Childhood Obesity and How to Prevent It

Speech about Childhood Obesity and How to Prevent It
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Speech about Childhood Obesity and How to Prevent It
Based on the World Health Organization (WHO), childhood obesity is a significant problem that affects over 100 million globally (Marcus, Danielsson, & Hagman, 2022). Although parents are on the frontline protecting their children against all sorts of dangers, they forget that obesity is a life-threatening health issue. Due to technological changes that make adults busy and occupied even when at home, many of them do not have time to prepare nutritious meals for their families. They prefer ordering fast food online that is delivered to their doorsteps, appearing to be a convenient option. What these parents might not understand is that their children are prone to obesity due to the high-calorie intake of the food they are eating. As such, this speech will focus on childhood obesity and how this problem can be addressed.
Between 2017 and 2020, obesity prevalence was 19.7%, which is around 14.7 million, of young people aged from 2 to 19 years. In particular, obesity prevalence was 22.2% for young individuals between 12 and 19 years, 20.7% for children aged 6 to 11 years, and 12.7% for those between 2 and 5 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). As can be seen from the above statistics, it is evident that childhood obesity remains to be a significant issue in the United States of America (USA). If nothing is done, the prevalence of childhood obesity is likely to increase, meaning that many young people will be affected by this health problem with adverse far-reaching consequences. That is why everyone here should understand the magnitude of this issue and participate in eliminating this problem. Parents need to be more concerned about their children’s health by ensuring that these young people are eating nutritious meals. Despite the current change in lifestyle, where the number of parents having busy schedules and working from home is rising, it is good to set time aside to prepare healthy diets.
The most significant thing that almost everyone can agree on is that obesity increases children’s vulnerability to various chronic diseases. Between 2017 and 2018, 1 in every 5 children had obesity in the USA (Tsoi et al., 2022). For example, obese children have risks of getting a stroke, heart complications, coronary heart illness, hypertension, diabetes, gallstones, joint problems, breathing issues, sleeping problems, depression, and low self-esteem. In reality, many children do not know what is best for them, which is why parents must be involved to control what enters the mouths of these young individuals. Currently, young people are exposed to advertisements on social and mainstream media, showing delicious fast food, such as pizzas, burgers, fried chicken, and hotdogs. They salivate for these types of food since they have good taste. However, what these children do not understand is that the amount of calories and fats present in fast food is unhealthy. If left on their own to choose the food they want, children will always choose junk food instead of healthy diets, such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Since parents are the ones who make the overall decision of what their families will eat, they should discourage their children from over-relying on fast food. As such, they should prepare nutritious meals for them and explain the health benefits of such types of food, particularly to avoid obesity or overweight.
Parents are crucial stakeholders or play significant roles in ensuring that their children lead healthy lives. In that light, they should not be left behind when coming up with effective solutions to eliminate childhood obesity. For example, parents or guardians should control young individuals’ Internet usage. Restaurants and fast food outlets know how to target children in their advertisements. They understand that many parents do not hesitate to provide their young ones with different types of food, particularly those seen as tasty. These food sellers post images of the food that they prepare, making children salivate and convince their parents to buy. Parents should be well-informed about how to purchase or prepare nutritious food with no or fewer calories. Additionally, when it comes to the food that children eat at school, parents should collaborate with educators and school administrators to ensure that learners do not have access to fast food. Candies and chocolate bars should not be available in the vending machines. Schools should ensure that children are given fruits. Similarly, parents and health professionals should work together to encourage young people to stick with healthy diets (Walker et al., 2023). For instance, it would be advisable for healthcare providers to visit nearby schools to bring aw...