Childhood Obesity in Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Childhood Obesity in Society - Essay Example Causes There are numerous causes for obesity in general and childhood obesity in particular. In each of these, the society seems to have a role, however obscure it may be. The three most important are listed below. Dietary/ Food Habits: The effects of eating habits on childhood obesity are difficult to determine. A three year randomized controlled study of 1,704 3rd grade children which provided two healthy meals a day in combination with an exercise program and dietary counseling failed to show a significant reduction in percentage body fat when compared to a control group. This was partly due to the fact the even though the children believed they were eating less their actually calorie consumption did not decrease with the intervention. At the same time observed energy expenditure remained similar between the groups. This occurred even though dietary fat intake decreased from 34% to 27% (Caballero et al., 2003). A second study of 5,106 children showed similar results. Even though the children eat an improved diet there was no effect found on BMI (Nader et al., 1999). Why these studies did not bring about the desired effect of curbing childhood obesity has been attributed to the interventions not being sufficient e nough. Changes were made primarily in the school environment, whereas it is felt that they must occur in the home, the community, and the school simultaneously to have a significant effect (Kolata, 2007). Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied national beverage consumption patterns for over 73,000 Americans between 1997 and 2001 and found the following: overall calories from sweetened drinks went up... As the report stresses the effects of eating habits on childhood obesity are difficult to determine. A three year randomized controlled study of 1,704 3rd grade children which provided two healthy meals a day in combination with an exercise program and dietary counseling failed to show a significant reduction in percentage body fat when compared to a control group. This was partly due to the fact the even though the children believed they were eating less their actually calorie consumption did not decrease with the intervention. At the same time observed energy expenditure remained similar between the groups. According to the research findings the popular thinking is that diet sodas help people to lose weight, since they are low in calories, data from the San Antonio Heart Study found that the more diet soda a person drinks the greater is the likelihood that he or she will become overweight or obese. ‘On an average, for each diet soft drink our participants drank per day, they were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next seven to eight years and 41 percent more likely to become obese,’ said Sharon Fowler, MPH, faculty associate in the division of clinical epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio. Other, more recent unpublished findings from Fowler back this up. While parents and schools may need to do a better job of promoting regular exercise and better dietary choices, the viral distribution of these soft drinks doesn’t help.

Follow the materials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Follow the materials - Essay Example The two targeted audiences are the board of the school and the students. These audiences are different in several aspects (Longaker, 2011). The board is an official body that deals with the school management. This board is in charge of making decisions on matters concerning the school and student welfare. This board has the power to change laws within the school and should be approached with care, using all the writing ethics that are applied in official communication. The second audience consists of students. They are the ones affected by the school policies and laws. As mentioned in the letter to the board, the change in the fee structure will have a huge impact on the way the students function. This audience has no direct effect on the setting of school laws and policies. The final decisions do not lie in their hands, and they have to depend on the board to make important school decisions for them. The two audiences affect the way in which the communication decisions were made. The board implies the need of being official in the communication, bringing up the need to write an official letter. The message is effective because the board can be addressed as a single entity. This means that a single letter can be sent to the entire board instead of writing individual letters to Board members. It is also difficult to get the board to an interactive meeting as most of its members are difficult to reach. Hence, it is easier to write them a letter, which can be read to the entire board whenever they meet. The students, on the other hand, are available during school days and getting them into one sitting is easy. It is easier to communicate to them through mass presentations such as PowerPoint and website presentations. Thus, the decision to use a site presentation was driven by the fact that the students could be addressed quickly and informally. Using letters with them would require that multiple letters be written, one for each student. The letters are also