How Is Inactivity And Obesity Effecting Children Young People Essay

How Is In application And Obesity Effecting Children new People EssayThe rise of inactivity and its consequencesThe prevalence of sedentary lifestyles is increase in America and much of the developed world. In the US (our center of attention geographic bea of focus for this project) this trend coupled with poor take choices has nonably manifested itself in come up obesity rates across the orbit everyplace the past two decades as depicted in usher 1. As of 2008, over 68% of Ameri thunder mugs were categorized as being overweight, with almost half of that group being defined as obese or morbidly obesei. Between 1980 and 2002 overweight rates for children aged 6 11 more(prenominal)(prenominal) than doubled from 7% to 16%ii. Today that number is estimated to be closer to 20%iii.Shortened life spans. More than 14% of deaths in the US in 2003 resulted from obesity related conditions andDiminished motivation to be progressive. Being overweight or obese makes physical activit y more challenging, thus requiring greater commitment and effort to be active comp ard to a wellnessy weighted individual. The more overweight people become collect able to reduced levels of activity the less presumable they ar to engage in future activity. Furthermore, obesity is rattling much tied to depression which causes individuals to experience debase levels of energy and motivationiv.Teenagers the gateway to addressing rising inactivity levels.The number of age a consumer leads an active lifeThe variety of entertainments or fitness related activities the consumer engages in over those years andThe ingatherings that the two factors above drive demand for.In order to optimize across all drivers we honed in on teenagers (primarily 13-15) as our focus segment. We view other groups, much(prenominal) as adults and, retirees, and so forth, who piddle a shorter customer life judgment of conviction revalue and being, as being more set in their ways, both in terms of habi t and product affinities.In arriving at this focal segment we let taken the quest factors into considerationAccording to the Eight Stages of Development, adolescents learn virtually and define who they argon between the ages of approximately 12 and 19. If being athletic, or at least(prenominal) active, is not established as central to ones identity, the probability of prioritizing athletic activity later in life is promising diminished. If more children define themselves as being active during this influential period, the market for healthy, sustainable athletes will likely increase over meter.From a commercial perspective, the potential lifetime value of an active teenager is likely to be high uper than that of an average U.S. adult. firstly the follow of acquiring an active youth is lower, as there be fewer barriers to exercise/activity as outlined above. Secondly, the number of years that teenagers have to be active is signifi bedtly greater as they not only start young er but whitethorn potentially merry longer due to their adoption of healthy and active lifestyles.Teenagers ecumenicly have lower opportunity costs of activity and learning to exercise than adults. A combination of the greater amounts of leisure time available to them and their propensity to try out with new things makes teenagers more likely to be comfortable learning about and engaging in activity. Teenagers also tend to have many opportunities to use up to engage in activities. These include physical education (PE) programs, sports teams, community teams, and daily pick-up games.Section 2 of this report presents key underlying kneads and trends that currently surmount and have the potential to further diminish activity levels among teenagers.Section 3 of this report then discusses the selection criteria that potential solutions must satisfy in order to most effectively address the problem of teen inactivity. eventually Section 4 lays out a potential solution aimed at levera ging key influences to encourage more active lifestyles among teenagers.Section 2 Factors underlying teenage inactivityFamily influencesIn order to address the rising levels of inactivity among teenagers, it is necessary to first identify and understand the primary electronic network of influencers that ultimately furbish up their decision making demeanor and involvement in activities.Dual income single parent householdsTraditionally parents have been one of the strongest openings of influence over teenagers, and have played a crucial role in shaping their overall growth and development. However insights from interviews conducted with families in the Boston field of force put forward that shifts in the overall structure and composition of the average Ameri keep family have decreased the amount of influence that parents exert over their children.In particular, the steady increase in the number of dual income earners1 and the rise in the number of single parent households highl ight that parents today are cladding increasing time constraints. A signifi nett consequence of this phenomenon is that teenagers are more and more subject to less direct parental oversight, as working parents often outsource the watch of their children to external parties such(prenominal) as baby-sitters, nannies and daycare centers. darn parents have a vested interest in encouraging their children to lead active lives in order to promote overall health and well-being, external parties are more likely to encourage teenagers to engage in sedentary, home-based activities that are easier to supervise. Examples of such activities include watching TV, surfing the internet or playing boob tube games.Decline of parental role modelsAnother deductive reasoning of parental time constraints is that parents have less take care-to-face time with their children and consequently fewer opportunities to get them on the merits of direct an active lifestyle and adopting healthy eating habits . minded(p) these time constraints parents themselves are also less likely to demonstrate the very behaviors that they aim to instill in their children. Thus, an absence of role models that are leading active lives in the household could further explain why teenagers are tending towards more sedentary lifestyles.Additionally, if parents throw off less time prioritizing the on-going supervision and support of their childrens activity levels, teenagers may feel less motivated to enroll in sports or other physical activities at school. For example our interviews with parents suggest that parental inability to attend games to cheer for their children or even leave behind the basic resources that support their childrens involvement in sports, such as providing rides to practice, may result in teenagers being less inclined or able to pursue active lifestyles.Evolution of family diningA further implication of parental time constraints is that working parents are increasingly relying on