Childhood Obesity Epidemic

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America is currently in the grip of an epidemic that threatens the health of future generations. The CDC reports that, as of 2008, nearly 20 percent of U.S. children between the ages of 6 and 11 and 18 percent of teenagers were obese.

Over the past three decades, the rate of childhood obesity has more than tripled. If this trend continues, experts predict 86 percent of the nation’s adults will be overweight or obese by the year 2030.

Obesity has both short-term and long-term effects on the health and well being of children, subjecting them to a wide range of psychological issues and health problems.
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Best Weight Loss Programs and Diet Plans For Successful Weight Loss

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What is the best diet plan or weight loss program for women wanting to lose weight? That is the question five clearly obese women were discussing rather loudly recently, seated at a table next to mine at a local restaurant. While I was reading a popular diet and nutrition book and enjoying my lunch of grilled fish and steamed vegetables, these ladies were reviewing the findings of popular weight loss programs discussed in a magazine, in hopes of choosing a diet they would all go on together and lose weight as a supportive team.

There are hundreds of diet plans to choose from for men and women to lose weight successfully, exercise and enjoy better overall health. The word “diet” tends to create the idea in people’s minds of a fast and easy, short-term plan for weight loss, with various celebrity diet endorsements (Dan Marino, Queen Latifah, Jenny McCarthy, Tori Spelling, Whoopi Goldberg, Anna Nicole Smith, Sarah Ferguson, Kathie Lee Gifford and Don Shula) meant to encourage television viewers towards a specific diet plan.
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Diet Books – Best New Weight Loss Diet Books

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Diet books are popular for people wanting to lose weight. Whether weight loss or fitness goals are achieved by joining a gym to help lose weight or if working out at home is preferred, diet books can help motivate and inspire people to get moving and lose weight once and for all. For many people, this is the time of year for self reflection and making resolutions to lose weight and start an exercise program. Diet books are a great asset towards weight loss and healthier living, but diet books won’t do the work of losing weight and getting fit for you.

Reading some of the best diet books to help in achieving your goal to lose weight, exercise, get fit and live a healthy lifestyle includes several new diets books listed on the New York Times best seller list for weight loss. Listed below are a total of 20 diet books that are amongst the most popular, best selling and best rated diet books in the effort to lose weight.

Best Diet Books of 2009

1. Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide by David Zincenko and Matt Goulding was the best selling diet book in 2009 as is just one of the very popular diet books included in the Eat This Not That series. This diet book includes nutrition tips and advice on which aisles in the grocery store are the best and which to avoid, with focus on healthy eating habits. Advice on how to decode and understand food labels, tips on selecting and choosing the healthiest foods for you and your family to eat to help you lose weight, save money and live a healthy lifestyle. This must read diet book offers practical lists and information about the 20 Worst Foods in the Supermarket, the Ultimate Supermarket Label Decoder, 17 Secrets the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know, Shop Once, Eat for a Week and How to Stock the Perfect Pantry.

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Female Body Image in the Media – The Pressure to Be Thin in Society

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Dieting How thin is too thin? If you think childhood obesity statistics are shocking, there is increasing concern about how the pressure to be thin in society is affecting girls and boys through the media, and how girls in particular are more obsessed with dieting than in previous generations. The obsession to be thin has lead to an increase in eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia in girls as young as 5-years-old, according to recent studies and surveys.

Girls whose moms are on a diet are almost twice as likely to suffer from an eating disorder, according to a recent survey of over 500 teenage girls between the ages of 12 to 18, conducted by teen magazine Sugar. Most of the teenage girls surveyed said they felt damaged by their mother’s dieting obsession and views on food and considered their mothers to be the biggest influence on their own self-image.

Got boys, rather than girls? You’re still not out of the woods moms and dads. Boys struggle with body image too, even though boys may not be as vocal about it, but unrealistic, unhealthy body image standards for boys are very common. Media and peer pressure to be thin and not “heavy”, build big biceps, and create those hard, toned bodies and six-pack abs has become society’s idea of the ideal body for boys and men.

“Thinheritance” is the new modern term describing females who have “inherited” their mothers views and opinions about her own body image, which is then projected onto the daughters by way of comments about body weight issues and concerns about being “fat”. Moms, ask yourself, do you have poor body image? When you look in the mirror or put your clothes on in the morning, do you tell yourself that you are too fat, too thin, ugly, old and tired? The things you tell yourself about how you feel about your own body, shape, size, weight and measurements may very well be affecting your daughter’s perception and beliefs about her body image.
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Childhood Obesity: Overweight Children Weight Loss Plan for Kids and Teens

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Childhood Obesity Causes Childhood obesity in children and teens who are considered overweight or clinically obese is on the rise, according to research studies on the prevalence of overweight and obese children and adolescents in the U.S. Child obesity statistics speak for themselves, with the term “childhood obesity epidemic” creating concern for parents and health officials, as well as city and state government officials searching for ways to reduce and even prevent obesity in children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over nine million kids and teens between the ages of 6-19 years of age have been diagnosed as being overweight or morbidly obese, an alarming number that has tripled since 1980.

The CDC reports that over the past three decades child obesity rates have more than doubled for preschool children between the ages of 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years.

Childhood Obesity Statistics

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Resources, overweight kids and teens have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, which jumps to 80% if one or more parents is overweight or obese themselves.

In the U.K., parents of overweight school kids are to receive a letter from schools telling them their child is underweight, a healthy weight, overweight or very overweight. Included in the letter are tips and advice on getting kids to eat healthy, the risks of being overweight and physical activities their child can do to lower their weight and risk factors.
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Childhood Obesity and Child Abuse: Is Child Obesity Child Abuse?

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Is childhood obesity child abuse? Should parents of overweight or obese children be criminally charged with child abuse or neglect, where parents may be found guilty of child abuse and sentenced to jail time for having an overfed or obese child? When does parental indulgence become child abuse or neglect? Who is responsible when children are overweight or clinically obese, and should governmental agencies get involved?

A report by USA Today has attracted national attention to the case of a 555-pound teenage boy in South Carolina, whose mother was arrested in June and charged with criminal neglect because of her son’s weight. 14-year-old Alexander Draper is now in foster care, pending the outcome of charges against his mother, 49-year-old Jerri Gray.

“Jerri Gray was doing all she could to help her son lose weight, her attorney says. But something had gone terribly wrong for the boy to hit the 555-pound mark by age 14. Authorities in South Carolina say that what went wrong was Gray’s care and feeding of her son, Alexander Draper. Gray, 49, of Travelers Rest, S.C., was arrested in June and charged with criminal neglect.”

If your child or teenager is overweight or clinically obese, could your child be taken away from you, followed by you being charged with child abuse or neglect? Jerri Gray’s attorney, Grant Varner, says this case could open the door to criminal charges against parents whose children become dangerously overweight.

“If she’s found guilty on those criminal charges, you have set a precedent that opens Pandora’s box,” Grant Varner says. “Where do you go next?”

Childhood obesity is on the rise all across the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many states have begun to take legal action against parents. According to a 2008 report published by Child Welfare League of America, state courts in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico, Indiana and California have been trying to decide what to do about obesity in children.
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