“31.9 percent of males and 29.5 percent of females in America are overweight.” Children being overweight is becoming one of the most severe issues in our nation. In this society, kids tend to get what ever they want with little to know trouble. This is a problem and is not going to get any better without the adults doing their jobs as well. It’s almost impossible to walk down the street on a typical day and not see several children whom are nearly obese.

First, as far as children go, they’re largest role models are their parents. When children come home from school or playing sports, they generally want a snack. This snack is not what it used to be; instead of an apple or some crackers, it’s now a couple twinkles and some cheetos. This is made so easy for the children because they have no sensor on what they eat from their parents. They just come home and eat whatever looks appealing or what they know tastes good, not worrying about the serious effects it has on their body. Little do they know, once they put on that type of weight, it is nearly impossible to take it off.
These children are ruining their bodies at too young of an age. They should be at the prime of their life physically, but instead they are having trouble walking home from the bus stop without wheezing. It is unexplainable how parents can allow their children’s weights get so out of hand without working harder to prevent it. Parents play a large role in their children’s’ weights, however the actually children have to do their part as well.
Factors that affect this issue and need to be altered include things such as the media, the fast food industry and other “junk food” corporations, the children’s parents, and obviously and most importantly, themselves.
In modern America, television is a child’s best friend. The T.V. is a daily part of almost every child’s lives, so it defiantly affects the way they think and act. Furthermore, on an average day, the television broadcasts a fast food commercial or a junk food commercial at least a few times per break. This strongly imprints opinions on a child’s brain and encourages them to eat and do what they see on the television. For example, when children see McDonald’s commercials five times a day, with kids like them looking extremely happy and the burgers looking extra appetizing, they’re obviously want to go there as soon as possible and as often as possible. Also, the fast food corporations do not worry about children’s health. This is not necessarily their fault, after all they are a business, and their objective is to make money. However, the way they go about their advertising to children needs to change if America wants to have any chance of not having the highest percentage of obese children. I propose that corporations such as McDonalds and other “junk food” corporations focus more on changing the way to advertise towards children. This could be made possible by advertising more of their “healthy” choices, such as their apple dippers, milk, and salads, with happy children in them. When kids see people similar to themselves as happy as they are on T.V. while eating slices of apples or drinking a milk bottleu, they will be more likely in ordering that next time they visit. Another component the fast food companies could change in their advertising is focusing on luring the children in at such a young age. More specifically, these companies are target children who are ages five to eight, which is not even old enough to make meaningful decisions, to come and eat the junk at their restaurants. Without these children feeling the need to go there at such a young age, they will defiantly not want to visit there as much when they grow older, because they won’t already be a loyal customer. These changes in fast food media will greatly improve the situation of children being so eager to frequently eat out at fast food restaurants and order the worst items on the menu.
Secondly, in America children are so massively unhealthy largely because of their parents. The parents are the greatest influences on their kids, and they need to set a god example and care more about their children’s health. I propose that parents in America need to set a limit of how many times their kids can eat fast food per month, and punish their children if the limit is broken. Obviously this limit should not be a high number, anywhere from 1-4 would be appropriate. However, kids need to know that it is not okay to beg their parents every night to go to the local fast food place for dinner and eat what the parents are cooking them! Parents also need to step up and stop eating junk food around their kids. This is setting a horrible example and will trigger natural thoughts inside a kids mind to follow their parents. In a kid’s life, their mother and father are the most influential and important people to them; and the American parents need to take a major stand and help change the way their children are eating.
In America, it is getting to the point where children being overweight is, “the norm.” This is not a joke and will not improve unless these tactics are taken into play. Children need to have more self discipline, and their parents need to be supportive and help them make good eating choices. Furthermore, the media of fast food companies needs to change the way they target children. Overall, the crises of overweight children in America can be improved, but it is not going to be easy in this day-in-age.




















Works Cited
1. "Overweight Statistics." Overweight Child CRC Health Group, 2007. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. <http://www.overweightteen.com/statistics.html>.