The negative effects of obesity on youth Research Paper

The negative effects of obesity on youth - Research Paper Example Being influenced by the popular culture and general perceptions, young people sometimes resort to dietary choices and leisure and recreation habits, which give way to weight gain and the related negative medical and emotional effects. However, the latest trend that is more alarming is the prevalence of obesity amongst the young people, giving way to not only a high susceptibility to life threatening diseases but also resulting in many debilitating emotional and psychological consequences and diseases, which have a drastic negative effect on the lives of young people. Statistics It is, indeed, an irony that diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders that are linked to obesity and were more prevalent in senior adults could today as likely be traced amongst the young people (â€Å"Obesity Related Statistics in America† 1). The proportion of young children and adolescents that could be technically considered as being obese is increasing ever more rapidly than before (à ¢â‚¬Å"Obesity Related Statistics in America† 1). ... The figures that do solicit the attention of parents, schools and health services are the facts that convincingly lead to the conclusion that the incidence of obesity amongst the adolescents has expanded by four times in the last three decades (â€Å"Obesity Related Statistics in America† 1). This means that the young people today are four times more likely to suffer from obesity related diseases and psychological ailments than they were just 30 years ago. Possible Causes and Reasons for Obesity amongst Youth There is no denying the fact that the youth of today tends to eat more and leads a lifestyle that is quite different from the generations of yore (â€Å"America’s Epidemic of Youth Obesity† 1). The life of young people today is more prone to being sedentary and activities free (â€Å"America’s Epidemic of Youth Obesity† 1). Besides, going by the influx of virtual sources of entertainment, young people do prefer to spend much more time sitting b efore television sets, computers and video games rather than sweating it out on the playgrounds (â€Å"America’s Epidemic of Youth Obesity† 1). Societal changes have also to do with this propensity towards sedentary lifestyles and obesity. With two-income families and a rise in the number of single parent households, young people are more prone to consuming a higher degree of calories in the form of cheap fast foods and high calorie sugary drinks and sweets (â€Å"America’s Epidemic of Youth Obesity† 1). The augmenting number of activism and protests against the fast food chains such as Big Macs do say a lot as far as the task of accounting for rising obesity amongst the young people is concerned. In that context, young people hailing from low income