Eating Habits Among Teenagers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eating Habits Among Teenagers - Research Paper ExampleThese two programs bring into the consciousness of the American public the fact that childhood obesity has become quite a problem. Statement of the Problem According to the American Heart Association (2012) childhood obesity is still a problem in the United States. One in six children, ages two to 19 are obese and one in three are considered overweight. Further, children who are obese spend a penny a 70% of becoming obese adults. Unfortunately, these statistics are higher for this age group than they were in the 1970s. Part of the challenge is that children are exposed to more nimble food choices and junk food than in other generations (Salvy, de la Haye, Bowker, and Hermans, 2012). Obese children also develop a tendency to associate with other obese children which makes it catchy for obese children to understand that they are obese (Salvy et al., 2012). Dorfman and Wootan (2012) add that children are exposed to a variety of a dds for fast foods and other unhealthy foods, which contributes to the problem. Also, children generally exhaust what their parents eat, and if parents perk up poor alimentation habits, their children also have poor eating habits (Dorman & Wootan, 2012). What is clear, is that there must be something that changes the way of life that Americans think near food and how they teach nearly food to their children. Also, the entire community must be involved in order to understand how to curb this problem (Lets Move, 2012). literary productions Review Much of the literature has studied childhood obesity as a whole and has not specifically separated teen eating habits from the inhabit of the literature. Several studies have also been done regarding the specific causes of obesity without providing an idea of interventions. Some of the literature shows the relationship amid the parents attitudes about food and how they influence the way that the teen eats. Honisett, Woolcock, Porter, & Hughes (2009) reported on a program in Australia called, Kids - Go for your life, in which the creators of the program brought together primary school, early childhood services, family daycare programs and kindergartens to teach them about healthy eating and physical activity. The way the program brought these agencies together was to provide a membership (free) that provided resources, training, and a reward program. When the organization goes through the program and makes a commitment to promoting healthier schools, they also receive a sign to place at their front door to show they are committed to healthy eating and physical activity so that the community will also know. Sealy (2010) points out that children begin to understand eating habits from their parents, and often, parents rely on fast food when they have little money or when they are rushed. Backett-Milburn, Wills, Roberts, and Lawton (2010) also interviewed teens and name that parents controlled what children ate at h ome. Coppinger, Jeanes, Hardwick, & Reeves (2012) found that teenagers eating habits varied between genders. For example, the authors found that boys are more prone to eat junk food or other unhealthy food than girls. The authors also found a connection between BMI and a childs breakfast consumption. If the child ate breakfast regularly, they had significantly lower BMI Z scores (p. 46) than those who did not. Older boys were less likely to eat breakfast than other children. The literature on eating habits of teenagers is not restricted to the United States. In fact, much of the