Childhood obesity in America: research proposal and analysis

Childhood Obesity in America

The authorities can only address the issue of childhood obesity by educating people on the negative effects that the condition imposes, because only then can they get everyone, whether personally affected or not, aboard, and working towards a common childhood obesity-eradication goal (The U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2013). In order to do this, however, the authorities themselves ought to be at the forefront; people need to see the seriousness of the matter through the willingness and commitment of their leaders.

The family unit can rightly be regarded as the innermost fundamental element of a child's life (Jeor, Perumean-Chaney, Sigman-Grant, Williams & Foreyt, 2002). The role of parents and caregivers cannot be overstated when it comes to the determination of what a child eats, and their attitudes towards physical activity (St. Jeor, et al., 2002). Children view their parents as their primary mediators of change, and, in as much as humans are naturally resistant to change, children would more often than not, accept change engineered by their parents more readily than that originating from a third party. This implies that parents are the best targets at whom childhood obesity-prevention interventions can be directed.

The purpose of this research is to advocate for the enactment of legislation that would pave way for the institution of a state-funded program aimed at elevating the awareness of parents on behavioral family-based interventions such as self-monitoring, cognitive behavioral techniques, contingency reward systems, eating management, and stimulus control techniques (St. Jeor, Perumean-Chaney, Sigman-Grant, Williams & Foreyt, 2002). This could be done through the media, local community programs, door-to-door initiatives, or any technique that the respective state administrations would deem appropriate for their jurisdictions.

The program's coverage could, with time, be increased to take care of school settings, which are another fundamental determinant of a child's attitude and behavior. To this end, Congress would enact legislation that incorporates a 60-minute, at minimum, physical fitness exercise program and compulsory obesity-specific lessons into the school curriculum, and then delegate the duty of overseeing the implementation of the same at the grassroots level to the program facilitators. Each state could, for instance, be allocated a number of facilitators, depending on such factors as size and obesity prevalence, to whom the field officers within that particular jurisdiction would report. The fight against childhood obesity requires a multi-disciplinary and multi-strategic approach, including "an increase in actual physical activity, increased school-based physical activity, decreased sedentary behavior, and modified eating behavior" (Petrou, 2008).

Statement of Qualification

I may not possess any special qualities or traits relating specifically to this project, but I bring in something that surpasses that. I believe this topic is too weighty to be based upon some simple special quality; I bring in a valuable investment in the form of a healthcare and educational program for America's overweight children. Childhood obesity is a concern that affects the American population in its entirety. This is to say that, in as much as I may not be a victim; I, and any other person in a situation like mine, are, in one way or another, directly or indirectly, part of a victim's life (The U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2013).

Last year, during my regular community outreach programs at the local health facility in my neighborhood, I came across a 14-year-old who had been brought to the facility for sustaining serious injuries after, what people believed was 'an accident,' but what was, in reality, a failed suicide attempt. Interaction at a more personal level revealed that scorn from the society - attributable to the kid's obesity and 'bad body shape,' was the reason behind the child's attempt at suicide. I was able to refer the kid to a children's counselor, but made it a point to personally engage in physical activity with the said child every morning. The kid is doing quite well and has lost a substantial amount of weight, but I feel the urge to do this on a wider scale, a greater platform - which is why I took up this project.

Tentative Argument

Childhood obesity is a serious condition that occurs when a child's weight exceeds what would be regarded as the normal weight for their height and age. The prevalence rate of childhood obesity in the U.S. today is more than three times the rate in the 1960s, with one out of every three American kids being either obese or overweight - and not only that; the heaviest children today are markedly heavier than their heaviest counterparts in the 1960s (Bishop, Middendorf, Babin & Tilson, 2005). Between 1980 and 2002 alone, the percentage of obese children aged between six and eleven rose from 7% to 18%, and that of obese adolescents between 11 and 19 years of age, from 5% to a mind-boggling 21% - a trend that saw the condition surpass smoking and drug abuse to top the list of "health concerns among parents in the United States" (CDC, 2014).