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Keysha Lusk

Trotter

British Literature

28 November 2017

Annotated Bibliography

Cerretani, Jessica. “HMS.” Childhood Obesity: Early Intervention Is Key, Harvard Medical

School, 17 Sep. 2012, Web. 29 Nov 2017, https://hms.harvard.edu/news/childhood-

obesity-early-intervention-key-9-17-12.

In this article, Cerretani discusses how early intervention in childhood obesity is vital for the

childs overall health throughout life. Cerretani talks about how more than half of obese children

are overweight by their second birthday, and that one in five children will be overweight by the

age six. She states that obesity starts in early life, for example children are more likely to become

obese if their parents make the transition to solid foods too early and introduce them to fatty

foods, as well as allowing them too much access to TV. She discusses how breastfeeding is

actually beneficial to the child in the long run, because studies show that babies who breastfeed

learn how to regulate how much they are eating, and it also helps the mother to determine how

much to feed their child, therefore decreasing their chances of becoming obese. The relevance

this article has to my topic is how early intervention is key to preventing obesity within children,

and that really is the focal point of my project, to bring awareness early enough to prevent any

serious health or psychological problems from developing.

“Childhood Overweight.” Childhood Overweight , The Obesity Society, May 2014, Web. 29

2017, www.obesity.org/resources/facts-about-obesity/childhood-overweight.
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In this article, many accredited doctors and physicians contributed to explaining the negative

health and psychological effects that childhood obesity causes and can lead to. They present facts

to people that showcase a few of the several consequences that come with childhood obesity like,

asthma, hypertension, depressive symptoms, and behavior and learning disabilities. They also

talk about some of the many contributors to child obesity, they tell us the obvious of how poor

eating and lack of physical activity can lead to obesity in children, but then they state that

parenting styles and how much a parent exercises along with the kind of food they eat daily has a

way of influencing the child. They also give tips on how to create healthy eating patterns for

children, such as regulating the kind of foods that come into the house, encouraging eating fruits

and vegetables, and supporting active participation in sports. The ways in which this article is

relevant to my topic is from the way it enhances my knowledge on how healthy eating patterns

can have such a positive impact in a childs life. From this research, I got the idea to put together

a list of healthy affordable foods that the children can go show their parents so that they can start

getting into a healthy eating pattern, and with doing this I also wanted to bring them a variety of

healthy foods to try.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Childhood Obesity.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education

and Research, 17 Nov. 2016, Web. 29 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-

conditions/childhood-obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-20354827.

In this article, The Mayo Clinic staff states all the risk factors and health issues associated with

child obesity, and how detrimental they can become if the problem is not addressed soon. They

talk about how not every child who has a few extra pounds is not considered obese, but how it

starts to become something you should be concerned about when the child is putting on weight

very fast, and where they land on the growth charts. They state that child obesity can lead to
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physical complications like type two diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high cholesterol and blood

pressure, asthma, and more severe things like liver disease and heart problems. The Mayo Staff

also goes into depth about the risk factors that can increase the chances of a child becoming

obese, such as diet, lack of exercise, and family factors. This article relates to my own topic,

because it discusses the risk factors that are most common in increasing child obesity, but it also

talks about the many health complications that come with it if it is ignored and not taken serious.

From my research it gave me an idea to talk about all the detrimental health effects that come

with child obesity and talk about some of the simple changes they can make in their everyday

life.

“Overweight & Obesity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. Web. 29 Nov 2017,

www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html.

In this article, what is discussed is how the environment that a child is in can have an impact on

their eating habits and diets. It talks about how being in an environment that doesn’t promote

physical activity, allows the intake of high calorie foods, and engagement in sedentary activities

such as watching tv can influence excess weight gain in a child. Also, having parents that do not

advocate a healthy lifestyle do influence their children in a negative way, because children tend

to mimic their parents as they are growing up and if they see their parents disregarding healthy

foods and exercising they are going to do the same. Home environments are not the only

influences either, the CDC also says that the community children are in can influence their eating

habits, such as the lunch that is being provided at school and foods and drinks that are offered at

social events. This article relates to my topic, because it is important to get across to the children

that are facing obesity that it is not their fault, but it has to do a lot with the environments they
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are in such as with their parents, home, and school. With talking to the children about it, it could

help prevent them from facing things like depression and low self-esteem, and this research

helped me understand that and I know this information will be valuable to my project.

“The Emotional Toll of Obesity.” HealthyChildren.org, American Academy of Pediatrics , 11

Nov. 2015, Web. Dec 1 2017, www.healthychildren.org/English/health-

issues/conditions/obesity/pages/The-Emotional-Toll-of-Obesity.aspx.

In this article, the emotional toll that child obesity has on children that are overweight is

discussed thoroughly, what is stated is that children who are overweight have been exposed to a

society that associates obesity with a negative connotation, and are now developing

psychological problems. What is discussed is that, children who are overweight are more prone

to self-esteem issues that can later result to self body shaming and lack of self confidence. From

being an overweight child they are more likely to be teased and from being teased that can lead

to a severe case of depression, in which children will then in a weird turn of events look for

comfort in food, then add to the problem even more. Also, stated in the article, it talks about how

obese children are discriminated against and how that can lead to even more psychological

problems of them wondering what’s wrong with them. From this research, I learned about all the

negative impacts child obesity can have on a childs mental state, and this is relevant to my topic

because I want to get across to the children I end up working with that physical effects are not

the only thing they could face, but as well as psychological effects because they are more

susceptible to becoming depressed, due to being teased and self shaming.