In society now a days, instead of a sitting down at the table eating a home cooked meal, it's now looked upon as normal to end a at work day by sitting in the car waiting for a happy meal in the drive through. According to ASPE (Assistant Secretary for planning and evaluation) "Overweight and obesity in children are significant public health problems in the United States. The number of adolescents who are overweight has tripled since 1980 and the prevalence among younger children has more than doubled. According to the 1999-2002 NHANES survey, 16 percent of children age 6-19 years are overweight." Being overweight during childhood and adolescence increases the risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and type 2 diabetes as a youth.
Genes probably do play some role in childhood obesity. A parent's obesity doubles the risk that his/her child under the age of 10 will be obese as an adult, regardless of whether that child is overweight at the time. Although birth weight doesn't correlate with adult weight, obese three-year-olds already have a greater risk of adult obesity. Children are less active than they were 30 years ago. They are more likely to be driven to school rather than walk. Physical education classes have suffered under school budget cuts and been eliminated completely in some schools. According to health.kaboose.com " Children as old as five are being wheeled around the mall in deluxe strollers (equipped with cup holders!) when they should be walking. Television, video games, and computers now occupy much more of children's waking hours than they should, which means less time to run around. Children are allowed to eat in front of the TV, which makes it easy to mindlessly munch hundreds of extra calories (adults are guilty here, too)."
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