Assignment 6.3

This assignment is a review of Chapter 9 on Body Image. I have chosen cluster 2, Why Are So Many Americans Overweight? This is a topic that I have written about several times here in my time with Charter. It is a shame that this generation of children are so overweight. The text book states "it would be the fist time in 200 years that children would be statistically likely to live shorter lives than their grandparents." This should be alarming to all of America. I see article after article that say children of America are fat, they are overweight, they are the fatest kids in history....but in my opinion, I don't see the level of urgency to create and IMPLEMENT a solution that is on a crisis level of the articles.

In a world where we are so busy going here and there, filling our days with as much activities as we can and where both parents work outside the home, we have taken the food out of the home and put it in the car. In a time when mom stayed home with the kids and made dinner so that it was ready when Dad got home from work at 6pm, she was able to provide and monitor proper food intake. She was able to send the kids outside to play, essentially because there wasn't much to do inside the house. So by nature she was ensuring they ate the proper nutrients and that they got the proper level of exercise to prevent the majority of obesity. I am sure there were plenty of overweight people at that time, however, they were the exception, not the norm.

The text book makes a point that dieting and bariatric surgeries have soared in recent years. I think these are quick fixes to a long term problem. If adults would take a look around and see their children are getting fat, they would start to change their own ways and lead their children to a healthier lifestyle through example. Eating healthier foods, eating at home as a family, exercise individually and with the family, and simply turning off the electronics can go a long way towards reversing the current trend towards obesity.