The factors contributing to childhood obesity are many but overeating is the most obvious direct cause. Genetics and socioeconomic situations have been shown to play a statistical role in the reasons people eat too much but overwhelmingly, the majority of overeating is a result of inactivity. Not coincidentally, the percentage of obese Americans began rising in the 1960s, when the television became a babysitter to the youth of the nation. The sedentary nature of watching television is conducive to ‘unconscious snacking’ and in conjunction with the tempting but less than nutritious food advertising, generations of ‘couch potatoes’ have resulted.
There remains a strong association between obesity, regardless of age, and the amount of time spent watching television. The widespread problem, known as the ‘couch-potato’ syndrome, is considered to be the result of consuming large amounts of snack foods that are high in calories and fat content while watching television. “Eating a diet in which a high percentage of calories come from sugary, high-fat, refined foods promotes weight gain” (“Overview of Obesity”, 2007). Fast-food consumption and lack of exercise are the major controllable factors in obesity of adults and children. Inordinate amounts of time spent on the computer, watching television, and playing video games leads to higher rates of obesity.
Television commercials promoting foods often misrepresent their products to impressionable children, as well as adults, regarding the product’s nutritional values, or lack of. “Health experts believe that constant promotion of high-calorie food is contributing to the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States by encouraging preferences for junk food and contributing to poor eating habits” (Byrd-Bredbenner & Grasso, 2000). As people watch their favorite shows, they are enticed by yet more types of ‘junk food.’ They then quickly and loudly inform the parents of the new product they ‘must have’ who then, more often than not, buy the product. It’s an endless cycle enabling what has become an obesity epidemic. Instead of playing outside and burning up calories, children are content to sit and snack. (Miller, 1999).
The way to lose weight and not be obese is to eat less, eat low-fat foods, limit television time, and exercise regularly, very simple sounding. Yet, it’s hardly simple, far from it. Why are poor women more likely to be overweight? Poverty leads to stress and emotional response which then leads to them seeking an outlet for this emotion. Food is the perfect remedy for pent-up emotions. It’s legal, relatively inexpensive and readily available, and inherently intertwined with human emotions in many ways. When people are stressed, bored, or sad, they tend to eat. Studies have also shown that a correlation exists between substandard economic circumstances and obesity rates, particularly in the case of women. Poor women have a six times higher likelihood of being obese than do women who are of middle or upper-class income environment. Minority women also experience a higher rate of obesity. More than three-fourths of Black women over 20 years of age are considered overweight. (Gawande, 1998).
Lifestyle preferences such as overeating, usually while sitting around watching television, on a regular basis, not surprisingly, contribute to weight gain. The ‘couch potato’ syndrome is curable, however. Studies have shown that obese children lose weight when they are allowed to spend less time in front of the television. If the poor and ‘fat by birth’ spent more time outside and break the habit of snacking in front television, these groups would lode weight as well. Though there are many ’causes’ of obesity, the bottom line is, whatever the excuse or reason, increased activity coupled with less high-calorie food intake is the best cure for obesity. The responsibility lies with the parents of overweight children and obese adults to modify current behaviors.
Works Cited
Byrd-Bredbenner C & Grasso D. “Commercials During 1992 and 1998.” Journal of School Health. Vol. 70, (2000), pp. 61-65. 2008. Web.
Gawande, Atu. “Why Money Won’t Buy Fat” Slate (1998). Web.
Miller, Daphne. “Television’s Effects on Kids: It Can be Harmful!” CNN. (1999). Web.
“Overview of Obesity.” Cardiovascular Diseases. University of Virginia Health System. (2007). Web.