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Nathan Danzer Jason Ramos Katie Ryan Heather Vonnahme English 10

The Fight Against Obesity Introduction: Katie One problem that is widely talked about is obesity in children. There has been many different ways created to help with this problem, but nothing has seemed to work. Children need to learn boundaries. They need to learn how to respect themselves enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But most people will ignore the fact that anorexia has grown over the years. Some adults who develop an eating disorder used to be overweight as a child or adolescent. What most people don't understand is that there is an extreme high and an extreme low. Being too skinny or overweight is never good for your body. If children learn from an early age how to keep their body weight maintained and healthy, there will be no limit on what they can do. What Our Problem Solution is For: Katie Our main goal is to get kids involved while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight. Our intention is to help inform kids that are making the transition from elementary school to middle school know how to stay healthy. Every decision they will start to make will affect them in some way. So why not affect them in a positive way? We want to get kids involved in fun activities and give them the information they need to be successful as they grow older. Most likely the kids will know what being overweight

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is, but another problem that is growing is anorexia. This is around the age where mostly girls and some boys will make themselves sick at the sight of themselves through a mirror, and develop a dangerous habit to cause their weight to drop dramatically. Neither extreme is never good, but if we show them a couple of fun games that they could bring home or to other friends possibly from different town or schools, the message will start to spread. From there kids could help teach their parents and the cycle of healthy eating and healthy activity will continue. We plan to give out flyers to give out a couple healthy tips and links for fast and easy ways to cook, and cook healthy for their child What Our Problem Solution is For: Katie We plan to be at Adams Elementary school on the later half of the day. We plan to focus on the fifth graders since they are making a big transition from elementary school to the big middle school. Our big plan is to split the fifth grade class into half. Take two to three homerooms and spend an hour with each of the groups. With that, we would need games to play. Our group has decided that it would be fun if we gave them a couple simple games such as jump rope, hop scotch, etc. Then at the end, we could have a huge obstacle course and almost have a little competition with it. Along with the fun activities we want to inform the children about some of the dangers of obesity and we also want to slightly introduce the idea of what anorexia is and how that is also not a solution. Getting kids and parents involved is our main goal. If children learn from this experience, and they teach their parents, maybe the obesity rates will stop climbing, but possibly decline. Background of the Problem: Jason

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Obesity is a high amount of body fat compared to lean body mass. This is exactly what more than forty million children were in 2011(Obese and Overweight) This happens because of inactivity, genetics, nutrition and family. Children who have at least one obese parent have a fifty percent chance that the child will become obese.(Childhood Obesity:The Effects on Physical and Mental Health) There are many people who are not active and dont get at least an hour of exercise a day. This will keep them from bad health, and the problem is that people just arent doing this. There were more than 200 million men obese and more than 300 million women obese in 2008.(Obese and Overweight) This is a problem that can be easily resolved. Why its important to us: Jason As a group, we think this is important because a healthy lifestyle will keep any person healthy and alive. The most immediate consequence of being overweight as perceived by children themselves is social discrimination and low-selfesteem(Childhood Obesity: The Effects on Physical and Mental Health) Some will probably look in the mirror and put themselves down instead of boosting their selfesteem and actually doing something about it. These people will continue to eat an unhealthy diet and could have health problems like diabetes(Obesity and Overweight). Theyre most likely not burning any calories or fat they have gained, and instead build it up day after day. Although, some of this is not that particular persons fault. They could be this way because of genetics. Not everyone has a good metabolism thatll break down food and burn it faster like others. They could have overweight people in their family and get low acting metabolism which will most likely cause them to become

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overweight themselves, especially if they are not active. It is important people maintain healthy eating habits and regular exercise. Body Image and Society: Heather Children may not be troubled by other students or society right now by being overweight, but there is a high chance that they will start to notice their own body image, starting in middle school. If a child is obese or bigger than the other kids, he or she is most likely going to face ridicule or get made fun of. This is another reason why we want to help educate kids. Nobody wants to get bullied, especially over their weight. Some kids cant even focus in school and then dont do well on their schoolwork. "Some researchers believe that there may be something physiologically that's affecting the child's ability to learn," Bell says. "Others believe, because of self-esteem issues and bullying, it makes them less eager to attend school and participate in school activities. (At School, Overweight Children Carry a Heavy Burden.) Whatever the childs problem is though, it needs to be fixed. Since these problems are related to obese children, obviously something is wrong that needs to be addressed immediately, before it gets worse. We are going to tell these fifth graders that they need to prepare for life ahead, because the truth is, they might get bullied for their weight. Theyre going to have to make a life decision on how they want to live their life if they dont want to get bullied or possibly have future problems in school. Parents Influence: Heather Parents obviously have a lot of input on their childrens health. Sometimes eating and health disorders are genetic, but when they arent, parents can defi nitely help keep their kids health and fitness up to par. For one thing, parents can have regular family

