This project focused on childhood obesity and the public issues that surround this devastating reality. Below are the excerpts from this student's research:
"Childhood Obesity 4% overweight 1982, 16% overweight 1994, 25% of all white children overweight 2001, 33% African American and Hispanic children overweight 2001, Hospital costs associated with childhood obesity rising from $35 Million (1979) to $127 Million (1999, (www.annecollins.com)"
"What causes childhood obesity? The causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors. Basically, obesity occurs when a person eats more calories than the body burns up. If one parent is obese, there is a 50 percent chance that the children will also be obese. However, when both parents are obese, the children have an 80 percent chance of being obese. Although certain medical disorders can cause obesity, less than 1 percent of all obesity is caused by physical problems. Obesity in childhood and adolescence can be related to: poor eating habits, overeating or binging, lack of exercise (i.e., couch potato kids) family history of obesity, medical illnesses (endocrine, neurological problems), medications (steroids, some psychiatric medications), stressful life events or changes (separations, divorce, moves, deaths, abuse), family and peer problems, low self-esteem, depression or other emotional problems (www.aacap.org)"
When the student was asked to reflect on his own thoughts on childhood obesity, here's what he said:
"I have a stepbrother and sister who are both obese. My brother weight about 290 ,and he is only 17 my sister is 16 and she weight about 200. In the u.s.a. Americans do not practice good eating habits. If a person comes from another country, the odd are good that they will be fat in five years or less. I have a friend from; when she came to the u.s.a. the first thing that caught her attention was all the fast food restaurant. So our culture today needs to change our eating habits.
[These are the ways our culture has contributed to the rise of childhood obesity]: To many fast-food restaurant. Vending machine at schools soda or candy. Less exercise at school.
Parents are kids themselves. Bad eating habits. The problem of child hood obesity will get worse. I never seen so many obesity kids in the years of 2005-2007 now its almost common to be fat as a child. And to stop the problem, we need money, programs, and government assistant. And today’s time convinces is everything. So I don’t see the problem getting better anytime soon."
When asked what he would do to create a campaign to fix the childhood obesity epidemic, he suggested:
"I will call it [the campaign] PUNCH THE FAT OFF! That alone says it all; kids will love it."
Below is the Public Service Announcement this student created to bring awareness to the ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity:
(If you can not view the PSA, go here.)
If you have any questions or thoughts about this project, please feel to post a comment. What are your thoughts on childhood obesity? Will we manage to ever bring it under control? Do you know anyone who is suffering from health problems due to childhood obesity?
Friday, October 19, 2007
HRE #1: Physical Activity vs. Exericse
This project was about distinguishing the differences between "Physical Activity" and "exercise" and how to bring about community awareness to the benefits of living an active lifestyle.
Here are some of the insights from the research:
"There is a variety of ways we as human beings can engage in physical activity, ranging from simple physical activity to intense exercise. While physical activity is simply body movement produced by skeletal muscles, exercise is defined as planned physical activity with the intent to improve or maintain certain components of physical fitness and health. Both of these activities are physically active, require energy (calories) and both provide health benefits; they are simply different levels of activity."
"It is a very important thing for fitness and health professionals to understand the differences between the terms “physical activity” and “exercise” for a number of reasons. One being that when approaching a sedentary individual the word “exercise” is intimidating, that person most likely will have a negative connotation to that word and automatically put up a barrier of resistance. Where as physical activity is a much simpler idea to grasp and put into motion for an inactive person. It is also important to understand the differences in the intensity between the two, physical activity being things most people do on a daily basis without thinking about, and exercise being a planned action to achieve fitness and health related benefits."
