Childhood Obesity in the United States

Obesity literature review is explained in the United States where childhood obesity is becoming an increasing problem. According to a study by Schuab and Marian (2011), "Childhood obesity has reached the epidemic rate" (p. 553). In the United States, prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight has increased in the last 30 years, which is one of the biggest public health problems (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, and Boles, 2013) . The purpose of this paper is to introduce the background of the epidemic of the obesity, to review the current policy, and to propose policy recommendations.

The dramatic increase in the number of childhood obesity in the United States made it a pandemic disease in our country. Obesity is a threat to health for many children. Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled among children, and more than 4 times among young people. The obesity rate of children aged 6 to 11 in the US rose from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the proportion of obese adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. (Fact of childhood obesity, 2015) What is obesity?

In recent years, the problem of childhood obesity in the United States is very high. About 12.7 million people, or 17%, of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is one of the most recognizable but most difficult to treat diseases. Unhealthy weight gain due to lack of diet and lack of exercise brings over 300,000 deaths annually. The annual cost of an obese society is estimated to be close to $ 100 billion. Children overweight are more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier diets and movement patterns.

Childhood obesity in the United States has become a problem in recent years. According to the American childhood adolescent psychiatry academy, 16 to 33% of children and adolescents are obese. As a result, obesity-related problems associated with type 2 diabetes are dramatically increasing, and such problems usually only occur in adults. As obese children are more likely to become obese adults, prevention or treatment of obesity in childhood can reduce the risk of obesity in adults. This, in turn, may help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other obesity related diseases.