The Percentage of Overweight Children in Western Society

The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in last ten years. Discuss the possible causes and effects of this disturbing trend and offer a solution. In modern life, the number of obese people in developed countries is increasing rapidly. More seriously, the majority of this problem is children. Some people think the rise of fast-food outlets is the main cause of the overweight children. But others think that the reason is due to the apathy of parents in caring for their children. Some people blame the fact that the development of the food industry has led to the diversity and the appeal of fast foods. Consequently, the number of fast food stores are springing up everywhere like in schools, libraries or places where the density of children are large. Fast foods are not too expensive. The children can buy their favourite foods at any time they like. Furthermore, children do not get a lot of physical exercise. They sit in front of television or computer or play games while they eat more junk food.

Therefore, this bad eating habit of children to consume food high in fat and rich nutrients of foods can easily make them become overweight. In fact, the eating habits of children are mostly influenced by their parents. Parents often think that a fat child is a healthy child. Hence, they always encourage their children to eat as much as possible. In addition, another reason is that parents are always busy with work, they do not have much time to notice their children as well as prepare a healthy meal for their children. Therefore, parents choose fast food. They buy a lot of fast foods, store them in refrigerators and then tell their children that they can eat anytime when they feel hungry. Therefore, damage the health of their children.

In conclusion, the two reasons discussed play an equal role in contributing to the problem. Although the rise of fast foods outlets contribute to the increase in the number of overweight children, also has an influence to the attitude of parents to take care their children’s health.