¶ … Population Health: Childhood Obesity
Of all of the current factors impacting population health, childhood obesity may be have the greatest threat for long-term damage, as well as being the one most highly linked to culture, socioeconomic status, and personal liberties. As a result, efforts to reduce childhood obesity have been met with ambivalence and, sometimes even hostility. Part of the reason for this hostility is that the two factors that contribute greatly to childhood obesity, junk food and a lack of exercise seem ubiquitous in modern society. It can be difficult for parents to avoid junk food, and, for those parents whose children do not struggle with weight issues, it can see unduly burdensome for them to have to avoid junk food (such as not taking birthday cupcakes to elementary school children) to cater to the health problems of other people's children. Likewise, it can be difficult for some to understand why children are so inactive, but unsafe neighborhoods and working parents can make it difficult for children to get exercise outside of a school setting.
Looking at childhood obesity through the lens of an epidemiologist, it is clear that tackling childhood obesity presents several challenges. The three most important issues related to the public health initiative are: the ethics of establishing weight guidelines, legal limits on food sizes or content, and regulating parenting choices that can contribute to obesity. The obesity and overweight epidemic is evident when one looks at today's children, but visual cues...
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