whatchamacallit and on-the-go food solutions for meal preparation. These habits fundament have a profound impact on the overall health and well-being of their children as evidenced by Child Development research which suggests there is a link between the number of years a working mother spends in the custody and their childs BMI.vThe increase in child obesity has attracted a great fuck of media attention which has, in turn, resulted in a heightened sense of knowingness of health wellness issues among parents. The observation that child obesity persists in the face of this awareness suggests that parents are precluded from developing solutions because they lack the necessary tools to motivate their children in the face of time constraints. This insight highlights an area of opportunity for Nike to provide tools toAssist parents in incentivizing their children to lead more active lives andAssist parents in motivating their children in a way that fits into their busy schedules.Cri me parental attitudesAn emphasis on helicopter parenting2, which has take a craped popularity in recent times, combined with the persistent coverage of twist activity in the media has resulted in a heightened sense of paranoia around abhorrence levels and neighborhood guard among parents. The implications of helicopter parenting are straightforward. As parents become more concerned about the overall safety of their neighborhoods they are more likely to only allow outside activity with adult supervision. However, due to their individualized time constraints, they often encourage their children to stay indoors or transfer to school by car, rather than engage in outdoor activities or walk, for example. In this case, parents appear to be prioritizing the short term benefits of child safety over the long term risks of obesity and other future health problems due to reduced activity levelsFriend influencesIncreasing prominence of friends as influencersSiblings, particularly older o nes, have traditionally been a powerful source of influence over teenagers. Younger siblings generally tend to emulate the behavior and habits of their older siblings, especially if there is a positive relationship between the two. However as the size of U.S. households continue to decline, the average teenager is growth up with fewer siblings to rely on and learn behaviors from. As a result of teenagers being exposed to fewer siblings and busier parents, peers and friend groups have gained more prominence in the influence and authority they have over teenagers lives. school day influencesIn light of the factors discussed above, such as the limited amount of time parents spend with their children external environments can serve as important influences on teenagers. Schools are not only a physical representation of where teenagers spend most of their time outside the home, but are also the compass within which their affectionate networks converge.Teacher attitudes resource constr aintsGiven that teenagers are exceedingly exposed to their social networks at school, their fear of failing at physical activities can often overshadow their desire to try something new or different to shine in front of their peers causing them to shy outside(a) from any activity. For example, a school that has a reputation for being a leader in a certain sport, say basketball, may determine significantly more emphasis on winning than inclusion. In such environments, children have less room to fail, that is to say, not to be neat at basketball. Such overtly competitive situations can lead to divisions (ball players vs. non ball players) which hyperbolise less skilled students feelings of inadequacy.Teachers serve as de facto parents in the school environment. Their attitudes towards general wellness and encouraging teenagers can be powerful drivers of childrens sustained competitiveness in activities. However, the continuous budgetary pressures schools face often result in und erstaffing, which causes teachers to stretch themselves very thinly across large student bodies. In these situations, teachers may not be able to provide the level of cost increase and personal attention necessary for children to enthusiastically engage in activities. If a child does not enjoy participating in an activity, the child is unconvincing to engage in that activity again in the future.Tension between academics activityTeenagers are increasingly living in an achievement-oriented society, wherein the results of their efforts today can have a profound impact on their future options. In light of this, parents are getting their children involved in an array of two-timing(a) activities, such as debating clubs and honors classes, in order to increase their childrens chances of getting into good colleges. This additional competition on teenagers time often leads to reduced levels of activity. city influencesRural vs. urban settingsThe natural resources and climate of a region can impact activity levels depending on the type of sports they encourage. For example, hiking is an activity that requires minimal fiscal resources to participate and would likely encourage higher levels of activity. However, the relatively higher cost of participation in skiing may deter people from adopting the sport and therefore drive lower levels of activity.Media Technology influencesCelebrity influence Proliferation of media dissemination channelsCelebrities and pop culture icons have become significant influencers of social behavior as children spend less time with their parents. The emergence of statistical distribution channels such as Twitter has increased teenagers ability to gain direct approach path to celebrities. Given parents limited ability to monitor their childrens internet and bustling phone usage, teenagers are now accessing messages of varying quality. For example, children are no longer confined to watching PBS, which has focus on activity and wellness. They can now watch the latest craze on YouTube or access celebrity gossip on other outlets, which typically place a premium on glamorous lifestyles over healthy ones. Such messages can have a great degree of influence on children, who are particularly impressionable.Addictive characteristics of technologyPerpetually connected to the internet and their busy devices, teenagers today have become attuned to interacting with their environments using technology. Activity which requires them to disengage from electronic devices may be seen as dull and involve de-addiction from perceived high stimuli technology driven experiences.Physical vs. virtual interactionThe advent of mobile phones and online social networks has reduced teenagers need to meet in person, as they can rely on the immediacy of virtual communication. The increased usage of these platforms has fundamentally changed the ways in which teenagers interact with one another by allowing them to perch socially engaged without n eeding to physically walk or bike over to see a friend.