Has it ever crossed your mind that 16 percent of children, almost 9 million kid’s ages 6-19 are Overweight. In addition to that another 15 percent of children and teens are at risk of becoming overweight.


Childhood Obesity is growing in the United States. Childhood Obesity rates in the United States have tripled over the past three decades and an estimated 1.3 million children are overweight. This means that they are more likely to develop diabetes or serious heart problems like cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.


A study from 1999 to 2002 showed that both 16% of children and adolescents were overweight. Another study shows that obese children’s neck arteries look more like someone who is 45 years old. That’s a big problem.


What contributes to Obesity? One factor is inadequate sleep. Another factor is genetic makeup, if one or more parents are obese then the child has an 80 percent chance of becoming obese. Also if the child is obese during adolescence, they have a 70 percent chance of becoming an obese adult, according to the United States department of health and human services.



It seems I am not alone. Michelle Obama is trying to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity as well. First lady Michelle Obama wants to change the way American children eat and play. She is starting the “Let’s Move” campaign. She’s already partnered with athletes and they are encouraging “60 minutes of play”. Walt Disney and NBC have agreed to broadcast these advertisements.



All these reasons lead me to believe there should be a tax on soda. Others may think otherwise but I think that this is a fair decision all across the board. If you want to avoid being overweight or obese exercise more, play around in gym; take a longer route to school or home. Instead of eating unhealthily eat an apple or an orange. For dinner, eat more vegetables. In school take the stairs more, and also make sure you get enough sleep these tips should help you avoid obesity.