"Health and fitness professionals need to appeal to people’s personal issues; there is not really just one reason for being inactive. Although to an active individual they may all seem the same, in the sedentary mind their reason is different from everyone else’s and “no one understands.” In most cases they are right, most health and fitness professionals approach every overweight or unhealthy person the same way, and the unhealthy individual knows this and takes offence to it, puts up a mental barrier to change and continues their path of inactivity. Professionals need to dig for each and every person’s reason and respond according to that individual’s goals, limitations and needs. 67% of people may be inactive but most think they have a valid and different reason for their inactivity and because they think so, they do. Each person will need some sort of knowledge, to help them realize the importance, such as the risk of CVD they currently may have and that through physical activity they can lower this risk drastically. This risk will shorten their life expectancy and lessen the time they have to spend with their family, and evaluating the person’s current fitness level and forming a light, simple and short routine to get started on may start the ball rolling for that person and help them on the road to health."
The student was asked to follow the show "THE BIGGEST LOSER" and share insight on how shows like this positively/negatively impact and influence public opinion on exercise and what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Here's an excerpt from his thoughts:
"Overall this show provides a very good motivator to sedentary people. At the same time it expands a detrimental stereotype of trainers and might discourage the hiring of trainers for people who believe they will not respond to that type of help in a positive way. I would have to say that I see Bob as the most level headed and effective of the three, while some people may respond to harsher treatment, most seek a middle ground and I think he offers the best overall experience for the contestants. There are a few areas that I believe the show needs to improve on such as the educational portion; frankly the ten second blips of information between commercials just don’t cut it. If I were to create a similar show I would not have contestants get kicked off the show unless their commitment level was not high enough. Kicking the contestants off reinforces failure and might have a very negative affect. The amount of weight the contestants are losing per week is very unrealistic for the viewer and in most cases very unhealthy. For viewers this makes their goals seem that much more unobtainable. And considering that eating habits equate from 75-80% of weight loss results, I believe that this should be shown much more than it is, which is practically never. All in all this show is a let down, it is unrealistic for the public to have expectations that mirror the show and it doesn’t aid weight loss in the viewing population outside of hopefully motivating people after seeing that it is possible for them to lose the weight they want to."
The student was also asked to have conversations with several sedentary people to gain a better understanding on the barriers they may have to physical activity. He asked each for the opportunity to discuss (and educate them on) the benefits of living an active lifestyle and here is one of the responses he received:
"When first bringing up the topic of physical activity with my uncle Don, he was a bit angry because I have been trying to get him up off his lazy bum for the last 5 years to no avail. Luckily I was able to calm him down and go on with the conversation. The responses I got from my aunt Carol and aunt Sheila were both initially sarcastic enthusiasm, and mainly simple “mmhhmm’s” and “yea’s” but after I was able to find out what would be convenient and fun for them they shifted to interested demeanors and ended up being thankful (I think) for the help I gave. The potential clients were all very interested in asking me questions like, “How often do I have to do this?” and “Is this going to be really hard?” One brought up a past experience of exercise and getting so sore they quit two days after they started and returned to a sedentary lifestyle for the next year and a half. Another seemed very concerned about her ability to actually so any of the physical activity I had in mind, she seemed to think that she was physically disabled, but after explaining the different steps to weight loss and health benefits she calmed down and started to agree that it wasn’t as hard as she had thought. After talking with the three potential clients they all scheduled workouts with me and seemed excited about it, so I think the message was received."
Finally, the student was asked to create a Public Service Announcement about the importance of adopting an active lifestyle. Check out his PSA below:
If you can't see the PSA - go here.
Please feel free to comment and discuss this project! What were your thoughts on the PSA? How do shows like BIGGEST LOSER and other media influences impact your thoughts about exercise? Even though the health benefits of physical activity are well-known, what are the most challenging barriers people face towards exercise?
Here are some of the insights from the research:
"There is a variety of ways we as human beings can engage in physical activity, ranging from simple physical activity to intense exercise. While physical activity is simply body movement produced by skeletal muscles, exercise is defined as planned physical activity with the intent to improve or maintain certain components of physical fitness and health. Both of these activities are physically active, require energy (calories) and both provide health benefits; they are simply different levels of activity."
"It is a very important thing for fitness and health professionals to understand the differences between the terms “physical activity” and “exercise” for a number of reasons. One being that when approaching a sedentary individual the word “exercise” is intimidating, that person most likely will have a negative connotation to that word and automatically put up a barrier of resistance. Where as physical activity is a much simpler idea to grasp and put into motion for an inactive person. It is also important to understand the differences in the intensity between the two, physical activity being things most people do on a daily basis without thinking about, and exercise being a planned action to achieve fitness and health related benefits."
