Health experts are searching for answers concerning the growing
number of obese children. With approximately nine million children
under the age of six suffering from obesity, help is being sought
from parents, schools, advertisers, the government and the food
industry to help alleviate this epidemic.
The Institute of Medicine suggests that the society children live
in make it difficult to exercise and eat right. Some recommendations
for schools to aid in preventing child obesity include:
- Monitoring students’ weight and health
- Exercising at least one-half hour a day
- Nutritional standards set on all foods sold on school grounds
Additional Ways to Decrease Child Obesity:
- Regulating marketing of food and drinks to children
- Offering nutritional information and healthy alternatives at
restaurants
- Monitoring calorie-intake
- More exercising and less television
- Recreational activities
Over the past 30 years the percent of obese children and those
at risk of becoming too heavy, has dramatically increased. According
to health experts, actions must be taken immediately. If a plan
of action is not implemented, researchers believe the rate of overweight
and unhealthy children will continue to climb.
The Relationship Between Children and
Television:
- Children age 8 and over watch television more than five hours
a day
- Children age 6 and under spend more than two hours a day watching
television or playing computer and video games
- In a year, children will see an estimated 40,000 commercials,
most including candy and fast foods
- More than 10 billion dollars is spent on marking directed toward
children
Yahoo!
News October 1, 2004
USA
Today October 1, 2004.
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