According to the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention 17% of all children and adolescents in the U.S. are
obese. This staggering statistic is
three times the rate from the previous generation! Childhood obesity is linked to series of
factors from less healthy food options, increase portion size, lack of physical
activity, and etc. Now that many schools
across the country are drastically cutting their physical education programs and there are limited healthy options offered at school, the problem
is only expanding. It is well known that
children who are obese are at increased risks for being obese as adults,
developing cancer, and other obesity related diseases. However, a recent study has shown that childhood
obesity may affect school performance. A
study published in the journal of Child Development followed over 6,000
children from kindergarten through fifth grade found that those who were obese
throughout the study period had lower math scores than non-obese children. This trend was stronger with girls and practically
non-existent with boys, and the study did not take into consideration if
children became obese later, such as in third grade. However, studies do consistently show that
obesity does have a negative impact on a child’s physical and academic
performance. Some researchers think that
obese children may have a poorer academic performance because of social and emotional
problems which may hinder their ability in the classroom. While
from the physiological standpoint some may argue that, “obesity affects
virtually every organ system in the body, including the brain. It is an
inflammatory state, and that may have effects on the developing mind.” There is most likely a combination of social,
emotional, and physiological reasons why there is a correlation between obesity
and lower academic performance. Although
more studies need to be done to have a better understanding of childhood
obesity and academic performance it can be stated that improving test scores
will have to expand beyond the classroom to emphasizing physical education and
healthy eating habits.
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/health/obesity-affect-school-performance/index.html
In one of the families I have babysat for for years, I have noticed that there is quite a difference between the two older boys who are 16 and 15 now and the youngest son who is 7, when it comes to their intellectual strengths and physical abilities. The youngest child would rather play videogames all day long rather than play any kind of board game or outdoor sport. I have a hard time getting him to understand his homework or tell me what he thinks is the right answer (because he’s afraid he might sound “dumb”) when we work on it together compared to the older boys when they were his age.
ReplyDeleteThe oldest two were also involved in a lot more sports at the time and had restrictions on the amount of time they were allowed to watch TV and/or play videogames. I think that because the youngest son is the baby of the family, he is allowed to do more of what he wants, and parents have started resorting to technology to occupy their children’s time. It is easier to sit a child in front a TV than going outside to play a game of catch when the parents are stressed out. For this reason there has been a lack of mental and physical stimulation. This could start reflecting back on the their youngest son’s grades more, and his ability to build relationships with other kids his age. If he were involved in more sports, for example, this would give him (in my opinion) more of an opportunity to interact with these other kids, which could build his confidence, as well as make him healthier than if he simply sat around all day.
It is extremely important for children to be enrolled in extra-curricular activities to avoid health risks such as weight-gain (which could lead to obesity) and to kindle friendships and mental/physical arousal. I firmly agree with findings in the previously mentioned study that there is a correlation between physical activity, academics, and perhaps obesity. The easiest way to help out all children would be to extend recess time or allow for more physical education in schools. The fact that time for physical activity is being cut in schools is absurd to say the least: especially in a society that already likes to take the easy way out and has such a high population of people that lack a strong education. Not teaching the younger generations the importance of physical activity and doing well in school will only do harm for our society in the future. It is important to instill the proper habits at this age and encourage them to be healthy and intelligent instead of discouraging them from doing any physical activity by cutting the PE and recess time. I want this for all children, but I truly want to see this happen because I care about the kids that I babysit for as well.
I completely agree with you. One reason I have such an interest in childhood obesity is because I used to work for an after school and summer program for a few years and every new school year or summer there will always be not just one, but a few 1st and 2nd graders who weighed very close to or over 100 pounds. Their parents would pack chips, juice, Twinkies, etc. in their lunches and these children did not want to do any form of physical activity. As the article highlighted the majority of the obese children did struggle academically. To make matters worse one of the schools I worked at had PE only once a month for 30 minutes, and the only recess they had was during their lunch period which was very short. I think the solution to childhood obesity is for parents to monitor their children’s diet, especially when they are so young, and for parents to encourage their kids to be more physically active if only for 30 minutes a day. Even if schools do not increase PE time or provide healthier lunch options, children should have healthy habits at home.
DeleteI agree with the fact that eating unhealthy, inactivity and many other factors could lead to becoming obese. The study you mention between child obesity and poor academic performance as possibly due to social and emotional problem was very interesting. I would have like to know more if the child test score will increase as they grow up or if he or she will still demonstrate poor academic performance as they move on to higher education.
ReplyDeleteFew days ago I was watching TED talk video that says having a direct social contact to someone who is obese is most likely to increase our chance of becoming obese. For example he says “if our friend is obese our chance of becoming obese is 45% higher and if our friend‘s friend is obese we will have 25% increases in getting obese.” I have attached the link to the video and you can start watching from 2:30. In my opinion I have seen some of my friends who are obese and most of the family members are also obese. I think this is because they eat almost the same kind of food. I’m not sure if what I have seen in the TED talk video could contribute to this. Do you think social network like the one in the video could somehow lead to becoming obese?
http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html
I thought the article clearly highlighted the emotional,physical and psychological problems that are associated with being obese, not just in children but adults in adults as well.
ReplyDeleteThe statistics of obesity are staggering and the impact of obesity on an already overloaded healthcare delivery system is should be of concern to us all.
I personally think that public health awareness may make a difference in decreasing the morbidity and mortality brought about by obesity. Parents especially need to be educated on the food pyramid as designed by the World Health Organization and more importantly the need to understand food labels, caloric content and nutritional value of the food item.
As the world becomes more industrialized more people are working and less time is spend choosing the right food if at all, and more children are being babysat by gadgets and the television machine. Hence, sedentary lifestyles in these children and poor diets.
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I agree with you that public health awareness is essential to prevent obesity and the associated diseases. Not only do parents need to become more aware, but once children become a little older they can start to learn healthy behaviors as well. As previously mentioned, when I worked for a summer camp and school I taught the kids who were in my group (kindergarteners to second graders), and incorporated activities about the food pyramid, diabetes, the importance of exercise, and etc. Surprisingly, they actually memorized the food pyramid and even started to tell their parents that they did not want fruit roll ups for snacks anymore. If it is possible for average 5-7 years old children to educate their parents then it should be very easy for adults to incorporate simple lifestyle changes to prevent obesity.
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