Childhood Obesity in the United States

Introduction

One of the growing problems in United States is the increasing population of children who are facing the problems of obesity. Obesity is described to have an impact on the lifestyle, health, and social life of young people. Children, who do not practice the healthy behavior such as exercise, have the potential to gain excess weight that leads to obesity. The impact of obesity is however, related to the costs placed on the huge burden in the economy in United States. The trends of obesity appeared in all children and significantly occurred in all age, race, and ethnic groups through the US.

The rationale of the study came from the children with obesity having the social disposition. In addition, the paper is meant to produce the ideas regarding the issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and stereotyping. The most common medium that can deliver the obvious social effects on obese children is the media. Through the use of the theories in societies, the paper can distinguish the influence of media on children.

Diversity and Multiculturalism

Diversity defines a variety of individuals (or objects) depending on their opinions, color, and style. The typical type of diversity is cultural diversity which creates a barrier and isolation from the society. People often look for diversification because of the appearance of others, different from what is in the social norm or what is expected. On the other hand, the theory of cultural formation delivers the idea of multiculturalism. The social speculations affect the individual’s ability to promote his own growth. Accordingly, multiculturalism struggles along the context of globalization. It becomes problematic in a way, as illustrated in the majority of the common culture compared to the migrant cultures (San Juan, 2003). In relation to the problems of children with obesity, instead of comparison between the ethnicity and culture, obese children are compared to other children who are normal according to their BMI (Body Mass Index) and age.

Media

There is a negative stereotyping for both obese children and youth. The increase in obesity prevalence, there is a comparison between the group of heaviest children and leanest group. The argument is that, heaviest children continuously getting heavier while the leanest group of children stays lean (Institute of Medicine, 2004). The media contributes a lot in the social interaction of children because of the wide range of broadcasting. The issues of obesity as mirrored in the news pertain mostly on the negative effects among children, saying that it has emerging serious threats to the future and health of nation. Childhood obesity can potentially shorten their lives as compared to their parents’ lifespan (American Heart Association, 2005). This kind of attack of media resembles the amount of attention given by media towards the risks of obesity.

Media can rely on the issues of stereotyping in two ways – one is to isolate the children with obesity problems and the other is focusing on the effective ways on how to help the children fight such kind of disease. Through the promotions of healthier foods and beverages as marketed to children using the popular movies or famous actors, the elements of essential information is directly delivered. In addition, the continuous promotion of messages and public education to find solution in the growing population of obesity is important to regulate the evolution of health risks (WFA, 2008). Media can use their powers to implement the information of children in both positive and negative ways. However, if the media (e.g. television shows) translate the existence of an obese child in a show, they were often mocked by their playmates because of their features. This typical idea suggests that stereotyping of the children that shows obese problems leads to social isolation. Also, this promotes the low self-esteem of children and their physical insecurities that might affect their social participation.

Conclusion

As part of the actions and initiatives of the companies, there is a recognizable effort regarding the combination of technologies and innovation. The media is part of society to educate the children and adolescents about the importance of healthy eating and exercise. The devotion of media’s attention, in particular, is to aim among the other populations that are disproportionately affected by childhood overweight and obesity. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the campaigns and researches educate and motivate the children in engaging themselves in a healthier lifestyle. The media can minimize the effects of obesity among children by creating information that can stimulate their social interaction in order to reduce the population of obese children.

References:

American Heart Association, (2005) A Nation at Risk: Obesity in the United State A Statistical Sourcebook, Accessed 13 July 2010, from http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1114880987205NationAtRisk.pdf

Institute of Medicine, (2004) Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures, Accessed 13 July 2010, from http://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/Data/Texts/IOM_ChildhoodObesityFactsAndFigures.pdf

San Juan, Jr. E., (2003) Challenging the Theory and Practice of Contemporary American Studies, The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 25:303–333, Accessed 13 July 2010, from http://www.bulatlat.com/news/4-1/3-50SANJuan.pdf

WFA, (2008) Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents, World Federation of Advertisers, Accessed 13 July 2010, from http://www.pana.com.ph/docs/Marketing-Food-to-Children-and-Adolescents.pdf