Children suffering from obesity have been a growing issue in a large part of our world.
One of the major causes of childhood obesity is the increasing trend of fast food and unhealthy snacks, which contain high calories but fewer nutrients. Sadly, people can find fast-food-chain restaurants in every corner of a city and grab processed food from a supermarket nowadays. With the intensive marketing carried out by these food manufacturers and franchises, children’s access to unhealthy food has been easier than ever. Public figures, such as actors who most children look up to, are promoting sugary candies and french fries on TV and the internet. The price of fast food and snacks has also been much lower, while the share of middle-income households has rapidly increased over the last couple of years. Lastly, the academic pressure that today’s young generation is facing has created such an unhealthy lifestyle where children have a higher level of stress and spend the majority of their time sitting in front of their laptops.
There are several solutions that governments can explore to reduce childhood obesity. First, ministries should boost their investments in parks and open spaces to incentivize kids to play outdoors and move around. Computer and gadget games are to be avoided among children. They should also create more societal awareness about healthy food and lifestyle and introduce them to children in a kid-friendly way. For example, cartoon TV advertisements can motivate children to eat vegetables and fruits. On the other side, parents should support governmental programs by paying more attention to what their children feast on and reducing their exposure to junk food.
In conclusion, despite the growing factors causing the phenomenon of obesity in many countries, authorities and families can work hand in hand to keep the young generation away from being overweight.