"Health and fitness professionals need to appeal to people’s personal issues; there is not really just one reason for being inactive. Although to an active individual they may all seem the same, in the sedentary mind their reason is different from everyone else’s and “no one understands.” In most cases they are right, most health and fitness professionals approach every overweight or unhealthy person the same way, and the unhealthy individual knows this and takes offence to it, puts up a mental barrier to change and continues their path of inactivity. Professionals need to dig for each and every person’s reason and respond according to that individual’s goals, limitations and needs. 67% of people may be inactive but most think they have a valid and different reason for their inactivity and because they think so, they do. Each person will need some sort of knowledge, to help them realize the importance, such as the risk of CVD they currently may have and that through physical activity they can lower this risk drastically. This risk will shorten their life expectancy and lessen the time they have to spend with their family, and evaluating the person’s current fitness level and forming a light, simple and short routine to get started on may start the ball rolling for that person and help them on the road to health."
The student was asked to follow the show "THE BIGGEST LOSER" and share insight on how shows like this positively/negatively impact and influence public opinion on exercise and what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Here's an excerpt from his thoughts:
"Overall this show provides a very good motivator to sedentary people. At the same time it expands a detrimental stereotype of trainers and might discourage the hiring of trainers for people who believe they will not respond to that type of help in a positive way. I would have to say that I see Bob as the most level headed and effective of the three, while some people may respond to harsher treatment, most seek a middle ground and I think he offers the best overall experience for the contestants. There are a few areas that I believe the show needs to improve on such as the educational portion; frankly the ten second blips of information between commercials just don’t cut it. If I were to create a similar show I would not have contestants get kicked off the show unless their commitment level was not high enough. Kicking the contestants off reinforces failure and might have a very negative affect. The amount of weight the contestants are losing per week is very unrealistic for the viewer and in most cases very unhealthy. For viewers this makes their goals seem that much more unobtainable. And considering that eating habits equate from 75-80% of weight loss results, I believe that this should be shown much more than it is, which is practically never. All in all this show is a let down, it is unrealistic for the public to have expectations that mirror the show and it doesn’t aid weight loss in the viewing population outside of hopefully motivating people after seeing that it is possible for them to lose the weight they want to."
The student was also asked to have conversations with several sedentary people to gain a better understanding on the barriers they may have to physical activity. He asked each for the opportunity to discuss (and educate them on) the benefits of living an active lifestyle and here is one of the responses he received:
"When first bringing up the topic of physical activity with my uncle Don, he was a bit angry because I have been trying to get him up off his lazy bum for the last 5 years to no avail. Luckily I was able to calm him down and go on with the conversation. The responses I got from my aunt Carol and aunt Sheila were both initially sarcastic enthusiasm, and mainly simple “mmhhmm’s” and “yea’s” but after I was able to find out what would be convenient and fun for them they shifted to interested demeanors and ended up being thankful (I think) for the help I gave. The potential clients were all very interested in asking me questions like, “How often do I have to do this?” and “Is this going to be really hard?” One brought up a past experience of exercise and getting so sore they quit two days after they started and returned to a sedentary lifestyle for the next year and a half. Another seemed very concerned about her ability to actually so any of the physical activity I had in mind, she seemed to think that she was physically disabled, but after explaining the different steps to weight loss and health benefits she calmed down and started to agree that it wasn’t as hard as she had thought. After talking with the three potential clients they all scheduled workouts with me and seemed excited about it, so I think the message was received."
Finally, the student was asked to create a Public Service Announcement about the importance of adopting an active lifestyle. Check out his PSA below:
If you can't see the PSA - go here.
Please feel free to comment and discuss this project! What were your thoughts on the PSA? How do shows like BIGGEST LOSER and other media influences impact your thoughts about exercise? Even though the health benefits of physical activity are well-known, what are the most challenging barriers people face towards exercise?
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