Obesity in children across America has become a growing public health problem. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world, children die of hunger every day. How can this happen when here in America the opposite problem is the serious one? This is not to say that there are no hungry or starving children in America. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity and “children who are overweight or obese in preschool are five times more likely than children of normal weight to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity can not only make a child more likely to have health problems in the future, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. Measures need to be taken in both schools and homes to help prevent this growing epidemic. An obese child is automatically more likely to be exposed to a variety of health risks throughout his or her life. It is estimated that “15% of children between the ages of six and nineteen suffer from obesity” (Lee and Sprague). A person considered obese is someone who has “a body fat percentage greater than 25% in boys and 32% in girls” (Lee and Sprague). Being severely overweight exposes you to more diseases than someone who is not overweight. Obese people “are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. . [from] being overweight” (Lee and Sprague). Some health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart attacks and cancer, can be caused by obesity. There is also a great risk of “heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases” when you are obese (“Hope”). high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Being obese... in the middle of the paper... we need to reverse this plague of obese children, everyone needs to realize these problems and work collectively with each other and find a solution for the children. Works Cited Ballaro, Beverly and Ann Griswold. “Junk Food in Schools: An Overview.” Points of view: junk food in schools (2013): 1. Points of view reference centre. Network. March 2, 2014. Harding, “Hope for Childhood Obesity.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, August 6, 2013. Web. March 3, 2014. Lee, Deborah, and Nancy Sprague. “Point: Public schools should not be allowed to sell junk food to students.” Points of view: junk food in schools (2013): 2. Points of view reference centre. Network. March 2, 2014.Ricco, Alex K. and Denise B. Geier. “Point: Physical education is a necessary development tool.” Viewpoints: Physical Education (2013): 2. Viewpoints Reference Centre. Network. March 2. 2014.