Childhood Obesity Oratory Speech

You walk into your living room and find that, in the place that your TV once was, there is now a treadmill. You walk into your kitchen and find a schedule showing how much physical activity you have to do each day. Then, you open your refrigerator, you’re starting to get a little concerned now, and the only things in there are the “all natural” variations of everything; there is not a trace of junk food to be seen! Your parents try to convince you that a healthier lifestyle will be good for your little sister and we should all help her out in losing weight.(pause) This is just one example of the change that should be happening in households with obese children. This is an example of a change that rarely happens.
In an age where we can get food from a drive thru in less than five minutes, childhood obesity is up to fifteen percent. Childhood obesity is a growing problem. One of the more common, and definitely most popular, reasons for childhood obesity is food. With all of the food dyes and high fructose corn syrup in everything you pick up off the shelf, it is no wonder that childhood obesity has skyrocketed! A study made said that “...one-third of all American children, both boys and girls in the age group of 4-14 eat fast food on a regular basis.” On a regular basis, kids are chowing down on sugar, salts, fats and all those unmentionables in a single serving. More studies conducted on boys and girls showed that, just in the mid-nineties, that they “... consumed 12-30% of the recommended intakes of dairy on a daily basis, and only 14-18% of the recommended intake for fruit.” Eating fruits and vegetables can actually prevent weight gain but since children are not getting the recommended amount, it follows that weight gain has increased in children and teens. It is not just fast food that is the problem. Snack foods are also a major contributor to obesity in children. In 2002 a study was made saying that “Today’s children eat as much as triple the amount of snack food their counterparts were consuming 20 year ago.” Another contributor to this epidemic is soft drinks. You can drink one can and before you know it you have finished that can and moved onto another. It’s addicting and it says ‘diet‘, so it must be okay... right? Wrong. Those addicting cans of bubbly water are actually addicting cans of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. From just 20 years ago, the soft drink intake has doubled. Double the sugar, double the high fructose corn syrup and food dyes and double the obesity. I know what you’re thinking ;”Why don’t we just work it all off?” Well, as it turns out, children don’t really want to do that either. I mean, please! Who would want to go outside when they can stay inside and play a video game, watch a movie or talk to friends. We have created so many things that can entertain us inside such that we don’t want to or see the point of going outside. Playgrounds have become non existent things of the past. In some schools “... physical activity classes have been partially or completely cut to save money and to satisfy federal wishes to focus on mathematics and English literacy.” This has gotten so bad that not only are kids not offered an option of a physical education class but “... less than 40% of children participate in any type of organized activity session outside of school hours...” Inactivity may be a result of obesity but it is not an excuse for obesity. Inactivity is also strongly supported by today’s technology centered lifestyle.
Technology today is hands down the center of many lifestyles and can be safely declared addictive. In almost any living room you walk into today, you are guaranteed to find a TV and some sort of gaming system, like the Wii or Xbox, and they are not just a “fun little coffee table.” A study said that “70 percent of preschool aged children exceeded the recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics...” which is one or two hours. This has gotten so out of hand that a study was conducted and it came out with surprising results. They said that kids were becoming more comfortable with their parents iPhones than their parent! At first it may have been a helpful tool to distract your kids but it will quickly turn into an addiction that will promote this sedentary behavior. This kind of behavior might result in, or even replace, time spent in sports or other physical activities “...contribute to increased calorie consumption through excessive snacking and eating meals in front of the television ...” All of those things added together will result in obesity. Another test done on high school aged students said that “One-quarter of all high school students watch four or more hours of television a day ...” It has become the norm to watch at least 21 hours of television a week. That and all of the video games adds up to an unbelievable amount of “screen time.” It is no coincidence that America is one of the nations leading the way in technology and also one of the countries with the highest rate of obesity in children.
Obese children have a risk of several diseases including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, early heart disease, diabetes, bone problems and skin conditions like fungal infections, heat rash and even acne.
There are many things we can do to help obese children lose weight. You can only let them watch Tv or play a game for an hour. Turn off the TV during dinner time. When the weather is nice, go out for a bike ride or a jog around the neighborhood. You could get a membership to the local gym or go swim a few laps in the pool. Sign them up for a team sport. You can limit their calorie intake, take a look at the ingredients, if it has high fructose corn syrup or artificial coloring and flavoring, put it down and opt for the more natural snacks. Fruit and vegetable can taste good and are also cheaper than most artificial flavored fruit chews. You could even start a garden in your backyard! Not only will it grow healthy, great tasting food, it will also grow change.
References:
http://www.femail.com.au/physical_activity_childhood_obesity.htm
http://www.dinnerplanner.com/weight_problems.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/fast-food-and-child-obesity.htmlhttp://children.webmd.com/obesity-childrenhttp://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09317.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Childhood-Obesity-Statistics---3-Shocking-Facts-You-Cant-Afford-to-Miss!&id=2874568
http://ezinearticles.com/?Fast-Foods-Increasing-Child-Obesity&id=459411
http://www.parentdish.com/2010/11/08/are-your-children-obsessed-with-technology/
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/10/28/kids-watching-tv/