Rakib AhamedChildhood Obesity
May 30th 2008 02:23
By Katherine Nelson.
Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming a big problem for our country. Australia has the fastest growing rate of childhood obesity in the world. The definition of obese being, ‘where there has been enough excess fat accumulated that it impairs ones health.’ With 30% of children in Australia being overweight or obese and that number likely to double over the next 30 years, we as a country need to do something about the obesity epidemic. There are many things our government should consider, such as health risks, how fat children make fat adults, how they could makes a few changes in schools and get rid of obesity problems, how it’s all about balance and our past obesity problems.
Australians have piled on the weight over the past 20 years. In 1905, only 4% of Australian children were obese and now it’s 30%. This is a shocking statistic and we need to do something about it. Between the years of 1985 and 1997, Australia’s obesity levels doubled. These twelve years changed the face of Australia. Before 1985, technology wasn’t too great and children rode their bikes everywhere and played outside until it was dark. After 1985, our technology developed a lot. Computers and video games became almost a necessity. Children spent all day on the couch playing games or watching television and received nowhere near the required daily exercise. This is one of the main reasons why our country is in the trouble it is today.
Australia’s future doesn’t look too bright, but if our government just made a few changes to benefit the children and teenagers of our country, they could seriously tackle the obesity epidemic. Firstly, they should make Physical education compulsory for secondary schools. At primary school P.E. is compulsory and so is athletics, as well as cross-country. At primary school, the majority of children are fit and healthy, this is thanks to the compulsory daily exercise. When leaving primary school and beginning secondary school, you notice the lack of lunchtime activities. At secondary school, there is no ovals or basketball/netball courts you can play on at lunch and recess. Also, girls have to wear dresses and T-bars. If secondary schools simply followed the primary schools with their uniforms and compulsory P.E. our nations obesity epidemic would no longer exist.
Fat children make fat adults. It is proven that if you are obese as a child, you are more than likely to remain that way for the rest of your life. The main cause of obesity is energy imbalance. This is where one eats high-energy foods but doesn’t do any exercise to burn it off. So the food is not burned and therefore stored as fat. These are simple rules that everyone should be taught at school. If you eat bad foods, you will get fat unless you burn it off. Although, our schools find it unnecessary to teach us these things. Research shows that if weight gain continues the way it is going, by the year 2020, 80% of Australian adults and a third of all children will be obese. Is this the future you want for your country and your children?
Being obese severely reduces your lifespan. Obese people are prone to getting heart disease, colon disease, cardiovascular disease, heart related diseases, having strokes and type 2 diabetes. Most people who are obese often have a raspatory disorders, orthopaedic problems, release of growth hormone, arthritis, gastric problems, gastrointestinal or endocrine, these are all problems that children who are within the normal weight range do not posses. If there were to be a 1% increase in the amount of physically active people, 122 lives would be saved. Not only would it be great to save lives, but we would also save the 129 billion dollars that Australia spends each year on health services for obese people. Other than the health risks that come along with being obese, there is also the mental pain. Fat people get mocked and treated with nowhere near the amount of respect that they deserve. This is social discrimination, which results in low self-esteem and could also lead to depression.
It’s all about balance. It is expected that in thirty years, 60% of children will be obese. If our country doesn’t want this to happen, we need to act fast. Professor Norton believes that physical education should be compulsory from year one to year twelve. He stated, "It's got to be put in the same bracket as maths and English and reading and writing skills.” Now I’m not saying that all children should play sport allday everyday, it’s all about balance. It is recommended that children do two hours of outdoor activities daily. So if schools had compulsory P.E, you wouldn’t have to make many changes in your lifestyle. Over 30% of Australin children have low fitness levels.
Clearly, we have a fair way to go before obesity is no longer a problem in Australia. We need to tackle the epidemic step by step starting with compulsory daily physical education in all schools. Also, people on the larger side of things need to ask them selves is this the way I want to live? If we make just a few small changes, Australia will no longer need to worry about obesity and the $129,000,000,000 spent each year on health services can be spent on other issues.
Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming a big problem for our country. Australia has the fastest growing rate of childhood obesity in the world. The definition of obese being, ‘where there has been enough excess fat accumulated that it impairs ones health.’ With 30% of children in Australia being overweight or obese and that number likely to double over the next 30 years, we as a country need to do something about the obesity epidemic. There are many things our government should consider, such as health risks, how fat children make fat adults, how they could makes a few changes in schools and get rid of obesity problems, how it’s all about balance and our past obesity problems.
Australians have piled on the weight over the past 20 years. In 1905, only 4% of Australian children were obese and now it’s 30%. This is a shocking statistic and we need to do something about it. Between the years of 1985 and 1997, Australia’s obesity levels doubled. These twelve years changed the face of Australia. Before 1985, technology wasn’t too great and children rode their bikes everywhere and played outside until it was dark. After 1985, our technology developed a lot. Computers and video games became almost a necessity. Children spent all day on the couch playing games or watching television and received nowhere near the required daily exercise. This is one of the main reasons why our country is in the trouble it is today.
Australia’s future doesn’t look too bright, but if our government just made a few changes to benefit the children and teenagers of our country, they could seriously tackle the obesity epidemic. Firstly, they should make Physical education compulsory for secondary schools. At primary school P.E. is compulsory and so is athletics, as well as cross-country. At primary school, the majority of children are fit and healthy, this is thanks to the compulsory daily exercise. When leaving primary school and beginning secondary school, you notice the lack of lunchtime activities. At secondary school, there is no ovals or basketball/netball courts you can play on at lunch and recess. Also, girls have to wear dresses and T-bars. If secondary schools simply followed the primary schools with their uniforms and compulsory P.E. our nations obesity epidemic would no longer exist.
Fat children make fat adults. It is proven that if you are obese as a child, you are more than likely to remain that way for the rest of your life. The main cause of obesity is energy imbalance. This is where one eats high-energy foods but doesn’t do any exercise to burn it off. So the food is not burned and therefore stored as fat. These are simple rules that everyone should be taught at school. If you eat bad foods, you will get fat unless you burn it off. Although, our schools find it unnecessary to teach us these things. Research shows that if weight gain continues the way it is going, by the year 2020, 80% of Australian adults and a third of all children will be obese. Is this the future you want for your country and your children?
Being obese severely reduces your lifespan. Obese people are prone to getting heart disease, colon disease, cardiovascular disease, heart related diseases, having strokes and type 2 diabetes. Most people who are obese often have a raspatory disorders, orthopaedic problems, release of growth hormone, arthritis, gastric problems, gastrointestinal or endocrine, these are all problems that children who are within the normal weight range do not posses. If there were to be a 1% increase in the amount of physically active people, 122 lives would be saved. Not only would it be great to save lives, but we would also save the 129 billion dollars that Australia spends each year on health services for obese people. Other than the health risks that come along with being obese, there is also the mental pain. Fat people get mocked and treated with nowhere near the amount of respect that they deserve. This is social discrimination, which results in low self-esteem and could also lead to depression.
It’s all about balance. It is expected that in thirty years, 60% of children will be obese. If our country doesn’t want this to happen, we need to act fast. Professor Norton believes that physical education should be compulsory from year one to year twelve. He stated, "It's got to be put in the same bracket as maths and English and reading and writing skills.” Now I’m not saying that all children should play sport allday everyday, it’s all about balance. It is recommended that children do two hours of outdoor activities daily. So if schools had compulsory P.E, you wouldn’t have to make many changes in your lifestyle. Over 30% of Australin children have low fitness levels.
Clearly, we have a fair way to go before obesity is no longer a problem in Australia. We need to tackle the epidemic step by step starting with compulsory daily physical education in all schools. Also, people on the larger side of things need to ask them selves is this the way I want to live? If we make just a few small changes, Australia will no longer need to worry about obesity and the $129,000,000,000 spent each year on health services can be spent on other issues.
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