Discussion Childhood Obesity

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date
Childhood Obesity
The Problem: In the United States, 18.5% of all children are obese or overweight (Renew Bariatrics 1). Poor nutrition, especially in “food-insecure” households accounts for a significant percentage of overweight children in the United States. Poor child breastfeeding during the first six months is the other risk factor for obese. An unhealthy diet such as foods rich in refined sugars, excess calories, and high-fat contents also presents a high risk of developing obesity. Finally, the adoption of sedentary lifestyles because of physical inactivity also increases the obesity risk among children. Reducing the incidence of obesity among children necessitates the enactment of laws that prohibit the manufacture and selling of unhealthy foods to children, especially in school canteens, as well as subjecting parents and children to behavior change therapies.
My Solution: In order to reduce the incidence of obesity among children, I propose the “Fitness & Diet” Program that would allow school-going children to earn points for the duration of engagement in physical exercises and purchase of nutritious food. The program will run for 12 weeks with the children exercising with a trainer five times every week. The program will also educate parents on healthy diets and the need for exercising regularly to burn excess calories that contribute towards obesity. The participants will undergo a cognitive behavioral therapy aimed at changing their thoughts as a prerequisite to changing their actions.

The program will also require parents to meet with a registered dietician every week. To ensure that the participants of the program remain on track, a trainer will meet all participants once every week for 12 weeks after the completion of the program.
Work Cited
Renew Bariatrics. Childhood Obesity Statistics, Facts [United States & Globally 2017]. (2018). https://renewbariatrics.com/childhood-obesity/