A National Crisis: Childhood Obesity in the United States
Donna Gerbino
PS 336
INTRODUCTION:
Nearly 1 in 5 children are considered obese in the United States. Not only does obesity affect a child’s physical health, leading to life-long diseases and disorders, but it also can seriously affect a child’s mental and emotional well-being into adulthood.
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TASK
Childhood obesity is a national crisis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) need you and your research team to educate the public through the creation of a 30-60 minute public service announcement and an educational tri-fold brochure using Canva.
Over the next 10 days, you and your team will complete the 6 steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) in order to:
● research and gather evidence on the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States
● identify the causes of childhood obesity, discover what is currently being done to combat this crisis
● create and evaluate solutions to the problem.
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PROCESS
Your teacher will create groups of 3 NIH researchers. Each researcher will review their assigned online material and will then share their findings with the rest of his/her group during the debrief at the end of each session.
Complete the PPA worksheets by the end of each session.
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Day 1
What is the problem?
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Researcher 1: Childhood Obesity Facts Researcher 2: Childhood obesity statistics 2025 Researcher 3:What doctors wish patients knew about child obesity Debrief and complete worksheet. |
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Day 2
Why is childhood obesity a concern?
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Researcher 1: Consequences of Obesity Researcher 2: Childhood Obesity: A Complex Disease Researcher 3: Childhood Obesity: A Growing Epidemic Debrief and complete worksheet. |
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Day 3
What are the causes of obesity in children?
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Researcher 1: Childhood Obesity Researcher 2: Are Unhealthy Foods and Beverages Fueling Childhood Obesity? Researcher 3: Childhood Obesity: A lifelong threat to health Debrief and complete worksheet.
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Day 4
What is being done currently to address this issue?
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Researcher 1: CDC: Obesity Strategies: What Can Be Done Researcher 2: USDA: Turning the Tide on Early Childhood Obesity Researcher 3: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) |
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Day 5-6
Using your combined research, develop a minimum of 3 solutions. You will have 2 days to review your previous findings and debrief with your group in order to find at least 3 possible solutions to address childhood obesity.
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Researcher 1: The Nutrition Source: A comprehensive whole-community approach to reduce childhood obesity shows promise Researcher 2: Center for Healthcare Strategies: Innovations in Childhood Obesity: A Resource Center Researcher 3: American Academy of Pediatrics: Childhood Obesity: How to Battle the Unrelenting Epidemic Debrief and complete worksheet.
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Day
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Select the Best Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness) It is now time for you and your fellow researchers to identify the best solution by analyzing the feasibility and effectiveness of each policy your team devised. Keep in mind that those policies that are high on one criterion are often lower on the other one. Of these two criteria, feasibility is usually more important than effectiveness. In other words, policies that have a reasonable chance of being enacted (feasibility) are usually best, even if they have only moderate effectiveness. |
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Days 8-10 |
You and your research team will spend the remaining days working together to create a 30-60 minute PSA and a tri-fold informational brochure using Canva using the research you have collected. Your team should: ● state the problem ● explain the causes ● Identify the risks ● Describe what is currently being done ● Highlight the solution that you and your team chose as the most effective and feasible |
EVALUATION:
CONCLUSION:
Using the guidelines of the PPA, you and your team have learned about the dangers of obesity for young children in America. Obesity-related chronic diseases are on the rise in both children and adolescents, diseases that will extend into adulthood. It is essential that we break this cycle through education and change. Preventing childhood obesity helps protect a child’s health now and in the future.
STANDARDS:
Personal Health and Fitness: Standard 1
1.1 Students will understand human growth and development and recognize the relationship between behaviors and healthy development. They will understand ways to promote health and prevent disease and will demonstrate and practice positive health behaviors.
Technology Standard: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving Standard 7
7.2 Solving interdisciplinary problems involves a variety of skills and strategies, including effective work habits; gathering and processing information; generating and analyzing ideas; realizing ideas; making connections among the common themes of mathematics, science, and technology; and presenting results.
Social Studies Standards 1 and 4
1.1- Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
1.9- Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
4.1- Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.