Guided Response:  Choose two classmates to respond to. Review the resource each of your classmates provided in their initial post.  Comment on how you think the resource could provide support for parents and families.  Offer another resource that also provides support concerning that issue. 

 “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries. Twenty five percent of children in the US are overweight and 11% are obese” (Dehghan, Akhtar-Danesh and Merchant, 2013, p. 1). I picked childhood obesity and there are absolutely no advantages to begin overweight or obese. Being overweight can really harm a child’s body structure because it adds a lot of pressure onto the joints and deteriorate the bones inside the body. It can be very painful and prevent kids from running and playing because of this pain. Even the simple things such as standing become too taxing for a child’s body so they are not able to do it or for a very short period of time.

            I believe that childhood obesity has always been an issue but only recently has it become more mainstream and alerting Americans of the epidemic that has developed. The parents are at fault for their child’s health but not all of it is theirs. I believe restaurants like McDonalds, Taco Bell or Sonic are to blame because of the outrageous portion sizes that are offered. When people order from fast food, they are given 2 to 3 times more than they should be, this skewing the idea of how much one should really get and making people change their portions at home. Parents have seem to become more and more accepting of picking up more fast food for dinner because they are busy or stressed at work and this option is easier. The more ideal scenario is never easy and this also includes eating healthy to reduce the amount of overweight and obese Americans there are right now.

            I think the First Lady made the first large change in this subject when deciding to enact laws to improve physical fitness in schools or better the school lunches. But I think this work only brought the issue to light. I believe the ones who have worked the hardest to make the change are communities. The small communities of people that see there needs to be a change and they work together to fix it. This journey of weight loss for children is a road that should not be done alone and with good role models for children like parents eating healthy and finding time to exercise, this epidemic can be reined in and controlled.

The website below I believe is extremely reliable because the American Heart Association is a great organization looking to better people in all ways. This webpage is current to what is happening right now and provides great information on how not only kids but their parents can create better situations so they are able to live a healthier life style.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/ChildhoodObesity/Preventing-Childhood-Obesity-Tips-for-Parents-and-Caretakers_UCM_456118_Article.jsp

References

Dehghan, M., Akhtar–Danesh, N., & Merchant, A. (2013). Childhood Obesity, Prevalence and Prevention. Prevalence, Pathophysiology, and Management Childhood Obesity, 4(24), 1-1. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-4-24. Retrieved October 5, 2015, from http://www.nutritionj.com/content/4/1/24