Childhood Obesity In Michigan
Over the years childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed. In Michigan 32.6% of kids ages 0-17 are overweight or obese compared to a national average of 31.3%. Most foods have either high level of fructose corn syrup or “healthy” foods have been replaced with artificial colors and flavors and “fat” such as fried foods. There are 3 causes of why childhood obesity has increased.
First, Most foods have high levels of fructose corn syrup. Fructose corn syrup is defined as “High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener made from corn found in thousands of foods and beverages on grocery store shelves throughout the United States. HFCS is composed of either 42 percent or 55 percent fructose, with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose and higher sugars.In terms of composition, HFCS is nearly identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. Glucose is one of the simplest forms of sugar that serves as a building block for most carbohydrates. Fructose is a simple sugar commonly found in fruits and honey. ” says Iowacorn.com. basicly HFCS is made from corn fructose is a sugar found in honey and fruit. For example soda candy and frozen junk food have high levels of fructose corn syrup.
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Artificial flavors and colors are found in sour patch kids colorful cereal and soda, these are just a few of foods/drinks that contain artificial flavors and colors, and kids love them, the risks of eating too much then being overweight can cause serious health issues such as diabetes, cancer, stroke and even sometimes if you are super overweight it can lead to
People say sugar is sugar, but the amounts of sugar in HFCS are higher than those in cane sugar. “Health byte” explains, “[T]he amounts of fructose in processed sugar are large: table sugar has equal amounts of fructose and glucose, and high-fructose corn syrup contains 65% fructose. Both are common
When the 1970s introduced High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a cheap sweetener alternative to sucrose in a fructose-glucose liquid form (fifty five percent fructose, forty two percent glucose, and three percent saccharides), it brought extensive numbers of health problems with it (Bray, 2004 & Johnson, 2010 ). Prior to the 70’s, on average, sugar contributed to four percent of daily caloric intake, however over the past four and a half decades, this statistic has increased to whopping sixteen percent, leading some scientist to consider it an “addiction” as they observe the sugar substitute wreak havoc on humans’ bodies worldwide (Butler, 2011). Along with hooking those who indulge sweets to it, High Fructose Corn Syrup also leads to obesity:
(284). Because of all the added sugars to what we eat like a cane, beet, HFCS, glucose, honey, maple syrup, a regular person is getting 128-158 pounds now. (285). Sixty-six pounds of high fructose corn syrup come from the soft drinks someone drinks every day. (286).
Each year, there are about 112,000 deaths from obesity that are preventable. In the past few decades, the number of cases of obesity has been on the rise in the United States. It has tripled among children and doubled among adults. In 1990, Connecticut’s obesity rate was at 10.4 percent. Then, in 2000, it was at 16.0 percent and currently it’s at 26.0 percent.
The Truth of Obesity Fast food has been around for decades and it is an industry which will continue to grow, it is because of this main reason why so many Americans are now obese. Along with the lack of education and knowledge that many Americans are decrease their life span. However, obesity has never been such a vast problem as it stands today with its large population of uneducated and fast food hungry Americans. With this massive epidemic that is taking over America, comes many health issues and its targets begin with the children who become addicted to unhealthy but satisfying meals suffering from overweight, high cholesterol, and blood pressure to name a few.
a massive financial burden to fulfill. While much of the expenses are covered by government policy, this still leaves many Hispanics in low income more dangerous neighborhoods. Unsafe neighborhoods and parks result in a lack of safe places for children to get the necessary physical activity they need. An insufficient amount of physical activity is one of the leading causes of obesity in children. As mentioned earlier, schools are majorly affected by the obesity rates in children.
America is growing as a nation, and its citizens are growing in pant size. Obesity is a growing problem in America for children and adults; therefore, steps need to be taken to promote healthy foods to stop future health problems. In hopes of decreasing obesity rates, some political leaders like New York Governor David Paterson, have proposed a tax on caloric sweetened beverages (soda tax). This will reduce the consumption of sweetened beverages, thereby reducing the weight of the individual. The money collected from this tax could be returned to communities to support programs promoting wellness.
High Fructose Corn Syrup and Obesity If you could blame one thing for obesity, what would it be? Some scientists argue that it is high fructose corn syrup or H.F.C.S. Others disagree. Scientist has been having debates about the reason of the obesity epidemic.
Julia Child once said, “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” In this world today, a sad fact is that only about 60 percent of people can cook a meal. Now, imagine if as a child, you were taught how to chop a vegetable, or how to sauté a piece of chicken. Studies show that if you involve children at a young age to take charge in the kitchen they will developed life-long healthy eating habits, their self-esteem will rise, and their social skill will improve immensely. Personally, at the end of a long school day, one of my favorite ways to unwind is by slicing and dicing vegetables for dinner.
Obesity has become a major dilemma within America, mostly childhood obesity which has become in my eyes an epidemic. Childhood obesity will bring about adult obesity, health issues, psychological problems, and will even damper on sociological issues when pertaining to relating to culture and other people on a daily basis ( ex: brings about bullying or being bullied, social issues with kids, and low self-esteem and confidence). These include but never restricted to the fact of physical, social, environmental, psychological, and health issues all within a wider scale mostly if the pattern of obesity starts at an early age and then progress to adolescence and adulthood. The factors given in obesity has once again become a worldwide issue and concern for family, friends, and the child.
Annotated Bibliography Babey, S.H., Hastert, T.A., Wolstein, J., Diamant, A.L. (2010). Income disparities in obesity trends among California adolescents. American Journal of Public Health (100)11, 2149 2155. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.192641 Childhood obesity has increased to 17% in the last thirty years, causing concern for the health industry as costs increase and preventable diseases become more prevalent. Over 17,000 adolescents were interviewed in the California study between 2001-2007 through the California Health Interview Survey.
Childhood obesity is rapidly increasing due to the shift in cultural norms. Not only is weight affected by surroundings, but exposure to technology deeply creates roots sunk deep into the issue of Obesity. AAP, the American
Paula, Elle. " Fast Food and Childhood Obesity in America."LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.
1. Introduction The rate of childhood obesity has increased over few years. There are 41 million children in the world are overweight or at risk of obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem.
Processed foods and beverages are the biggest sources of added sugar (and High fructose) in the diet. Sugar is very unhealthy and can have serious adverse effects on metabolism when consumed in excess. Sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients. It also causes tooth decay by feeding the harmful bacteria in the mouth. For people who are inactive and eat a processed food, large amounts of fructose from added sugars get turned into fat in the liver.