part in the development of children becoming overweight or obese.  But majority of their time is spent with their parents.  Therefore, parents are the individuals that take care of their children and provide things for them.  In the article, “Parents’ Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic,” implies that childhood obesity stems from the nutritional choices that parents make.  As stated in this article, parents in today’s society seem to overlook or fail to acknowledge the truth about their children’s weight.  Statically, it is shown that children inadequately consume foods such as sweets, carbs, and processed foods, that are environmental factors, that contribute to obesity in children.  These types of foods, are foods that are mostly consumed in the home or outside.  Such as McDonalds, Wendy’s or simply just chips, cookies, and candy.  Because it is often that parents give their children want they want to eat, not thinking that those foods will not have any nutritional value.  

Hearing that their child is overweight, tends to not alarm parents because they believe that their child won’t be obese or overweight.  Hoffman states, “often parents don’t want to accept it because change means a lot of work for everyone, including themselves.” A study that was used in the article states that, “nearly 70 percent of parents of obese daughters described their children as being about the right weight.”  Which shows that parents are denying their child of ever being outside of the BMI weight guidelines for their child.  This implies that the parents have a responsibility in the weight of their child.  Therefore, the nutritional choices that they make are pleasing in their eyes, but not beneficial to their children.  In the article, it states that denial is a coping mechanism for the parents.  Children need to have the most nutritional diet that they can, so that they won’t be subjected to being overweight. 

 However, it is implied that parents may not have the time or idea of how to provide a healthy diet that will accommodate everyone, including themselves.  In the article, “Childhood Obesity: Are Parents Really to Blame?”  Darren Powell, presents a claim that disagrees with the idea that parents have responsibility in their child becoming obese or overweight.  Powell implies that obesity is prominently a medical problem that can be solved by medical intervention and hormonal treatments.  In contradiction, medical and hormonal treatments are not good for children because it can cause an imbalance in their overall growth and development.  Growth and development are influential factors in children’s lives, because you want children to be at their fullest potential, in terms of hormones and biological functions, as they continue to grow into adulthood.  Powell also claims that ‘blaming a parent for their child being overweight or obese can be oppressive to the parent.’  However, from the article “Parents’ Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic,” it states that parents are indeed responsible because it all comes down to the nutritional choices that parents make and the choices that they allow their children to make.  Therefore, there is no question that parents play a major role in their children’s health.  Because if parents are oppressive, then it can cause the parents to provide improper nutrition which can further affect the chances of their child becoming overweight.  

Although parents have a responsibility in the potential influence of obesity in their children, the school system also has responsibility in childhood obesity as well.  In the article, “The Effects of Children Eating Unhealthy School Lunches,” it stated that in 2012, the government updated the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.  By doing this, it included that schools were to count fruits and vegetables as separate meal groups, offer a choice of fruit to children every day, and to give different grade levels different meal sizes.  You would think that this would be the start of something great, that could change the way that schools were preparing lunches for children. 

 However, a case study within this article, the Weight-Control Information Network, reported that a third of kids in the United States are overweight or obese because not all schools in the United States implement NSLP, National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. If the government regulates the number of calories a child’s school lunch has, they are still allowing kids to purchase foods that are not included in school lunches, that are calorie-enriched and high in fats, sodium, and sugar.  Programs to regulate school lunches of this nature require great financial investments.  And all schools that are within the United States, are not financially able to implement this program.  For instance, the state of South Carolina is not one of the richest state.  “The Revenue Guidelines for South Carolina- 2013-2014,” the school budget for The School Lunch Program Aid, is allocated to each district by a formula.  The funds that are provided under the School Lunch Program Aid, are mainly distributed to each district in South Carolina based upon the number of cafeteria units that are operating in each county that are remaining prior to the end of the previous school year.  The funding for the School Lunch Program Aid in South Carolina, was underbudgeted at $326,039 dollars for the academic year 2013-2014.  This shows that the state of South Carolina is not funded properly, therefore proving that the state is not adequately funded to provide nutritional lunches to students statewide.  

Not only does non-nutritional school lunches influence childhood obesity, a lack of physical education can be a detrimental influence of childhood obesity.  Children spend most of their time in schools.  Therefore, the need of some type of physical education is important.  If children are intaking high caloric foods that contain tremendous amounts of sodium and sugars, they need to burn off those calories.  And that is where the school system can help, because children may not take part in physical activities when they are home.  For instance, not only is the state of South Carolina underbudgeted in the School Lunch Program Aid, but as well as the Student Health and Fitness.  In the academic aid year of 2013-2014, the funding for School Health and Fitness was $268,056 dollars.  The guidelines for which school districts must follow, are to provide a minimum of one hundred and fifty minutes a week of physical education and physical activity.  Overall the funding that is allocated to the school districts in South Carolina is based upon average membership of grades K-5 from the previous academic year.  The information presented in the ‘Revenue Guidelines for South Carolina-2013-2014,’ from School Lunch Program Aid and Student Health and Fitness, proves that South Carolina is underbudgeted in many aspects that are influencing the increasing rates of childhood obesity.  

Therefore, to help regulate the aspects of childhood obesity, we must find resolutions within the household and the school system.  In the article, “School Nutrition and Activity: Impacts on Well-Being,” it implies that there can be many ways in which this epidemic can be regulated.  Such as school-based interventions, which focus on nutrition-based or physical-based aspects that monitor weight independently.  The goal of school-based interventions is to focus on nutrition and physical activity to control weight gain.  Schools can also involve children to take part in more physical activities and for example, instead of taking the elevator then they should use the steps.  By implementing these ideas, it can be the start of a major transition.  Classroom-based health interventions can make older children and teens aware of eating nutritious diet and engaging in a regular physical activity.  This article also states that children eat at least one meal at school, therefore schools should encourage children to make healthier food choices.  To fulfill this, the school systems would have to reduce the intake of carbonated drinks, sugary foods, and most importantly encourage children to drink more water.  School-based intervention programs can benefit from the help of the community as well.  Which would help to provide healthier food options and more physical activities all around.  Community support, can be valuable in organizing social events like healthy food festivals and harvest festivals.  Most importantly, the community can help encourage and educate parents on creating healthier lifestyles.  As mentioned, parents have a major responsibility in the choices of foods that they allow their children to consume.  And with the help of the community, it can greatly help parents to understand a sense of what foods are detrimental to their children’s health in the future.  And give themselves a healthier lifestyle, that can benefit them positively as well.  The community can also influence media or local entertainment, to promote educational programs to inform parents and children.  Which also plays into the idea that since children spend a lot of their time watching TV or playing video games, then with the community influencing local entertainment, then the children and as well as their parents will be able to see more a healthier lifestyle broadcasted on TV.  

However, to implement these programs there must be a financial investment.  These types of interventions require a lot of financial support.  All intervention-based programs require much effort on budgeting and planning.  Because they require monitoring of the progress being done and sustainability.  
