Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how obesity in America today is a rapidly-worsening problem; since the middle-1970s, the rate of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 has more than tripled in the United States. The paper reveals that in roughly the same span of time, from 1979 to 1999, obesity-associated costs in America also more than trebled for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. Lastly, the paper reveals that recent studies have uncovered that obesity-related health expenditures in America accounted for more than one-quarter of the growth in health care spending between 1987 and 2001 (United States Accountability Office 2005; see also U.S. Health and Human Resources 2006). In light of the fact that obese children tend to become obese adults, the paper relates that the frightening reality is that America is producing a generation of young people who will be less fit than their parents, more prone to health complications, less productive, and unable to do many of the things (like engaging in sporting activities with their children) that make up the core of good parenting. Simply put, the issue at the heart of this paper is not just that more and more of our children are growing fat - but that this epidemic of obesity threatens the healthy functioning of our society. With that in mind, the paper outlines the complexities surrounding how best to tackle obesity, what perspectives on the problem predominate, what potential remedies are available, and what the best solution to this crisis would be. The paper shows how simple things like eating right and exercising regularly could be precisely what are needed to turn around the worrisome trend of ballooning child obesity in America.

From the Paper:

"Obesity is a growing concern in the United States. Defining the issue: There can scarcely be any question that obesity is a growing problem among American youth. In fact, the rate of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 has more than tripled since the middle-1970s. During roughly the same period, from 1979 to 1999, obesity-associated hospital costs more than tripled for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. Finally, in light..."

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