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meals. Its comforting to know that the child will be with his whole family eating a healthy dinner together around the same time every day. Its also good to have breakfast together because it is proven that children who eat breakfast do better in school. Dozens of studies from as far back as the 1950s have consistently shown that children who eat breakfast perform better academically than those who don't. (A Better Breakfast) Parents can also make more meals at home, instead of going to a fast food place or restaurant. Homemade meals are a lot healthier, and they taste better too. Kids can get involved by helping parents pick out healthy food to buy in the grocery store. This gets them excited about helping and then they have something they actually like to eat thats healthy. We want parents to help their kids stay in the groove of being healthy and fit all the time, so our plan is that we are going to send a flier home with the child, and from there it will go to the parent. It will have easy and healthy recipes that the parent can make for the whole family, and easy exercises they can do with their children. This will ensure that the child and parent are both in this together, and the child will feel better and more confident with their health. Healthy Diet: Nathan Danzer Kids can maintain a healthy weight by having a well rounded diet. Kids should take in anywhere between 1400 and 1600 calories a day. Their diet should be varied. Their calorie intake should be from all sorts of different food groups. They should consume a small portion of the following food groups each day: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and proteins. If every kid ate the right foods and portions, obesity wouldnt be as prevalent. A lot of what kids learn to eat is up to what their parents decide to bring home or put on the table. That is why parents play such a crucial role in childhood

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obesity. To help parents feed their kids healthy meals we will send home a flier with recipes to make healthy snacks and meals. Home Activities: Nathan Danzer Before leaving the kids, we want to encourage them to exercise at home. We arent going to tell them that they have to do workouts, but we will suggest fun activities that they can do. One activity that we will encourage kids to do is biking. Most kids already like to ride their bike, thats why we will encourage them to keep riding around on their bicycles because it is a lot of fun, and its good exercise. These kids wont even see this activity as exercising. Its important that the kids have fun while t hey exercise, otherwise they wont want to do it. Another great activity for kids is to play sports. Many kids play sports and really enjoy them, not actually knowing that theyre are working out. Sports are a really good way to be active because the kids will go to practices and have games. These are just two of the many activities kids can do. Conclusion: Katie Our main goal is to get kids involved while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight. Our intention is to help inform kids that are making the transition from elementary school to middle school know how to stay healthy. Every decision they will make will affect them in some way. So why not affect them in a positive way? We want to get kids involved in fun activities, and give them the information they need to be successful as they grow older. Most likely the kids will know what being overweight is, but another problem that is growing is anorexia. This is around the age where mostly girls and some boys will make themselves sick at the sight of themselves through a mirror, and develop a dangerous habit to cause their weight to drop dramatically.

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Neither extreme is never good but if we show them a couple of fun games that they could bring home or to other friends possibly from different towns or schools, the message will start to spread. From there kids could help teach their parents and the cycle of healthy eating and healthy activity will continue. We plan to give out fliers to give out a couple healthy tips and links for fast and easy ways to cook, and cook healthy for their child. If we can help out a small group of fifth graders, and they can continue to inform people of healthy eating and dieting, our world will continue to grow stronger and the cycle will start to continue and repeat itself.

Works Cited

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Cardoza, Kavitha. "At School, Overweight Children Carry A Heavy Burden." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

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"Childhood Obesity: The Effects on Physical and Mental Health | AboutOurKids.org."Childhood Obesity: The Effects on Physical and Mental Health | AboutOurKids.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Edmond, M.. N.p.. Web. 6 Nov 2013. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/dietfitness/weight-loss/5-health-problems-caused-by-being-thin.htm>.

"Fitness Games." JumpBunch Sports and Fitness Programs for Preschoolers and Young Children Preschool Fitness Program Franchise. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Hellmich, N.. N.p.. Web. 6 Nov 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-01-13-childhoodobesity_N.htm>

"How Much Do I Need to Eat?" How Much Do I Need to Eat? United States Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhardhealthylifestyle/SmartChoices/howmuchdoineedtoea t.htm>.

Marie, Joanne. "Healthy Eating." Healthy Eating. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.

Maya W. Paul, L. R.. N.p.. Web. 6 Nov 2013. <http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_children_teens.htm>. "Obesity and Overweight." World Health Organization. WHO, Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.

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"Obesity and Overweight." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Payne, January W. "Exercise for Kids: 5 Tips for Parents." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 02 June 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

"Tips for Parents Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 Oct. 2011. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children