Is there a good solution on childhood obesity?

The best solution is prevention. This includes chiefly fostering an active lifestyle and promoting an appropriate and healthy diet at home and at school. You may already have been impacted by school wellness programs instituting assignments like yours and healthier choices at the lunch counter.

Unfortunately, things have changed in the past decades. Neighborhoods are not always safe. Traffic has increased dramatically, so many kids play inside with video games or just watch TV rather than run or bike outside. Many moms work and don’t always have time or energy to prepare good meals. Convenience foods have a high fat content. Fat is also a flavor enhancer. Even nutritionists agree that low fat foods don’t usually taste as good as those with a higher fat content. You should also research high fructose corn syrup and its effects on satiety.

Back to lifestyle: the majority of us are simply more sedentary than those of earlier generations. We watch golf, bowling, pool and poker on TV! How bad is that? We hop in the car for the shortest of trips. We eat more, the portions are greater, the food is higher in fat, and we burn off those calories at a lower rate. It’s a REAL problem.

Good luck with your paper.

Edit: BTW, I personally am skeptical about the hereditary component, but some researchers findings are hard to refute. It is true that you have a much greater chance of being fat in adulthood if you are a fat child, and also if one or both parents are overweight.