Healthy Eating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Healthy Eating - Essay Example As the problem starts at young age it is best to overcome it at that time. The main motivators for obesity in children include junk foods, video games and television; as children's are mostly targets in the media for these advertisements. Parent's role also plays an important part; they are the ones to encourage their children for sports and exercises, and replace the junks with fruits and vegetables. Eating healthy food full of nutrition and vitamins is important in order to stay healthy, but if the problem increases it is best to consult a doctor, dietitian or a nutritionist. Due to the sudden increase in which America's children are becoming obese, it has been stated that "the current generation of American youth might live less healthy and possibly even have shorter lives than their parents (Bernstein)" if nothing is done about the deteriorating health of children. Obesity is one of the leading causes of health problems, which stays present as a person gets older. Obesity used to be an issue in adults, but today, obesity is something that often starts when a person is in their childhood, and their health worsens the older they get. "America must be getting thinner, right Mc Donald's has stopped super-sizing. Coke has launched its 'half the sugar, half the carbs' C2 cola and it seems like every week a new diet book hits the shelves and the best seller list (Dan Crane, 2009). In April 2005 the sesame street recognized the growing crises of childhood obesity in United States and introduced 'healthy habits for life' a segment in their episodes that featured tips on healthy eating and exercise. Health problems that are associated with obesity include diabetes, heart failure, and various kinds of cancer; unfortunately, many of these can lead to an early death. As aforementioned, the media has played a large role in encouraging obesity; due to the in crease in how many children are obese, the media has since turned around, discouraging the gorging of junk food products, urging children to eat better and to spend more time participating in physical activity. Being aware of obesity problems, a partnership was formed in 2005 by the American Heart association by the name of Alliance for a Healthier Generation with the help of U.S president Bill Clinton and the Nickelodeons. The purpose of this alliance was to protect the life threatening consequences of unhealthy lifestyle habits. They reached kids through vigorous public awareness campaigns. Speaking of his media company's role in the partnership, Nickelodeon Network resident Herb Scannell said, "We want kids to become personally invested in living strong, healthy lives. And if we do our jobs right, kids will believe that being healthy is cool". (2005) furthermore television networks designed mainly for children, such as Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, have taken it upon themse lves to encourage children to live healthier; there are even a few times a year that the networks shut themselves down for a few hours so that children do not feel as obliged to sit around and watch television, but are encouraged to go outside and