It is irrefutable that childhood obesity is a burgeoning problem these days in many parts of the world. In this essay I intend into the causes of this problem and suggest some ways forward.
The most important reason is unhealthy diet. Children are attracted to fast food which is rich in sugar and fat. They are ignorant of what constitutes a healthy diet. Parents nowadays are busy in their work and are not present to guide their children. To add to it, children are bombarded with advertisements from fast food companies.
Another important factor is that children are much less active than they used to be. In the past young people took part in activities that burned a lot of energy. However, today they spend a lot of their time indoors, sitting in front of the computers or playing video games. This sedentary life style is playing havoc with the health of young people.
There are a number of steps that need to be taken to solve this problem. The first is to educate children about nutrition. Schools should organize compulsory lessons to explain the main elements of a healthy diet and teach pupils how to prepare healthy meals. Parents should also cook healthy delicious meals at home so that children are deterred from eating fast food.
Furthermore, governments should have some restrictions on the type of adverts shown in children’s programmes. Finally, children should be encouraged to take part in sports. Schools have a great role to play in this.
To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that, childhood obesity is a serious problem and it should be tackled on a war footing otherwise the young people of today will have a very unhealthy middle and old age.
