In recent years, as nations become wealthier, starvation or hunger is less common and new challenges are created. Childhood obesity is one such as a challenge and it has started to become a problem all over the world, particularly in developed countries. There are many causes of obesity in children; however, with action we have the ability to reduce the incidence of this childhood problem.
Obesity in children may be caused by several factors, the most obvious being too much fast food. Nowadays, parents often work long hours and are too busy to cook so they buy their children takeaway food. This food is much higher in fat than home-cooked meals and as a result youngsters put on weight. Another cause of childhood obesity is that children are spending more time on computers and less time doing exercise than in the past. Children used to come home from school and play outside; however, since computers have become commonplace, they prefer to play computer games.
There are many ways to reduce the rate of childhood obesity. Firstly, parents should cook more meals for their children, and if they have to eat at McDonalds, for example, they could choose the healthier meals that are now on the menu. In addition, parents need to limit the time that children are allowed to play on computers and they should enrol their children in after-school sports or go together to a park and exercise.
Overall, childhood obesity is a growing problem in today’s busy world, and although the causes are many, I feel that this issue is easily overcome. Parents need to help their children eat better and exercise more.