Obesity in Children Presentation

Good morning to the honorable (Principal, teachers, and my dear friends).

I am (…….), and I have been selected to deliver a speech on “Obesity in Children”.

To begin with, obesity has become a rising concern for the young generation of today. Even children are not exempted from this and its potential consequences.

I want to ask the honorable audience before stating further about this topic that if you had the power to save many children’s lives, would you take the initiative to save and protect children? Is there something you have in your mind to protect the children of your community from the havoc of obesity because it is becoming a serious problem of public health?

I want to take this serious and important thing into your kind consideration that research conducted at Harvard School of Public Health has reported that the childhood obesity rate has tripled in the United States over the past three decades: one out of three children is overweight, and one out of six children is obese, struggling with numerous health problems (Taveras et al., 2005). Obesity has negative impacts on the lives of children both in the short and long run. Are you wondering what causes children to become overweight or obese? Is this because of geographical factors or the eating habits of young adults that children are influenced by?

Well, in every child’s life, elementary school is an important and essential part where a child witnesses the most significant stages of his/her life. We all know that after home, elementary school is the place where most of the child’s learning takes place. During this stage, whatever they see at home and school, such as eating junk food, they automatically think this is the right thing to eat, and as a result, they have a good vision of having junk food in their daily routine. Subsequently, children think of it as not harmful to their health. They eat junk food with no limitations, which gets worsens when their school does not offer enough time for physical activity (Hills et al., 2011).

The consequences do not stop here at just children becoming obese as they get many sorts of health problems, including heart diseases, cholesterol, osteoarthritis, diabetes, and stroke at an early age. Hence, the younger a child becomes overweight, the harder it becomes for the parents to control or change their nutritional habits, which leads to obtaining more and more weight over time.

As a responsible citizen, what would you do to stop the young and vulnerable population of children from being obese and falling victim to serious diseases at an age that they should enjoy at their fullest? I personally think that banning fattening and junk foods at elementary schools the way alcohol is restricted till a certain age can contribute to creating a safer and healthier environment for the children. If we achieve this as a responsible community and citizens of the United States, our children will be benefitted in many ways as they will have healthier eating habits so they will be healthy and will have much more energy.

Furthermore, obesity causes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the child as this disorder is characterized by an inability to stay still and be calm because children have poor impulse control and short attention span (Fliers et al., 2013). Restricting fattening foods at the elementary level will contribute to children’s health, and the regulation of healthy food will save your kid from many health problems. The disorder of obesity in childhood leads to depression and poor self-esteem when these kids become adults. Moreover, eating junk foods and munching more unhealthy snacks can lead to obstructive sleep apnea in children, due to which they can have the lowest quality of life among children of their age (Daniels, 2009).

Concluding my concern regarding the serious medical condition of obesity in children, preventing childhood obesity at an early age can help more than treating it as prevention can protect your child’s health now and in the future. If it happens to your child, make sure your kid sees the doctor for checkups at least twice a year so that the doctor can keep a record of his/her BMI to check whether the child is at risk of becoming obese.

Now is the time to act, so decide for your children’s better future and take a potential initiative.

Will you do something? I would like you to think about possible solutions to prevent your child and other children as well from the detrimental consequences of obesity. Trust me, today’s children and the coming generations would owe you a lot.

Thank you for your time!

References

Daniels, S. R. (2009). Complications of obesity in children and adolescents. International Journal of Obesity, 33(1), S60–S65.

Fliers, E. A., Buitelaar, J. K., Maras, A., Bul, K., Höhle, E., Faraone, S. V., Franke, B., & Rommelse, N. N. (2013). ADHD is a risk factor for overweight and obesity in children. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: JDBP, 34(8).

Hills, A. P., Andersen, L. B., & Byrne, N. M. (2011). Physical activity and obesity in children. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(11), 866–870.

Taveras, E. M., Rifas‐Shiman, S. L., Berkey, C. S., Rockett, H. R., Field, A. E., Frazier, A. L., Colditz, G. A., & Gillman, M. W. (2005). Family dinner and adolescent overweight. Obesity Research, 13(5), 900–906.