Adolescent obesity in the USA

The problems of healthy lifestyle the US high school students, provided in national studies, reports and records, it is necessary to emphasize their versatility and diversity. What problems are characteristic of a healthy lifestyle for children and adolescents of the USA? Extremely important for the understanding of the marked problem gets the fact that among students in American high schools there were cases of alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, early sexual behavior, which determines an unwanted pregnancy and diseases that are sexually transmitted, but these issues have gained relevance and spread in high school. We emphasize that according to statistics, the main obstacles of a healthy lifestyle, typical for middle school students, and for high school students were obese, depression and s ...

Introduction...............................................................................................................3
1. Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity..............................................4
1.1 Variation by Age Group..............................................................................4
1.2 Variation by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity...................................................5
1.3 Variation by Socioeconomic Status and Geographic Location...................6
2. Causes associated with Childhood Overweight and Obesity................................8
3. Solving the problem of childhood obesity...........................................................12
Conclusion...............................................................................................................17
References...............................................................................................................18

The term “obese” describes children and adolescent who have a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for their gender and age. Adolescent obesity is a serious US public health problem. Today, about one in three American teenagers is overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity in children more than tripled from 1971 to 2011. With a good reason, childhood obesity is now the 1 health concern among parents in the USA. Obesity represents a clear and present danger to the health of children and adolescent obesity.
This problem is very important. This epidemic increase is the result of specific changes in our environment and behavior in susceptible people. High calories, good-tasting and inexpensive food have become widely available and are heavily advertised. Nowadays portion s izes have increased and people are eating out more frequently. The theme are well-covered, there are a lot of articles about teenagers obesity in the USA. In the Internet we can find so many topics, books about this serious problem. In recent years Americans have seriously thought of a solution of this problem. So the problem of adolescent is very topical. Obese is a reason of great number health problems. Obesity is a good indicator of unhealthy lifestyle, characterized by overeating and lack of physical activity.
In our project we want to find out why the USA has the largest number of obese adolescent. What determines the high number of adolescent with overweight and what factors affect it. This report provides an overview of the data being used to inform federal obesity policy. It presents an overview of obesity statistics among children and adolescents, and includes a discussion of obesity measurement, trends in obesity rates, and differences that exist across gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location.
Finally we will discuss the ways how can this problem be solved and how to prevent further spread and worsening of adolescent obesity.
Object of exploration in the project is adolescent obesity in the United States of America. Subject of exploration is sociology.

