Childhood Obesity and Television Today

Effects of Television on Childhood Obesity

Joseph Muse

Eng112: English Compositing II

October 3, 2010

Effects of Television on Childhood Obesity

Health officials, more recently than ever before, have become increasingly worried by the fast increase in obesity among United States children. Studies have documented that an average of 25 percent to 50 percent of obese adolescents remain obese into adulthood.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the increase in childhood obesity represents an “undue burden” on children’s health. Medical complications common in overweight children include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, trouble sleeping, depression, high cholesterol. (American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement: “Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity,” Pediatrics 112 (August 2003) 2:424-430.

In an effort to find the causes of this alarming trend, researchers and experts have pointed to a range of variable issues that contribute to childhood obesity. These contributing factors include genetics, behavior, environment and socio and economic demographics. Furthermore, experts have attributed the rise of childhood obesity to media, specifically, television. It is widely believed that television contributes greatly to the rising rates of childhood obesity in America. Studies have found that during the same time of period in which childhood obesity has increased, there has been a great expansion of television targeting children. (American Pediatrics, 2003). A lot of children today spend an alarming amount of hours, five-and-a-half hours, a day watching television, video games, computer activities and internet web sites. The internet, specifically Proquest, Google Scholar, ERIC and the Ashford Online Library are full of articles and research data that show that Childhood Obesity has risen to an epidemic proportion in the American Culture and something has to be done about it.

The...