Childhood Obesity in the U.S.A

Have you ever heard of the campaign "Let's move"? This campaign started by the idea of Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the states, and it is about being healthy. One of DSKUSSS members shares her idea on child obesity. If you have any interesting thought, please let us know through the comments.

Childhood Obesity in the U.S.A

Jungwon Lee

Pusan National University

Dept. of Global Studies

 “In the end, as First Lady, this isn’t just a policy issue for me. This is a passion. This is my mission. I’m determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition.”

Several years ago, Unites States’ First Lady Michelle Obama announced an ambitious national goal of solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight and unveiled a nationwide campaign-Let’s Move-to help achieve it. The Let’s Move campaign is combating the epidemic of childhood obesity through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, and mobilizes public and private sector resources. The campaign engaged every sector impacting the health of children to achieve the national goal, and is providing schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy.

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. The health care costs of obesity are skyrocketing, and this epidemic also impacts the nation’s security, as obesity is now one of the most common disqualifiers for military service. The main reason of this rising childhood obesity in United States is the eating habits. As more Americans are seeking convenience, they are eating lots of fast food and junk food, and individualism has increased the couch potatoes. This trend went down straight to children.  

Hopefully, there are several attempts to prevent the obesity danger of children in America by the campaign ‘Let’s move’. Schools are trying to serve healthier food in cafeterias because Administration is reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act, investing additional 10 billion dollars over ten years starting in 2011 to improve the quality of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. With this investment, additional fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products are now served in schools. Another attempt is helping parents make healthy family choices because parents play a key role in making healthy choices for their children. The American Academy of Pediatrics is writing a prescription for parents laying out the simple things they can do to increase healthy eating and active play. The fact that the Unites States is concerned about childhood obesity and trying to solve their problems is fortunate.

Pioneers of the American West (From the TV series ‘Little House on the Prairie’)

Have you ever watched the show "Little House on the Prairie"? This show gives us a chance to look at the life of early Americans who settled down in the America and started to adapt to life in there. One of our members want to share her thoughts on this show and the life of early Americans. Let us know what you think through the comments.

Pioneers of the American West

(From the TV series ‘Little House on the Prairie’)

Jungwon Lee

Pusan National University

Dept. of Global Studies

Charles Ingalls spends his time mostly on the farm, plowing and carpentering because he has to make a living for his big family. Caroline Ingalls takes control in housework, like cooking for workers outside, making clothes, and nurturing children. A little girl, Laura and her siblings always go to school, and they learn from one teacher, because the school is small sized. Also, on Sundays, every family meets together in town church and hold meetings.

The ‘Little House on the Prairie’ is a media franchise that started with a series of children’s books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that were originally published between 1932 and 1943. The book has nine series, ‘Little house in the big woods’, ‘Little house on the prairie’, ‘On the banks of plum creek’, ‘By the shores of silver lake’, ‘The long winter’, ‘Little town on the prairie’, ‘These happy golden years’, and ‘The first four years’. The Author, Laura Ingalls Wilder put her real story as a pioneer’s daughter in this book series. It is based on many-decade-old memories of her childhood in the Midwest region of the United States during the late 19^th century. Although this book series were considered classics of American children’s literature, it was loved by numerous people around the world and grew to include television and stage adaptations. The book series and the dramas’ contents differ a little, but if you watch this television show, you can see the lives of pioneers living in the little town called ‘Walnut Grove’ closely.

Whenever we think of Pioneers of America, we think of horse operas, imagining cowboys with cowboy hats and riding horses with lightning speed. People think pioneers lived their lives splendidly, but that’s just looking at the surface of it. In fact, pioneers’ lives were hard and toilsome because they were settlers who were new to the American land. After moving to America from Europe, they started their lives on barren land. They tried to adapt to the new environment they were living in, and they planted crops and raised livestock. Although their lives were hard because they sometimes had tensions with native Americans, had to endure cold blizzard, fought grasshopper attacks in summer, these pioneers lived with their families with love. Also, they had faith that they can make their lives better by working diligently.

To pioneer families, being friendly with their neighbors was big help because they didn’t get lonely and could get advice from each other on how to make living well. If you didn’t have a chance to watch this television series, don’t hesitate watching it! You will feel happiness, and warmth of many pioneer families.