Browsing by Author "Zahir, Zaib S."

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    Childhood Obesity: A Study for the Future Researching Causes and Prevention Methods
    Aidis-Klemas, Asta B.; Chung, Jocelyn H.; Uppalapati, Rishik; Zahir, Zaib S. (Virginia Governor's School for Agriculture, 2024-07-20)
    Now recognized as a worldwide epidemic, childhood obesity has been an overlooked critical health condition in which one retains an excessive amount of body fat negatively impacting their overall health in both the present and future. The causes for childhood obesity that continue to be explored include lack of physical activity, often due to a sedentary lifestyle, limited variety in food choices, socioeconomic status, marketing, and packaging. An unexpected factor contributing to this issue is the marketing of a product which can heavily impact an individual's likelihood of purchasing this item through the use of vibrant colors, children’s cartoons, and graphics. The lack of education and knowledge about one’s nutrition from both children and parents is also recognized as a cause of childhood obesity. To fully understand obesity’s impact on younger generations, the numerous effects are crucial to address. Through research, it was discovered that there are many effects of childhood obesity ranging from short-term to long-term physical and mental effects. The topic of discussion connects to three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; the first goal, which focuses on ending poverty, the second goal, which targets ending hunger, and the third, which aims to improve global health and well-being. Following the determination of key causes and effects of childhood obesity, we researched possible solutions and chose one. To target childhood obesity, it is important to recognize these children as a vulnerable population; most of the time they are not old enough or capable of understanding and educating themselves on the nutritional value of certain foods. This is why parental involvement and awareness of what they should be feeding their child are key factors for the prevention of childhood obesity. Influenced by these ideas, we found that creating a nutritional app and holding child nutrition and physical activity classes are the best options to get parents involved and improve the population’s access to nutrition label education which can help reduce obesity overall.