Essay --

According to Partnership for a Healthier American, the United States spends $150 billion dollars annually to treat people with obese related conditions; while childhood healthcare costs are inflating this amount tremendously (Facts About Childhood Obesity). In the past 30 to 40 years, the percentage of obese children and adults has nearly doubled and tripled respectively. If the federal government mandated schools to establish and promote programs centered on healthy living, the overall percentage of obese children and adults would decrease vastly. These programs would have to involve every aspect of a healthy lifestyle to in turn have a decrease in obese children and adults. To achieve this goal, schools would have to implement and require a certain amount of physical activity in and out of school, offer healthier food options along with educating children on how to eat healthier and why it is so important, and would also need to have the children’s parents become active in t he process. If these three key ideas are attained the overall number of obese children and adults would see a large reduction. â€Å"The increase in childhood obesity is partly attributable to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition† (Galson). It has been found that television, computer and video game use replace vigorous physical activity in children. If schools were to intervene by implementing physical activities not just in school, this issue could be resolved. For this to be possible, schools would first need to set up a system where physical activities are present in educational and entertaining activities. One educational activity that could implement physical movement would be the game SPARKLE; if a student incorrectly spells out a word, i... ...h the sole efforts at the school or another organization it requires a multifaceted community – wide effort, but schools are in a unique position to play in promoting healthy lifestyles and helping to prevent obesity† (School-based Approaches for Preventing and Treating Obesity). Providing healthier food options, educating children and parents on how to live a healthier lifestyle, and implementing activities that are more physically rigorous, will provide an effective method to curb childhood and adolescent obesity. If schools implement programs that require students to take part in more physically demanding activities and offer healthier food options, the goal will be achievable and attainable. For a child to lose weight, he or she must eat healthier and do a large quantity of physical activity. And with school intervention, this goal is even more obtainable.