Addressing the Public Health Epidemic of Childhood Obesity Using Public Schools as Health Education Learning Laboratories

Abstract

In our society, childhood obesity has become a pressing health issue. Childhood obesity occurs when children are considerably overweight for their age and height. Body mass index (BMI) is used to measure the percentage of body fat; therefore, the higher the BMI, the more body fat an individual has accompanied by the likelihood that the individual is obese. This research aims to address the factors that cause childhood obesity. A total of 116 journal articles were used for the development of this paper; the articles were analyzed and selected based on the occurrence of the following keywords and phrases: (1) childhood obesity, (2) social cognition theory, (3) telemedicine, and (4) nutrition education. The literature review showed a relationship between childhood obesity and body mass index (reduction, the use of telemedicine, and school food gardens). Using telemedicine video conferencing software and adding food gardens to public school curricula may be a strategy educators and policymakers can use to reduce the rate of childhood obesity.