Poem

Childhood Obesity In America English 122 Instructor Fawn vonFrohling October 20,2012

Obesity is a growing problem and it is prevalent in all ages of society. America is no exception; in fact, America is the leading source of obesity. The obesity problem is tackled by Greg Critser and Mary Ray Worley. In Critser’s article, “Too Much of a Good Thing,” he explains how obesity takes place not only in adults, but also in children. In fact, twenty-five percent of Americans under the age of nineteen are obese. Parents can be held responsible for developing good eating habits for their children. Fixing eating habits during childhood provide a solution for limiting obesity. If bad eating habits are developed at a young age, weight problems can become more predominant later in life. Worley takes a different approach to obesity in her article. “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance.” Worley describes how her experience at the National Association of Advance Fat Acceptance convention changed the way she sees herself and other fat people. She claims that it becomes easier to accept your body when around other fat people. After multiple attempts to lose weight, people become weary of making another attempt because of the chance of failing again, States Worley. Accepting fatness is not someone giving up but rather starting a new relationship with their own body, claims Worley. Critser and Worley investigate the quickly growing problem of obesity by stating the source behind obesity, and explaining a solution to obesity. What exactly is the source behind the epidemic of obesity? Multiple options for the source are available. Some say genetics, some say eating habits and some say lack of exercise. It all depends on what each individual believes. Critser is one who believes in the idea that poor eating habits during childhood are the main source of obesity. Developing good eating habits at a young age can go a long ways in limiting the presence of obesity. Critser supports her claim by referencing a study between three and five year olds. The study shows that three year olds knew when to stop eating while the five year olds did not stop until the plate was clean. Children above the age of three eat until their plate is clean because that is what they are taught to do. This presents reason why eating habits are a major source of obesity. While Critser claims that obesity is brought on by eating habits, Worley blames obesity on genetics and the body’s rejection of starvation. Worley claims that our bodies shield us from starvation. Dieting can be difficult in that the body attempt to avoid starvation. When decreasing the amount of food intake, the body still desires the amount that is normal consumed. This causes a problem in dieting and can often lead to failure. Blaming obesity on genetics is the common excuse when finding a source for the obesity problems. Genetics does play a role in obesity but not as much as some want to believe. Many obese people refuse to attempt to lose the weight by not exercising. Instead of blaming obesity on genetics, try blaming it on the person’s laziness and lack of will to become healthier. Critser’s reasoning on the source of obesity is more legitimate than Worley’s reasoning because of the fact that many obese people do not eat healthy nor exercise. How should increasing obesity rates be handled? Eliminating fast food would be a logical reason but it would be almost impossible to accomplish that task. In order for obesity rates to drop, multiple actions must be taken on different scales. Whether it is eliminating childhood obesity by changing eating habits. Children need to learn how much to eat , and what to eat while in younger stages of life. The habits developed as a child will most likely follow them throughout their life. Critser states that parents should approach the topic of eating cautiously. If approached to quickly and firmly, children may overeat outside the dinner table as revenge or possibly lose self-esteem. Both are negative reactions, therefore, parents should not use the dinner table as a battleground. Rather than attempting to fix the problem by changing ways, Worley claims that it is better to just accept that they are overweight and be happy with themselves. Worley’s idea is probable of increasing the number of obese people in the world. If people were to just accept and appreciate their body the way it is, more people would not see obesity as a problem. They would not care if they were overweight and would continue their unhealthy lifestyles. More problems than there already are would arise if this were the case. However, learning to accept the body how it is would suspend judgment of overweight people. Overweight people would not be singled out but rather be a natural part of a society. Although the suspension of judgment is a plus, the possibility of an increased number of obese people outweighs it mightily. Worley’s approach to handling obesity rates has potential, but Critser’s approach provides a solution that would help eliminate obesity instead of just accepting obesity in the United States.

References www.laobserved.com

www.naafaonline.com

www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children/index.html www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

References: www.laobserved.com www.naafaonline.com www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children/index.html www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html