Since 1997, a working group of researchers from 22 federal agencies, federal interagency forum Child and Family Statistics (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics) to collect and analyze data on the health, education, behavior and way of life, physical environment and safety, health , family and social environment of American children and youth. According to the annual report of the Forum “About Children of America: the main features of the welfare state, in 2012” (“America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2012”) in 2012. The population of 73.9 million children and adolescents in the United States, of which 24.3 million were aged 0-5 years, 24.6 million - 6-11 years, 25.1 million - 12-17 years. In percentage terms, 53% of the younger populations were white children and adolescents, 24% - Hispanics, 14% - black (or African American). The proportion of Asians, American Indians (or Alaska Natives) and Native Hawaiian (and other Americans from the Pacific Islands) in the population of the country was 4.5%, 0.9%, 0.2%, respectively.Among the bad habits of American teenagers, which focused the attention of researchers in the study, a special place was occupied by drug and alcohol abuse. The results showed that 9% of eighth graders, 19% of ninth-graders, 25% twelve- graders used different kinds of drugs during the last month before the survey. Teenage alcoholism - an acute medical, psychological, social and pedagogical problem, which remains unsolved, both in the world and in the United States. According to the report, 6% of eighth graders, 15% of ninth-graders, 22% drank alcohol twelve-graders repeatedly and in large numbers (five or more alcoholic beverages more than once in the past two weeks). Note that the level of the younger generation of alcoholism is largely a kind of indicator of the nation's mental health. Among American adolescents 12-17 years, about 20% had depressive syndromes of different severity, 8% had a significant depressive disorder (clinical depression). Given the fact that the relationship between depression and obesity among US adolescents studied by many contemporary American scientists, it should be emphasized the urgency of the problems of healthy lifestyle for the US population. The statistics provided in the report “About Children of America: the main features of the welfare state, in 2012,” showed that about 18% of children and adolescents 6-17 years were obese. [5]Analyzed and synchronized data from secondary sources (research institutions and non-governmental organizations) on the more than 50 symptoms associated with health and way of life of children and adolescents (0-18 years), it was presented in the annual report of the Department of Health and Human Services (United States Department of health and Human Services) “US State children's health, 2012” (“child health USA, 2012”) [6]. According to the report, the most common psychological problems of children and adolescents had depression (50%, of which 8% of adolescents (approximately 2 million) had clinical depression or major depressive disorder). Teenage drug abuse among children and youth increased over the years - namely 4% of adolescents 12-13 years, 9.3% of adolescents 14-15 years old, 16.6% of young people aged 16-18 have used different kinds of drugs during the last month before survey. Most often used drugs American Indians or Alaska Natives (12.7%). Among the members of other racial categories the US population younger drug users were 11.8% Hispanic, 10.8% black, 9.7% of whites. Data on overweight and obesity showed that among US children and adolescents 2-18 years of age: 64.1% were normal weight, 16.9% were obese, 14.7% were overweight, 4.3% had a weight of less than standards. Among pre-school children (2-5 years), the rate of obesity was lower than among children and adolescents 6-18 years of age (11.5% and 18% respectively). More prone to obesity were the representatives of the African-American population (25% were obese, and 15% - among overweight black) and Hispanic (approximately 40% were overweight, and obesity). Among the white population of the USA 28% were overweight and obese.At the same time, adults and children alike are getting less physical activity. Some schools have cut back on activities like physical education and recess, in part due to budget pressures at the state and local level. And children are increasingly driven to school by car or bus, rather than walking or biking. In part, these shifts in transportation reflect changes in community design. Physical activity is higher in more “connected” communities that provide safe and reliable access to public transportation, as well as other forms of active transport like biking and walking.Meanwhile, “screen time” has increased, including television viewing, which is directly associated with childhood and adult obesity. Among children, watching television or time spent on computers or gaming systems takes away from engaging in physical activity like organized sports or informal playing. It also has a more harmful effect on healthy eating habits; as children watch television, they are more likely to snack, including on the foods advertised. In addition, screen time has been associated with children getting less and poorer quality sleep, and insufficient sleep has been linked to a heightened risk of obesity.It can be regarded as absolutely justified special attention to children with overweight and obesity, because children are likely to suffer from obesity in the adult age match noncommunicable diseases in the early years. In children with obesity and increased direct risk of disease and they are often stigmatized. The prevalence of childhood obesity is growing rapidly, but its effects on health, therefore apparently, are not addressed sufficiently. For most noncommunicable conditions, caused by obesity, risks depend in part on the age at which they began, as well as duration of obesity. Obese children suffer from short-term and long-term health effects.Obesity has social consequences, stigma associated with children and teenagers, clearly leading to a reduction in social and economic opportunities in adult life. Health effects include increased risk of metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes type II and soft fatty liver disease (50), sleep-related breathing disorders. Cook et al. [7] found that 4% of all adolescents and almost 30% of teenagers are overweight in the United States met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. It has important for the future risk of Type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In adolescent obesity also increases the risk of fatty degeneration of the liver, gallstones, hypertension, and respiratory disorders during sleep and orthopedic complications. Very few in the study looks at long-term consequences of obesity in adolescents, but according to the results of these studies, it can be assumed that they are similar to the effects of obesity adult. In addition, fatty liver disease has long been considered especially children obesity and the presence of fat in liver fibrosis seems to be related to the duration obesity, not its degree.3. Solving the problem of childhood obesity. The formation of a healthy lifestyle - this multi-faceted process, the study of which provides a comprehensive view of the health phenomena and a healthy lifestyle. We define the concept of “health” as a dynamic state of well-being, was characterized physical, mental and social potential, which satisfies the needs of life in accordance with the age, culture and personal responsibility. Under the concept of “healthy lifestyle” we understand human activity, which is aimed at achieving an optimal state of physical, mental and social health. Note that at the beginning of the XXI century, American society is going through a period of crisis of spirituality and morality, so the problem of formation of a healthy way of life of adults and children takes on a national scale. The deterioration of the overall level of physical and mental health of middle school students, increase in the percentage of adolescents who are overweight and obese, the prevalence of depression among the young students, the growth of juvenile crime and various types of deviant behavior among adolescents has stimulated research into the optimization of the physical and moral education children in the family and in US schools.Interventions to prevent obesity should focus not only on personal behaviors and biological traits, but also on characteristics of the social and physical environments that offer or limit opportunities for positive health outcomes. Critical opportunities for interventions can occur in multiple settings: home, child care, school, work place, health care, and community. No single action alone will reverse the childhood obesity epidemic, although there is no question that improving eating habits and increasing physical activity are two critical strategies. As with tobacco prevention and control, comprehensive, multi-sectoral approaches are needed to address the many behavioral risk factors associated with obesity. These risk factors fall into three general categories: (1) material incentives, such as the cost of food or the desire to avoid poor health; (2) social norms, such as the nutritional and physical activity habits of friends and family, which influence us greatly; and (3) the broader environment, such as whether grocery stores and playgrounds are nearby or far away. Changes in each of these risk factors are possible. For example, with sound information, parents and caregivers will be able to seek out the most nutritious foods to improve their children’s health; changes in social norms can be brought about through movements such as the successful seatbelt buckling campaigns of the late 20th century; and changes can be made in the broader environment by eliminating “food deserts” or “playground deserts.”In many parts of the country, already have a head start, and initiatives that are already underway will provide instructive lessons. Comprehensive, community-wide efforts to reduce obesity have recently been initiated by both the public and private sectors. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included $1 billion in funding for prevention and wellness investments, more than half of which was directed to prevention strategies to reduce tobacco use and obesity rates. Specifically, $373 million supported direct community-based interventions and $120 million supported state-based efforts in all 50 states and 25 communities in urban, rural, and tribal areas. Funds to support comprehensive strategies were awarded to states in February and to communities in March. The recently-enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act (collectively referred to as the “Affordable Care Act”) provides for additional investments in chronic disease and improving public health, which could include community-based prevention strategies. In addition, the philanthropic sector has been leading the way with stepped-up, focused investments.