My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose as is Childhood Obesity. As a Child advocate, when I saw this assignment, there was no hesitation as to what topic I was going to research. This has become a national epidemic, so much so that the first lady of the United States has also taken interest in it. She makes public appearances at various elementary and middle schools talking to the students about exercising and eating healthy. Mrs. Obama encourages the children to make healthy snack choices, like fruits and vegetables and to get out and get some exercise. She has been seen doing the”douggie”and double dutch (jump roping) with  students on playgrounds.

Childhood obesity can lead to numerous health issues such as Juvenile diabetes,

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure,

Respiratory problems. If not dealt with accordingly, these health issues can be carried

into adulthood. We must get our children back outside and allow them to run,

jump, climb, and swing. What happened to going for a family stroll after dinner? I

recently heard a comedian say that back in the day when our parents grounded us, it

meant no outside. He said that nowadays when a child gets grounded, the parents should make them go outside and stay out for two hours, and find ways to entertain themselves.

 I do not know what it’s like to be an obese child, or even have a child who is

obese. However, I have heard stories from my older sister, who was obese as a child,

about how family members made fun of her. She said it was bad enough, kids at school

made fun of her, but to have her own family make fun of her was what hurt the most.

 My hope is that no child ever has to go through what my sister went through once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back. The chant we said as children about sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, well it’s not true, because words do hurt and at times , they’re ten times as worse as any broken bones. A cast will heal a broken bone within a specific time frame (usually between six –eight weeks) but how does a person get over hurtful words that are said about  them?